Total Skarmory Island
by Bronzern
Summary: Thirty-two Pokemon compete in a famous reality game show, Total Drama. With a unique host, a unique island and unique challenges, will the ratings soar? Watch as Pokemon create relationships, rivalries, alliances and drama. As well as backstabbing each other for a million. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

This is my second story. After a refreshing break, I'm eager to write again. I believe that I improve significantly from the past. Let see if this story will be better than the last one. My mentality and confidence change a lot since then.

I will also reply to reviews this time so feel free to do so. In addition, I create a poll about your favorite contestants. Check it out in my profile. The maximum selection limit is three.

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 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon and Total Drama.**

 **Episode 1: A Splashing Start**

The Sun radiated mild rays of heat against the beach area of an island. Apparently, there was a wooden post with the word 'Skarmory Island'. Next to the post was a dock and a silver bird with magnificent golden eyes. Skarmory stared at a camera, while taking a sip of coffee from a plastic cup he held with his right talon.

"Hello, dear viewers and fans. Welcome to watch Total Skarmory Island and I'm your humble host, Skarmory." Skarmory introduced to the camera and placed his cup of coffee down. "In this show, thirty-two Pokemon will compete for one million P. There will be tons of drama, interesting personalities and challenges or so I hope. Before I introduce our contestants, let me explain the rules to any newbies to this game show format." Skarmory continued to explain as he flew from the dock to the camp.

"Our contestants will be divided into two teams, each with sixteen contestants. In each episode, they will compete in a challenge and the losing team must vote someone from their team off this beautiful island that I purchased legally. They will keep on doing this until the merge. The merge will destroy the two teams making every Pokemon fight for themselves." Skarmory explained near the bonfire.

"This will be where the elimination take place. Now, let-" Someone interrupted Skarmory before he can finish.

"The first contestant already arrives, explain everything else later. You fool, hurry up!" Chef Drapion shouted from the beach area. Skarmory groaned as the chef rudely insulted him.

"And that is our wonderful chef, he is known as Chef Drapion." Skarmory said quite sarcastically. He quickly flew over to the dock to make up time for his poor schedule management. Of course, he brought his cup of coffee with him. There was a certain purple scorpion with sharp fangs in the dock. Chef Drapion tapped his feet impatiently as the first contestant was about to reach the island. Skarmory gave Chef Drapion an annoyed look before he continued doing his job.

The first contestant jumped off the Lapras excitedly. He was a black canine with four bone bracelets above his paws. There was also a skull design on his head.

"This is our first contestant, Houndour." Skarmory introduced the first contestant just in time.

"You actually own this island? That is cool, dude. Anyways, are there cool environments for us to explore? Is this island interesting or unique?" Houndour asked as he looked around franticly.

"Too many questions. If I'm the host, I will stuff your mouth with my special delicacies to shut you up." Chef Drapion threatened as Houndour stepped back a bit. Skarmory glared at Drapion. Chef Drapion just grumbled to himself.

"Calm down, you will know soon enough, if you survive a couple of episodes. Stand on the beach area and wait for the other contestants." Skarmory instructed and Houndour ran over obediently.

The next Lapras was seen from a distance. Skarmory widened his eyes so he can see clearly. It was a female contestant this time. She had a heart-shaped horn. Furthermore, her body was masculine. She was a beetle with intimidating claws.

"This is our next contestant, Heracross." Skarmory revealed as Heracross stomped down on the dock. She took a glance at Houndour.

"If all the other contestants are like him, this competition will be easy. I'm ready to show what I'm made of." Heracross commented and Houndour gave her a questioning look.

"Time will tell. Wait until you see some of the other contestants…" Skarmory built up suspense for the viewers.

"I like her. Tough and strong, there should be more contestants like this." Chef Drapion stated his opinion.

Heracross walked over next to Houndour. The two didn't say much to each other, they just looked at the next Lapras. Skarmory took another sip of his coffee in the meantime.

The next contestant was another bipedal female. She had white curved ears, two white curved tails and blue collar of fur. In addition, her fur color was dominantly white while the other parts of her body like her legs and hands are blue. She lifted a blue and white striped suitcase with Psychic and dropped it… It clashed against the wooden plank of the dock.

"Be careful, Meowstic! You will pay if you destroy the dock. Why do you need to bring a suitcase? The show provides basic necessities so that we are safe from angry parents and lawsuits." Skarmory warned as he cringed at the sound of the suitcase colliding against his wonderful property.

"Oh, there are magical props in this suitcase. I'm a magician, I will show what I'm capable of to the viewers and other contestants." Meowstic indicated her interest.

"A magician, seriously? Hahaha…" Chef Drapion laughed, Heracross laughed soon after as well. Houndour made no comment. He was just itching to go off and explore the island.

"Just go and stand next to the other contestants." Skarmory ordered as the next contestant approached. Meowstic showed an angry expression to the laughing chef before standing next to Houndour.

The next contestant was a wood gecko with leaves on his wrists, a large leaf on his head and leaf-like tails. His belly was pinkish red. He seemed agile as he jumped down the Lapras.

"Everyone, meet Grovyle, the fourth contestant." Skarmory pointed with his steel wings toward Grovyle. Heracross nodded in approval while Houndour waved at him.

"Nice to meet all of you. Let us have a great time and if anyone wants an alliance with me, I'm fine with that. I'm loyal, I will stick by my word to the very end." Grovyle offered.

"Decent strategy, coattail rider, as known as stereotypical blind alliance minion moron. At most, you will get second." Chef Drapion predicted. Skarmory tried to distance himself from the chef a bit so the contestants don't associate him with the Drapion.

Grovyle looked a bit annoyed but doesn't reply back, he walked over and stood next to Heracross. "At least, you look stronger than these two." Heracross elbowed Grovyle jokingly. Grovyle looked at the two other contestants and nodded a bit.

The fifth contestant was another male. He was a fish with yellow whiskers, orange scales, pink lips and crown-shaped fins. This contestant splashed out of the Lapras and landed on the dock. The other contestants spectated with sympathy as the Magikarp splashed slowly over to the beach area.

"Magikarp, struggling already?" Skarmory asked. "The journey ahead is going to be worse."

"What can I do? I'm born like this. Hopefully, my team see my potential. I can evolve into a mighty Gyarados." Magikarp created a reason to keep him from being the first one eliminated as he splashed over to the beach area.

"Yeah, hopefully… someone sees m-my potential." Another contestant arrived behind Magikarp before anyone noticed him. He was a stone with a triangular nose. The guy trembled a bit upon seeing his fellow contestants.

"Nosepass, scared already? Come on, they don't bite or at least I think." Skarmory assured.

"I'm starting to regret signing up for this show." Nosepass complained. Skarmory pushed Nosepass with his wings over next to Magikarp, who was splashing next to Meowstic.

"This is awkward." Meowstic said quite uncomfortably.

"Another weakling. Hahaha…" Chef Drapion mocked the contestants again as he witnessed the situation. Magikarp and Nosepass looked down at the ground in misery.

"That is very cruel and rude of you. Pokemon that insult others are the ones that actually need help. Perhaps, you can't make edible food so you try to find flaws in others instead of trying to improve your personality and skills." A certain female orange mouse with antennae like whiskers criticized the chef.

"You, you little *beep*." Chef Drapion swore at the contestant.

"How dare you swear in this show? There are kids watching!" The contestant scolded Chef Drapion. Chef Drapion was about to hit her. The other contestants gasped at this. Luckily, Skarmory got in between both of them.

"Are you crazy, Chef Drapion? Do you want lawsuits? I also need to edit out your vulgar language before kids are actually watching. I don't want sensitive parents carry pitchforks over to my house." Skarmory nervously described the consequences. Drapion was seething with anger.

"What kind of paranoid host you are? This is Total Drama for god's sake. Can you actually host a show like this?" Drapion doubted Skarmory.

"I might be a new host. I might lack experience. However, don't you think it is too early to judge me? I have a few tricks up my wings. Let the viewers decide at the end of the season what kind of host I'm." Skarmory stood up against Chef Drapion with a serious, determined expression. Chef Drapion saw the host's expression and retreated back to the kitchen.

"That is awesome, Skarmory. You are better than the majority of hosts nowadays." The contestant complimented.

"It is still too early to judge me, Dedenne." Skarmory smiled nonetheless at the compliment. Then, he took another sip of coffee.

Dedenne walked over to the other contestants and introduced herself properly. "I own a blog where I argue and criticize Pokemon on the internet that post rude and mean comments. I really despise swearing and rudeness in general so please don't do anything like that or else…"

"Why are you interfering with our freedom of speech? I might agree with some of your points but a little rudeness doesn't hurt, you know?" Heracross argued.

"Freedom of speech is a pathetic excuse for mean jerks to say whatever they want. It should be eradicated." Dedenne stated a controversial opinion.

"Are you crazy?" Heracross and Dedenne argued back and forth.

"Can't everyone just get along?" Magikarp asked Nosepass.

"Just don't involve me in it, I'm scared." Nosepass closed his ears.

"This is taking longer than I thought." Skarmory complained about the slow pace of the first episode. A contestant nudged him with a leek stalk.

Skarmory turned around to see a male Farfetch'd.

"There are like three contestants waiting to be introduced. I don't want to interrupt you but Mr. Stalk and myself are getting impatient." Farfetch'd showed that Cryogonal and Aromatisse were waiting in their respective Lapras.

"Who is Mr. Stalk?" Skarmory asked bafflingly.

Farfetch'd lifted his leek stalk up and presented it dramatically. "He is my one and only true partner. Together, we are undefeatable. Who needs an alliance when you have a leek stalk? Mr. Stalk can cut trees and rocks like they are children toys. No one can comprehend our true power. Right, Mr. Stalk?"

"Maybe you need some friends, dude. I don't think it is smart to talk to a non-living object." Houndour suggested.

"Haters like you don't understand us. Mr. Stalk, let us create our own path to victory." Farfetch'd walked over to the beach and stood alone, far from other contestants.

"Our next contestant is Aromatisse." Skarmory called for Aromatisse to step down from her Lapras.

Aromatisse held the Lapras' neck carefully before making a leap over to the dock. She carried a pink handbag with her. All the contestants smelled her perfume as she arrived.

"What is in that handbag?" Skarmory asked.

"My make-up kit, I must ensure that I remain beautiful and fabulous all the time in this dirty island. Dear host, please decrease the number of disgusting physical challenges and put more beauty and Pokemon contests as challenges." Aromatisse requested.

"I can't do that. It isn't fair for other contestants. I will probably get a lawsuit too. If you hate physical challenges, I doubt that you sign into the right show. Our challenges are mostly physical and mental. My island is also perfect." Skarmory reasoned.

Aromatisse shook her head in disappointment. She walked over to the contestants and made a simple request. "All of you strong and bulky Pokemon out there, take care of those physical challenges for me then I will help you with the rest, a fair deal?"

"We don't even know the teams yet, don't jump into conclusions." Houndour pointed out. Aromatisse gave up and stood behind Nosepass. Nosepass tried to keep his head low and be distant from the center of attention.

"Now, next is our genderless contestant, Cryogonal. Please keep your introduction short and simple." Skarmory signaled for Cryogonal to move quickly as another one, no two Lapras arrived.

"I'm Cryogonal, nice to meet all of you. I prefer to be identified as female as that is how my friends and family treat me." Cryogonal said in a cold yet friendly voice, then floated next to Aromatisse. The fairy type polished her claws and greeted the snowflake Pokemon.

The next contestant was genderless as well. It was a brown bug with a halo on its head.

"Hey." Shedinja greeted emotionlessly and floated past Skarmory.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm. It will boost the ratings greatly." Skarmory said sarcastically.

The next contestant stepped on the dock, it was a weed Pokemon.

"Moving on, this is our next female contestant, Oddish." Skarmory revealed.

"Wow, there are like twenty contestants already." Oddish said while tilting her head. All the other contestants gave her weird looks.

"Are you acting stupid?" Skarmory questioned.

"Obviously not." Oddish sweated.

Skarmory rolled his eyes as the next Lapras delivered the next contestant. It was a brown dinosaur with a white bib fastened around his neck. He stepped down and sighed as he saw the island.

"What's up, Tyrunt. What is with that face?" Skarmory asked curiously.

"My parents forced me to join this show. This place looks worse than the brochure. It is too outdoor for my taste. Well, at least I might win and earn some money." Tyrunt complained with a dissatisfied tone.

"Contestants nowadays, they are so spoiled and pampered. There is nothing wrong with my island. Your preferences are just abnormal." Skarmory defended his island, while shaking his head.

Tyrunt walked over and stood behind Houndour.

"What is wrong with the great outdoors? This island looks exhilarating. Also, you wear a bib?" Hounour started a conversation with Tyrunt.

"I am a gamer that sat inside my house, playing video games all day. We probably have different backgrounds. My parents believed that it is wise for me to get some fresh air a bit. Whatever, it is too late to go back now. I need to try my best to win." Tyrunt answered but he dodged the question about his bib.

The next contestant, no... _contestants_ share the same Lapras. They were both female. One was a yellow lizard with black frills. Another hid behind the back of the yellow lizard, she was a snow hat Pokemon.

"Two contestants on the same Lapras? Did something horrible occur? Law... lawsuits?" Skarmory spoke with concern. Skarmory dread the lawsuit as the two Pokemon reached the dock. The yellow lizard thanked the Lapras as she introduced herself.

"I'm Helioptile and here is Snorunt. She is scared of travelling alone on a Lapras so I offer to go with her. Come on out and introduce yourself, Snorunt. Don't be shy, we are all friends here." Helioptile encouraged. However, Snorunt refused by shaking her head.

"We are friendly or at least most of us." Houndour reassured.

"H-hi" Snorunt's voice trembled.

"She will warm up to all of you soon." Helioptile said hopefully.

Skarmory took another sip of his addictive coffee before looking at the next Lapras. It was a male contestant this time. A black knight with blades for a ribcage.

"Bisharp, welcome to Skarmory Island." Skarmory welcomed as he took another sip of coffee.

Bisharp glanced around at each contestant in an analytical manner before speaking. "I'm Bisharp, it is my honor to serve whichever team I'm in."

"Cool, I want you in my team. We might win more often that way." Grovyle showed his interest in Bisharp. Bisharp reciprocated the look of interest.

Another Lapras carried a contestant. The contestant flew to the dock soon enough. She was a bird with yellow and blue feathers. She landed on the dock proudly with her wings stretched.

"This is Archeops, everyone." Skarmory introduced another contestant.

"It's great to meet everyone. I will bring my skillsets to raise the competition. My opposing team better watch out." Archeops spoke confidently before flying over to the other contestants.

Skarmory looked ahead to see three Lapras heading to his island. Skarmory smiled as the pace picked up a bit. There were about fifteen contestants left to be introduced.

The first contestant was a prestigious looking cat with an opulent feel to him. His eyes were filled with _business charm_. The contestant took his first step into the dock and held his hand together close to his chest like a presenter promoting a product. He introduced himself right away without Skarmory.

"Good morning, my lovely acquaintances. I'm Meowth and I look forward to our cooperation both in terms of business and the competition." Meowth said in a persuasive tone.

"That is quite formal of you." Houndour commented.

"It is my habit to make myself presentable and polite." Meowth replied.

"What is business?" Oddish asked. No one made a comment about that. They focused their attention on the next arrival.

The next female contestant stepped into the dock as well. This time, the steps were powerful. She was a pink cow with a masculine appearance.

"Here, we have Miltank." Skarmory said as he drank his coffee again.

"If anyone dares to insult my weight, that reckless idiot is dead. Understood?" Miltank threatened. Nosepass and Magikarp gulped.

"Impressive, you are tough. I will be glad if we are on the same team." Heracross complimented and offered a handshake.

"I will be glad too." Miltank accepted it.

"Mark for elimination." Bisharp whispered to himself. The only Pokemon that heard it was Grovyle and he nodded at this.

The last of the three floated into the dock. She was the mitosis Pokemon. There was a dark green substance surrounding her body. In addition, she had three bumps on her body.

"Duosion, anything to say to the other contestants?" Skarmory asked.

"It is my pleasure to sign in for this show. If an opportunity is presented, I will share my interesting knowledge with all of you." Duosion said before she floated next to Meowth.

"Fair enough. Let us move on, we don't want to wait too long until the challenge, do we?" Skarmory attempted to engage with the contestants. Most of the contestants nodded like Grovyle, Heliopile, Archeops and Duosion. However, a few shook their head violently like Nosepass and Snorunt.

"Heck yes, I'm tired of standing in this beach for decades as the first contestant." Houndour was pumped up to explore the island and compete in the challenge.

"Patience is a virtue, Houndour." Skarmory used a platitude to calm the impatient contestant.

The next batch of contestants arrived. This time, there were three male contestants. The first one was a venomous centipede with a skeptical look in his eyes. The second one was a yellow Pokemon with black stripes and a plug head. He brought a yellow toolbox with him. The final one was a green, rocky reptile with a red diamond-shaped belly. His Lapras in particular, flung the contestant out to the beach.

"Argh, stupid Lapras. How dare you flung the great Larvitar! Just because I call you an inferior living being doesn't mean you have any rights to attack me." Larvitar screamed as his head was buried under the sand. The other contestants started to laugh at him, including Skarmory. Larvitar dug his head out and his face was red with anger and embarrassment.

"Stupid fellow contestants. All of you are nothing compare to me. I will crush all of you in every challenges. If all of you don't vote with me, I will beat all of you up." Larvitar ranted and threatened the other contestants.

"Big words for a little guy." Heracross mocked Larvitar. Larvitar's face got even redder.

In the corner of his left eye, Larvitar saw that Nosepass stood still with his head down. An easy prey for the bully. Larvitar strode towards the nose Pokemon and whispered something.

"If you don't follow my orders, I will make your life a living hell." Larvitar crossed his own neck to show his seriousness. Nosepass gulped in fear.

"Ten out of ten for your social game, Larvitar." Skarmory stopped laughing and rated sarcastically. Larvitar smiled at that, which makes the other contestants laughed even harder, except Nosepass and Oddish.

"Is his social game that good?" Oddish asked.

Skarmory ignored the question and introduced the next contestant. "Scolipede is our next fully evolved contestant."

"I'm interested to see what kind of masks all of you wear in this show. Is that your true, genuine mask or is it a fabrication that you create to progress further in the game?" Scolipede said as the contestants became silent. Scolipede looked around, trying to observe any signs of unease before he moved to the beach area.

"Interesting, our next contestant is Elekid." Skarmory stepped aside to reveal the contestant behind him.

"Hello, I'm an inventor. When it comes to machinery and mental stuff, you can rely on me." Elekid told the others about his skills. A few of the contestants like Bisharp and Archeops nodded in approval.

The next contestant was a female seahorse with clear blue fins. Intriguingly, she held a book named 'The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises' with her fins. She was absorbed by the book to the point where Skarmory needed to interrupt her.

"Skrelp, please get out and meet the other contestants. Or else…" Skarmory warned as the Lapras was about to leave. Skrelp noticed this and hopped off the Lapras.

"I guarantee that my unrivaled knowledge will increase the average intelligence of this show by at least 50 percent. I plan to bring strategical depth and sophistication to the viewers." Skrelp boasted before she moved to the beach area using her fins.

"Did she insult our intelligence?" Grovyle asked Bisharp.

"Don't mind her arrogant and overconfident words." Bisharp assured, albeit his tone wasn't the most reassuring.

The next contestant arrived soon after, she was the cottonweed Pokemon.

"Jumpluff, how are you feeling about getting to compete in the show?" Skarmory asked.

"Oh my god! It is like a dream comes true. My friends will be so jealous when I spam this on their social media pages. I will have so much fun with the contestants. We will form alliances, mingle with each other and do so much more." Jumpluff spoke excitedly as she floated over with interest toward Skrelp. Skarmory looked at her weirdly before he shrugged it off.

"What are you reading about?" Jumpluff asked with curiosity.

"Please don't interrupt my reading sessions." Skrelp politely rejected her.

"Just tell me a bit." Jumpluff insisted.

"Please-" Skrelp tried to say before getting interrupted.

"Come on, talk to me." Jumpluff nagged. Skrelp closed her book and moved far away from Jumpluff. Unfortunately, Jumpluff seemed to be following her.

"The next contestant is Rhyhorn." Skarmory introduced the next contestant in the meantime. He was a tough looking rock rhinoceros.

"I don't want any powers-that-be messing around in this show as if we are nothing, okay? We are not your puppets. I believe I speak for the majority of us here." Rhyhorn said quite threateningly.

"We are down to the final six." Skarmory announced to Houndour's delight.

"Finally! I'm about to sleep." Houndour exclaimed.

The next contestant was female. She was a purple blimp with a yellow X in the center. In her red eyes, there were signs of passion.

"Finally, I get to compete in a Total Drama. I signed up multiple times but this is the first time that I'm accepted." Drifblim spoke with joy.

"That is great. A super fan finally gets to compete in this show." Skarmory congratulated, which made Drifblim confused.

"What kind of host are you? This is the first time I see a host acting like this in a Total Drama. Also, you drink coffee during the show? How unprofessional." Drifblim criticized as she stared at the cup of coffee.

"This is my island, my show. I can do whatever I want." Skarmory defended himself before he sipped the coffee again. Drifblim shook her head before leaving to the other contestants.

"Ungrateful contestant." Skarmory said as he gave her an annoyed look. Afterwards, Skarmory looked at the next contestant that reached the island.

He was a fire ape with long, fiery and bushy eye brows. He had a masculine appearance as each of his steps pressed firmly on the dock. Furthermore, he seemed calm as well. This contestant walked toward Skarmory and offered his hand.

"Darmanitan, glad to see you on this show." Skarmory greeted as he offered his wing for a hand shake.

"Glad to see you as well, Skarmory. I'm just going to compete in this island casually. If I win, that is great. If not, oh well, money isn't everything. The most important thing is that I stand by my zen principles. Let us all chill out, homies." Darmanitan made his introduction.

"A decent strategy in my opinion. Let see how it plays out." Skarmory said with interest before he looked at the final batch of contestants.

The first one was a female fish. She looked ugly as there were irregular dark spots on her light brown body. The next male contestant was a humanoid like Pokemon. He wore a golden power save belt. Most noticeably, he looked thin and less masculine than most of his species. The final female contestant was a red ladybug with black spots on her back. The final male contestant had spikes on his paws and one on his chest. He emitted a powerful aura around him.

"First up we have Feebas." Skarmory announced as Feebas splashed onto the dock. She struggled as much as Magikarp.

"Hopefully, I evolve soon. I want to be a beautiful Milotic so that others appreciate me. I hate this cursed body of mine. It makes my life tougher than others." Feebas complained depressingly.

"I totally understand how you feel. Others laugh at us, insult us, bully us. However, we will have the last laugh when we evolve. Our journey might be rough at the start but it will be smooth in the end." Magikarp empathized with Feebas, encouraging her because of their similar background.

"You are right Magikarp, we will have the last laugh." Feebas agreed.

"Both of you are wrong, I will have the last laugh as I send you losers packing as a godlike Tyranitar." Larvitar demoralized the two weaklings as they looked down on the ground.

"That is just insufferable, who do you think you are?" Dedenne asked the bully.

"Your supreme overlord. Bow down to me!" Larvitar commanded shamelessly. Rhyhorn had enough with this brat so he tackled Larvitar, sending him flying into a tree near the campsite. Everyone applauded Rhyhorn for getting rid of that nuisance.

"Ouch!" Larvitar groaned in pain for a while as his face collided roughly against the tree.

"I consider that as self-defense." Skarmory allowed it to slide before he introduced the next contestant.

"This is Machoke, our next contestant." Skarmory pointed with his wings to Machoke, who was currently laying down comfortably on Lapras's back. Luckily, he wasn't harmed by the blunt spikes. Machoke got up and jogged down the dock.

"I'm Machoke and I… what am I supposed to say again? Where are my notes?" Machoke scratched his head in confusion. After an awkward moment, Machoke continued. "I'm strong and reliable. It also isn't due to luck. It is pure skill, yeah, you can count on me."

"Homie, why are you so thin? I think you are supposed to have more muscles than this." Darmanitan asked curiously.

"Err… I lost some weight. There is nothing wrong with me." Machoke explained.

"You better tell me how to lose that much weight, muscle boy. I want to lose some weight too." Miltank demanded Machoke to help. Machoke didn't look confident but he breathed in deeply before he talked his way out of the situation.

"Obviously, I will teach you if I can. However, it is the Machoke Super-Secret Weight Busting Technique. My family will be mad if they know that I teach it to strangers. It also takes years to learn so I must d-deny your request." Machoke tried to sound confident.

"That is a shame." Miltank said in disappointment. Machoke sighed in relief as he heard this. Scolipede noticed it and started to suspect the Machoke of hiding something.

"Our final female contestant is Ledyba." Skarmory said as the ladybug flew over to the beach area.

"I'm so interested to stay in this island with all of you for as long as I can stay. I'm fine with all of your personalities. So feel free to do whatever you want, alright?" Ledyba said optimistically.

"Everyone? You are too optimistic. Whatever, you will learn it the hard way." Skarmory disagreed with her perception on the other contestants. Ledyba had a confused expression at this.

The last contestant landed on the dock. His aura was tremendously powerful. His steps commanded obedience and respect from the dock. Skarmory was about to introduce him but this contestant raised his hand up, signaling that he will do it himself.

"I'm Lucario, the captain of the Aura Beast. For your information, the Aura Beast is the current champion of the Pokeathlon Plus Nationals event. I expect all of you aspiring contestants to give maximum effort in every, single challenge. There will be no slacking off or else there will be severe consequences, got it?" Lucario said with his loud and demanding voice. Most of the contestants nodded at this.

"Homie, I watched you competing in that event. You are an inspiration! I also compete in Pokeathlon, as a casual unlike you. Why does a professional athlete like you apply to a reality television show?" Darmanitan socialized as he offered his hand to Lucario.

"I'm here to promote my team and build hype for our fans. Glad to see a fellow fan of our team." Lucario shook his hand.

"Now that all contestants are introduced. Let me show you a little bit more of Skarmory Island." Skarmory said, his eyes directed to the camera.

"Finally!" Houndour smirked with joy.

"This island is divided into many different areas. First, the beach area. There is no need for me to explain, you saw it. There might be some challenges that take place here. Second, follow me to the camp area." Skarmory guided the contestants through a path, which connected the beach area to the camp area.

"The first thing you see will be the bonfire. This is where the elimination takes place. Once you are eliminated, say your last words, head over to the dock and depart the island immediately." Skarmory explained. Magikarp and Feebas looked with fear toward the bonfire.

Skarmory passed the campfire into a large clearing, it was surrounded by trees. There were also a few benches. "This is where I will announce the challenge, most of the time. Please gather here quickly. To the left of the clearing are two cabins, the restrooms and a confessional room. You can use the confessional room to complain, whine, whatever. It is soundproof so feel free to use it. To the right are two cabins and the mess hall where Chef Drapion will serve your food. Each side is for each team. The winning team for the first challenge get to pick the side they prefer." Skarmory sipped his coffee for the final time. The cup was empty.

"Refill, Chef Drapion." Skarmory ordered as Chef Drapion exited the mess hall, placing the cup down.

"What a lazy host." Chef Drapion grumbled to himself and picked the cup up. He grumbled even more when he passed Dedenne on his way to the mess hall. "I hope you take the other side."

"Obviously, I prefer the side without an angry, rude poison type." Dedenne retorted. Skrelp and Scolipede raised their eyes at this. Chef Drapion seethed as he slammed the door of the mess hall.

"I'm pretty sure the viewers are uncontrollably curious about all of you. Why don't you take this opportunity to use the confessional?" Skarmory persuaded. "Also, remember to never reveal your name or else I will force you to do a voice over. The viewers don't want to waste their brain cells memorizing that. Reveal it when the entire season is aired."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Skarmory is a very weird and unique host. I never see this variant of host in a reality game show before. I guess I can't expect the expected with my vast knowledge of Total Drama. The first challenge probably will not be cliff jumping. Hmm… Anyways, I own a blog about game shows in general. I'm an expert, really. My friends will be very disappointed if I don't spice this season up." Drifblim had a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

 **Larvitar:** "Stupid confessional. It is just an empty wooden stall with a camera. Stupid island, stupid contestants. *beep* this show."

 **Bisharp:** "I have an ambitious desire to win. However, I also have a line on the sand that I won't cross. I don't consider myself as a villain. Rather, I believe I'm a strategist. First, I want a loyal partner. Grovyle seems to fit my criteria."

 **Helioptile:** "Everyone in this show seems nice for now, except Larvitar. I hope that this season can be a great season without all the crazy drama. I just want to avoid all of that and make some friends. Right now, my main concern is with Snorunt. She is too shy for her own good."

 **Scolipede:** "There is literally no way that everyone in this island is nice and dandy. Skarmory knows that he needs some sort of antagonist to cause drama. I have a few suspicions. Oddish and Cryogonal felt uneasy when I accused them of wearing masks. The cold ones are Bisharp, Skrelp and potentially Lucario. I have other suspicions. However, I will keep them to myself for now." Scolipede looked around warily a bit before exiting the confessional.

 **Oddish** : "Viewers, please don't think of me as a stupid idiot. I'm aware of what I'm doing. My strategy is to play dumb so that I stay under the radar. I believe that this will help me to win a million."

 **Nosepass:** "I'm nervous as hell. I hope the team kick Larvitar out soon."

 **Feebas:** "I need to prove my worth to the team or else I'm going to be the first eliminated contestant. That will be very humiliating…"

* * *

"Now that some of you are done with the confessional, I have a special announcement. There will be two twists in play this season…" Skarmory paused dramatically.

Most of the contestant either looked interested or excited. A few like Nosepass dreaded the worst.

"Chef Drapion, bring me the coffee and the twist." Skarmory ordered as the chef gave the items to him unwillingly. The twist was covered with a piece of cloth. Skarmory sipped his coffee first, ruining the suspense.

"The first twist is a secret advantage. I present to you the silver Skarmory statue!" Skarmory revealed excitedly as he removed the cloth. The twist was a mini statue resembling the host himself.

"Does it give you immunity?" Drifblim asked.

"Nope, it gives you a secret advantage." Skarmory corrected. "In order to get this, you will need to explore the areas that I'm about to reveal. However, there are more obstacles than that. Ursaring intern!" Skarmory called a bear like Pokemon with sharp claws.

"What can I do for you, boss?" Ursaring appeared as he stomped on the ground angrily to intimidate the contestants.

"Keep this statue with you. If you manage to keep it safe from the contestants for the entire season, I will quadruple your pay check." Skarmory handed the statue to the Ursaring and he grinned happily.

"Contestants, if you want to take my bonus away from me, you will taste my fists." Ursaring cracked his knuckles.

"Is he allowed to do that? Think about the lawsuits. I detest violence!" Dedenne protested.

"Yep, it is in the contract, remember? Violence is allowed as long as the contestant isn't severely injured." Skarmory countered her argument. Ursaring ran away with the statue to somewhere far, far away in the island.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I'm not intimidated by him. In the Pokeathlon, I encountered some Ursaring and I beat all of them. I just hope that he doesn't run away when I find him." Lucario slammed his fist on his own hand.

 **Nosepass:** "There is no way I'm going to fight Ursaring for that advantage. Hell no!" Nosepass trembled at the thought.

* * *

"The second twist is more fun and friendly. I assure all of you." Skarmory sipped his coffee again, ruining the suspense.

"All of you probably see the path that Ursaring took, it connects to an intersection." The intersection connected the camp area, the forest area, the gym area and the mountain area. I will leave you to figure out where Ursaring hides at. However, my point refers mainly to the mountain and forest area. In those areas, there are minerals and rare items. You can trade them for…" Skarmory took a silver coin out. It had his face on it. "A Skarmory token. You can trade Skarmory tokens for good food and leisure items. No advantages will be sold though." Skarmory explained.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "This is my kind of twist. I like to explore the outdoors and find some items. Tasty food, here I come."

 **Meowth:** "Interesting, this is an opportunity for business. This twist allows me to engage in a lively transaction with the other contestants."

 **Dedenne:** "I don't like going to the forest and mountain areas much but if this allows me to see Chef Drapion less, then I will gladly take it."

 **Tyrunt:** "Why are these twists all about us going to the outdoors and exercise? Does the show want us to be healthier? I just want to be in the cabin, relaxing. Although, good food…" Tyrunt licked his lips before he realized what he did. He fled the confessional in embarrassment.

 **Duosion:** "I like this twist more than the first one. I want to see the entire island and use my precious time here efficiently. If there are interesting landmarks like caves and ruins, it will enrich the experience further."

* * *

"All is said and done. Therefore, let us move on to the teams. The first team will be called the Feckless Flygon. The members of this team will be Lucario, Miltank, Machoke, Meowstic, Darmanitan, Duosion, Meowth, Feebas, Scolipede, Ledyba, Houndour, Aromatisse, Magikarp, Cryogonal, Shedinja and Oddish. Everyone else (Archeops, Tyrunt, Drifblim, Elekid, Skrelp, Grovyle, Jumpluff, Bisharp, Dedenne, Rhyhorn, Helioptile, Nosepass, Snorunt, Larvitar, Heracross and Farfetch'd) belong to the second team, which will be called the Crazy Crawdaunt." Skarmory read his notes.

"Feckless?!" Lucario shouted in anger.

"Why does the teams have a negative connotation to them. Please elaborate, Skarmory." Skrelp asked politely.

"Well, they are randomized, so I have no control over this." Skarmory explained.

The contestants complained at this.

"Yeah, Feckless Flygon. That name suits all of you losers." Larvitar tried to get under his enemies' skin. Lucario clenched his fist and marched towards Larvitar. He ran away immediately with a horrified expression.

"What a coward." Lucario insulted Larvitar. All the other contestants agreed.

"Now, it is time for the long awaited challenge. It is inspired by the concept of brain, brawn and beauty. There will be three tasks in this challenge. First, you must carry a statue of your respective mascot with your brawn power. Next, you must paint it to make as beautiful as possible. Last but not least, you must debate on whether or not it is better to be a Feckless Flygon or a Crazy Crawdaunt with your brains. To add depth into this challenge, you will split your members in a 5/5/6 format. This means that there will be one task where you have one more member. Head off and discuss your game plan." Skarmory explained the challenge before he sipped his coffee again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Despite being a coffee addicted host, Skarmory is creative. I give him that."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon was in the mess hall. Lucario was leading the discussion.

"First, we need to plan how to split our members into each category. I believe that five Pokemon on brawn is enough because I can breeze through the challenge. Any objections?!" Lucario said with his loud and clear voice. No one said anything.

"Now, let us decide on whether to put six members in brain or beauty. Any ideas?" Lucario showed off his leadership. Duosion floated forward.

"What is your idea?" Lucario asked.

"We should prioritize quality over quantity for the brain task. For example, having five of our smartest members and Oddish isn't going to help with the debate." Duosion presented her idea. Everyone nodded at this, even Oddish.

"Is that a compliment?" Oddish asked. Nobody replied to her fake stupidity.

"Good, now let us make this simple. Say 'yes' loudly if you want to be in the brawn task, this includes myself." Lucario started to divide his fellow members.

"Yes!" Darmanitan, Miltank, Machoke and Scolipede shouted in unison.

"Beauty task?!" Lucario asked, his voice was loud as ever.

"Yes!" Aromatisse, Oddish, Ledyba, Feebas, Magikarp and Shedinja (the ghost bug said it in an unenthusiastic manner) replied.

"So, Meowstic, Duosion, Cryogonal, Meowth and Houndour will take the brain task. Is everything clear?!" Lucario said his final words, asking to make sure.

"Yes!" All the members shouted. Lucario seemed happy with the energy and obedience of his team.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "I want the brawn task but all of them look stronger than me. I don't want to be a dead weight. Although, Machoke looks a bit too skinny for the task."

 **Machoke:** "I will prove my usefulness to my fellow members. I'm strong. Don't judge me by my appearance."

 **Aromatisse:** "Fortunately, there was a beauty challenge for me. I can show the world how artistic and fashionable I'm."

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt discussed outside in the clearing. Archeops stood on the bench so she became the center of attraction.

"I believe the Feckless Flygon are more athletic than us so we should put six members in the brawn task. Anyone disagrees?" Archeops said, her voice was pretty loud.

"I disagree because I'm the strongest. You only need Larvitar for the brawn task." Larvitar flexed his non-existent muscles.

"Said the guy who ran away from Lucario." Heracross retorted. Larvitar face reddened.

"It seems like we are all in agreement. Tell me your preferences." Archeops asked each of her member individually unlike Lucario. This took more time.

"I'm obviously the most intelligent contestant around here. No offence, I can prove it, if you desire, Archeops." Skrelp said confidently.

"I believe you. Who's next?" Archeops proceeded to ask all of her members.

For brawn: Larvitar, Rhyhorn, Heracross, Grovyle, Farfetch'd and Archeops.

For beauty: Dedenne, Snorunt, Helioptile, Tyrunt and Jumpluff.

For brain: Skrelp, Drifblim, Bisharp, Elekid and Nosepass.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I think I'm more of a brain material. However, I don't want to put a target on my back. Beauty is the least threatening of the three B's. I also played a game called Pokemon Art Academy, it is pretty fun."

 **Archeops:** "I'm well rounded so I can take any task. It seems like we have a shortage of brawn in this team."

* * *

The brawn competitors were on their starting line at the clearing. They must head back to the beach and dig up the statue that was buried in the sand secretly. Afterwards, they must bring it back to the beauty station in the clearing. The atmosphere was tense as each contestant looked at each other. Most of them looked at Lucario. They wanted to witness the professional athlete's power.

"Three…" Skarmory started the countdown slowly.

"Two, one, go!" Skarmory speeded up suddenly to take the contestants by surprise.

Lucario sprinted ahead of everyone else. Followed shortly by Heracross, Archeops, Grovyle, Farfetch'd and Rhyhorn. The rest of the Feckless Flygon were in the middle of the pack. They were ordered by Lucario to save their energy for the carrying task.

The slowest ones were Larvitar and Machoke. They were neck and neck.

"I'm just saving my energy." Larvitar said while sweating a little.

"I'm also saving my energy." Machoke said, sweating a bit as well.

Lucario arrived at the beach area first and dug through the sand rapidly. In seconds, he found the Flygon statue as it wasn't buried that deep. The statue was dull, colorless, gigantic and heavy as hell. Heracross and Archeops dug after Lucario found his statue. They found it soon after as well. Both of the statues weighed the same.

"Lift!" Lucario shouted as his entire team except Machoke arrived. They gripped the head of the Flygon and pulled it out slowly. They panted, sweated and groaned. However, they eventually managed to lift it out and lay it upside down. They dragged it slowly afterwards.

"Losers, eat this." Larvitar insulted as he kicked a mouthful of sand at the Feckless Flygon. It hit Lucario in the face. Obviously, he wasn't amused in the slightest. Lucario kicked the giant pile of sand that they dug back at Larvitar. It buried Larvitar completely.

"Help!" Larvitar screamed for help.

The Crazy Crawdaunt didn't waste their time helping Larvitar. They were currently lifting the statue. Archeops lifted the star on the Crawdaunt's head with her talons while the others tried to lift up the pincers.

"One, two, three, pull!" Archeops shouted with a burst of effort as they gave it their all for the final pull. The Crawdaunt statue was lifted as well, landing upside down similarly to the Flygon.

The Feckless Flygon was in the lead as Machoke helped them to move the statue. They reached the bonfire at this point.

"We are halfway there. Let us keep on going." Lucario encouraged.

"Let us take a break." Scolipede stopped tackling the statue forward as he took a short break.

"Don't slack off!" Lucario scolded him.

"I'm exhausted from getting that statue out. We don't have as much endurance as you. We are also in the lead." Scolipede reasoned. Lucario looked at each of his teammates. Darmanitan sweated heavily even for a fire type. Miltank panted exhaustingly. Machoke's muscles looked sore.

"Fine!" Lucario allowed them to have a short break.

Larvitar dug himself out of the sand trap and reunited with his team. He pushed the statue slightly, while panting and groaning heavily so that it seemed like he was putting in a lot of effort.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar:** "This is what my team deserve after they left me!"

 **Lucario:** "In a real Pokeathlon event, there is no slacking off. If I see anyone slacking off in the Aura Beast, that Pokemon will be kicked out of the team."

 **Archeops:** "I'm starting to regret putting Larvitar in this challenge."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon continued as the Crazy Crawdaunt was about to catch up. They were about to reach the finish line.

Machoke strained himself so much that his muscles were all red and sore.

"Homie, are you alright? If you struggle, talk to us. No one is going to blame you." Darmanitan asked with concern.

"No, I still have my Ultimate Machoke Last Stretch Technique." Machoke came up with random words.

"Cool." Miltank said with slight sarcasm. Lucario rolled his eyes at the name.

The Crazy Crawdaunt edged closer. All of them gave it their all, except Larvitar.

"Don't give up team! We still have a chance." Archeops encouraged. She sweated heavily, which wasn't very encouraging as the leader of the team.

"We are trying our best. They have a professional athlete on their team." Grovyle said as he pushed the right pincer. The gecko sweated rapidly.

"That is no excuse. We have six members on our team." Heracross pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm putting in the most effort too." Larvitar lied as he pushed the end of the Crawdaunt inadequately.

"I don't feel a lot of force from back there, Larvitar." Archeops noticed as she dragged the star. Larvitar stayed quiet, hoping that they ignore it.

"Mr. Stalk agrees. He said that you are slacking off." Farfetch'd accused as he panted from exhaustion.

The entire team looked with accusing eyes at Larvitar. Larvitar whistled as if he was innocent.

* * *

 **Confessional:**

 **Heracross:** "I can't believe this little brat... Wait until I get my hands on him." She said with a threatening tone.

 **Farfetch'd:** "Don't mess with Mr. Stalk. He is a lie detector."

* * *

"Keep on going, the finishing line is close. We have bottles of water and refreshments for all of you." Ledyba cheered from the beauty station.

"Team, you can do this. A victory from behind isn't out of reach." Helioptile cheered for her own team as well.

Lucario hustled in the end. With his last efforts, the Feckless Flygon won.

"Congratulations, Feckless Flygon, you are the winners of the brawn task. If you manage to win the next one, you automatically win." Skarmory announced.

"What?! This means there is a possibility for the brain challenge to be cancelled. How unfair and disgraceful." Skrelp complained.

"Too bad. Rules are rules." Skarmory said simply.

The other contestants took care of the exhausted brawn members. Specially, Machoke was checked up by Skarmory. His body heated up badly.

"I think he overworked himself." Darmanitan suggested.

"This doesn't look good. He is about to faint. Chef Drapion, transport him to the infirmary." Skarmory ordered as Chef Drapion carried Machoke on his back.

"I will go and check on him." Darmanitan told his teammates and headed to the infirmary, which was located in the gym area.

"Will he get a medical evacuation?" Lucario asked with a worried expression. Other Flygon members had a worried expression as well.

"Probably not. Chef Drapion is a decent doctor." Skarmory said without sarcasm this time.

"Really?" Dedenne asked in disbelief. Skarmory nodded before he walked to the beauty station.

"Anyways, let's start the second round. You have ten minutes. Beauty contest begins!" Skarmory declared as all the contestants rushed to their respective statue. They were held upright with the help of their brawn members.

"Listen to me for a moment. I want this statue to be perfect and fabulous. Therefore, we will make it a shiny Flygon." Aromatisse suggested.

"That is a great idea." Ledyba agreed.

"Suits me fine." Shedinja drawled.

"Do you remember the shiny colors?" Magikarp asked with concern.

"Obviously, duh. The trim of the wings and tails are light orange as well as the eye covers. Its antennae and stripes are light blue. Everything else is green." Aromatisse answered expertly. All the other beauty contestants opened their mouth in awe except for Shedinja, he didn't care.

"How did you know this?" Ledyba asked.

"From fashion magazines. Most models and superstars are shiny Pokemon." Aromatisse held her head high as she led her fellow members.

The Crazy Crawdaunt started right away without any discussion. They hurriedly grabbed their brushes and palettes. Tyrunt painted the legs with red and white paint. Heloptile stood on top of Snorunt so she could paint the pincers. Jumpluff floated to the top to paint the star yellow. Dedenne painted the mouth blue and white. In a short duration, they finished their task.

"Five minutes left." Skarmary announced and widened his eyes in surprise as the Crazy Crawdaunt were already done. Their statue was rushed… Paint dripped over to the other parts of the statue and it wasn't accurately painted. The lines were messy as well.

"I think we messed up. Mayday, mayday! We are going to elimination." Jumpluff panicked.

"Don't panic, a miracle can still happen." Helioptile said optimistically. Snorunt nudged Helioptile to look at the Flygon statue. Helioptile sighed in defeat instantly.

In contrast to the mess that was the Crawdaunt statue, the Flygon was accurately painted with shiny colors. In addition to that, Aromatisse sprayed shiny powder and glitter all over the Flygon. She was supported by Shedinja and Ledyba, they held her in the air. However, they didn't finish their painting task yet. The eyes and the pair of antennae were still colorless.

"Why do you have shiny powder with you?" Skarmory asked in interest.

"From my make-up kit. I must ensure that I look fabulous." Aromatisse said as she painted eyelashes on the Flygon.

"Can I paint the antennae?" Feebas pleaded with a sympathetic gleam in her eyes. Aromatisse looked with anxiety as she stared at her fabulous statue. It was nearly perfect. Aromatisse knew that she can guarantee their victory. On the other hand, Feebas looked so sympathetic, like an ugly fish that never accomplish anything beautiful.

"Fine, don't mess up. Take your time." Aromatisse advised. Shedinja and Ledyba dropped her down safely.

Feebas smiled as she grabbed the brush with her mouth. She splashed up to the sky without waiting for Ledyba or Shedinja to hold her. For a moment, she could taste victory. The Crazy Crawdaunt anticipated their defeat. However, like a tragedy. Feebas flopped and fell into the red paint bucket. The bucket toppled and splashed the Flygon statue in red. Aromatisse fainted at this.

"A bleeding Flygon?! The Crazy Crawdaunt are victorious." Skarmory announced the result.

"Yay! A miracle!" Jumpluff shouted in joy with all of her teammates. They ran around wildly at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse** : "I'm really regretting this. She ruined my masterpiece! All of my efforts died in vain. I know who I'm voting for if we lose." Aromatisse started to sob in anger and pain.

 **Feebas:** "I know that I should have waited for Shedinja and Ledyba but I just want to prove it to my team that I'm capable of doing this by myself. I don't know that it is going to end like this. I guess I'm too desperate to please my teammates."

* * *

Meanwhile in the infirmary, Machoke lied in a bed with an ice pack over his head. Chef Drapion was feeding Machoke some Leppa Berries so he regains his strength.

"The situation is getting better, after a few hours, he can rejoin all of you." Drapion said as he exited the room. Darmanitan remained in the infirmary still.

"I'm fine, Darmanitan. Rejoin with the others." Machoke flashed a thumb up.

"If you say so, I will leave. Don't overwork yourself again, homie." Darmanitan cautioned. He then opened the door and exited the infirmary.

"When will I become strong with a body like this?" Machoke asked himself as he reflected upon his poor body.

* * *

Lucario punched a tree due to their defeat. His temper flared as he growled.

"Lucario, I'm sorry." Feebas apologized shamefully. Lucario turned around slowly, his eyes were quite sore.

"I hope you are ready for elimination." Lucario said in a much calmer voice and left. Feebas looked down at the ground, red paint dripping from her body.

As Lucario walked over to spectate the brain challenge, Darmanitan met him.

"How is Machoke doing?" Lucario asked.

"He is in the safe zone. Probably, he will join us in a few hours." Darmanitan told the athlete. Lucario nodded at this. Shortly after, both of them made their way to the statues, the place of the debate. The statue faced each other as if they were in a battle.

"We will start the debate now. Hopefully, all of you already plan everything out. This is how it works. Each team will send a member out for the opening speech. Then, another member will come out to counter the points. This continues until the final member comes out for the conclusion. The Flygon start first. I will decide the winning team. Let's go." Skarmory announced lively.

The first member of the Feckless Flygon was Houndour. He walked to the front of the statue slowly and repeated some words to himself. Eventually, he took a deep breath and started his speech.

"It is more exhilarating to be a Flygon because it can fly. This opens new opportunities for life. Even if the Flygon is feckless, it can at least fly. Imagine yourself stretching your wings in an endless sky, meeting wonderful flying and dragon types. In addition, Flygon are generally stronger than Crawdaunt so it is natural for them to win in a battle." Houndour finished with a smile of satisfaction. His team clapped for him.

Bisharp stepped forward next. He started right away with occasional body language like pointing at the Crawdaunt statue.

"Crawdaunt can both adapt to the land and water, increasing the number of opportunities it may receive. In the vast and abundant ocean of this world, there are beautiful corals, ancient water temples and rare items. Land Pokemon must be in a submarine or wear inconvenient and heavy equipments to enjoy these experiences. The sky is empty and meaningless. Lastly, the term 'crazy' can be perceived in a positive light. For example, being overly creative, which allows it to invent new things that normal or sane Pokemon might not be capable of." Bisharp bowed his head slightly as a polite gesture at the end. His team clapped loudly.

The second member for the Feckless Flygon was Cryogonal. She floated over and began talking.

"I prefer to be feckless than crazy. Being crazy reduces your chances of socializing and making friends. Craziness is linked to aggression. Therefore, who wants to be with a crazy person? I doubt that a crazy Crawdaunt can properly appreciate the beautiful corals or whatever in the ocean when most of the time, it rants and rambles about weird things." Cryogonal countered. Her team clapped for her as well.

Elekid appeared next, he cleared his mind before the counterargument.

"When it comes to social life, the same can be said for a feckless Flygon. It is mostly a matter of preferences. There will be Pokemon that are interested in a crazy Crawdaunt in this wide world. It is quite ignorant to assume otherwise. In addition, being crazy doesn't mean that you are incompetent. This means that the Crawdaunt can probably find better jobs and earn more income than an unskilled Flygon." Elekid finished as he received another round of applause.

"This is boring." Larvitar complained, yawning loudly. Heracross chased him away so he doesn't interrupt the competition.

Meowth debated next. He had body language when he talked as well. Meowth waved his arms up and down sometimes.

"When it comes to business, a feckless Flygon has the clear advantage. First, Flygon has well-rounded stats. This makes the Flygon a flexible workforce. To compensate for its fecklessness, the business can train it to be more proactive and efficient. The start-up wage for the Flygon can also be low, netting the business more profit. On the other hand, a crazy Crawdaunt might cause trouble inside the business. Every business wants to avoid a bad reputation. Having a Crawdaunt potentially picking fights with others due to its aggression is a bad public relations move. The meeting is adjourned." Meowth finished as his team clapped energetically.

Drifblim floated to the front next. She spoke confidently in an engaging tone.

"All of you miss one significant fact, we don't know when or where these two Pokemon exist. Therefore, we can't assume that they live in a civilized, corporate world. Most likely, they live in times of raging war and conflict. In those turbulent times, what we need is pure strength! Crawdaunt has a one-hit knock out move like Guillotine, making it a formidable enemy against a Flygon. Thanks to Cryogonal, who said that craziness links to aggression, it is even more likely for a crazy Crawdaunt to win against a feckless Flygon." Cryogonal frowned at this. "I rather be a Crawdaunt that lives than a bleeding to death Flygon." Drifblim ended as her teammates cheered loudly, including Skarmory as well. The Feckless Flygon started to be anxious and agitated.

The fourth brain member was Meowstic. She brought a pack of cards with her. Skarmory and the Crazy Crawdaunt were confused. The Feckless Flygon spectated nervously.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Meowstic's Magic Show. Today, we will see which side the heaven favors with a simple game of cards. The statue that picks the highest number wins. Luck is very important, sometimes even more than skill and logic. Therefore, I hope all of you appreciate this show." Meowstic shuffled her cards as Scolipede eyed them with suspicion. Next, she gave a card to the Crawdaunt statue with Psychic. It was held in the right pincer. Meowstic picked up the next card and revealed it for the Flygon statue.

"A ten of hearts." She said as she used psychic to slowly open the Crawdaunt's card.

"A four of spades. Too bad, the Flygon wins." Meowstic announced as accusations were thrown at her.

"What kind of swindling tactic is this? It is very obvious that you cheated with your psychic abilities." Skrelp accused.

"This is not exactly what I expect in a debate. You probably cheated as well. I don't think you shuffle the cards properly." Skarmory showed his disappointed expression. Meowstic opened her mouth to argue but then decided against it. She walked away, face palming herself in the process.

Nosepass moved to the front nervously to start his counterargument.

"Err…" Nosepass stuttered at first, making Larvitar laughed at him. Nosepass started to sweat nervously. Heracross grabbed Larvitar and threw him far away.

"I will come back and make all of you losers pay." Larvitar promised as he blasted off to the sky.

"I don't think it is smart being a feckless Flygon because it is going to get bullied a lot by mean Pokemon. Even with high stats, others can still beat the Flygon up. Also, flying is stupid as accidents can occur in the sky. Err… that is it." Nosepass left with his head down.

"It is a bit too short." Skarmory commented. "Well, move on to the conclusions."

Duosion inhaled and exhaled deeply as she floated to the front.

"In conclusion, a Feckless Flygon can ascend to the sky and travel across countries conveniently without the need to pay for expensive airplane tickets. The Flygon is also a better individual to the society as the government prefers Pokemon that can be controlled easily. A crazy Pokemon often shows signs of unpredictable behavior and aggression. Historians have records of their atrocities for many generations. Living as a Flygon ensures more opportunities in jobs due to its well rounded stats. Finally, in a battle, it is likely that a Flygon will win. This is because of powerful type coverage moves like Bug Buzz." Duosion spoke breathlessly. Her team applaud deafeningly. However, Skrelp smirked victoriously at this.

"To conclude, I will clarify something to the Feckless Flygon as they overestimated the word 'feckless'. Flying across countries, finding rewarding jobs and even learning Bug Buzz are all abnormal achievements for someone 'feckless'. This terminology usually refers to someone that lacks strength and initiative. An individual like this specific Flygon will never be of use to the society. Neither is it right for any of you to advocate generalization of crazy Pokemon. Do you really believe that all of them are deranged killers with aggression? Do you think they can't ride flying types to explore the lonely sky? Do you think they don't appreciate the beautiful corals? Don't you think all of you are being insensitive?! A glaring weakness when it comes to battling for the Flygon is also blatantly obvious. A quadruple weakness to ice! If the Crawdaunt can use an ice type move like Ice Beam or Avalanche, it is an uphill battle for the feckless dragon. I rest my case." Skrelp ended with a smug look. Everyone looked at Skarmory for the results. He was currently absorbing and analyzing the debates, his face was deep in thought.

"The winners are the Crazy Crawdaunt!" Skarmory decided. The Crazy Crawdaunt cheered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "Our first victory! I feel proud of myself and my team. I think I will be a great leader."

 **Skrelp:** "I believe that I contributed the most to our victory. I'm the smartest after all."

 **Lucario:** "I lost?!"

 **Darmanitan:** "I like Lucario, that homie works hard as hell for his team. However, I think he needs to chill out a bit."

 **Ledyba:** "I don't want to do this. She should have waited for me and Shedinja."

 **Magikarp:** "I'm going to have no allies left after this."

* * *

"Choose your side." Skarmory reminded them.

"I don't like Chef Drapion, we can exchange Skarmory tokens for food anyways, choose the side with the confessional and the restrooms." Dedenne persuaded.

"I agree. She does make a good point." Archeops nodded.

"The Chef insulted me, I don't like him." Grovyle supported.

The Crazy Crawdaunt chose the side without Chef Drapion. The Feckless Flygon were all frustrated at their first loss, especially Lucario.

"Damn it!" Lucario yelled as he punched a tree again.

"Meet me at the bonfire tonight. You will vote in the confessional." Skarmory instructed before he sipped his coffee again.

Lucario rallied all of his teammates before the elimination. They all stood next to the mess hall, waiting for his announcement.

"I just want to make this clear. We always vote for the weakest link. No scheming to get strong members out, got it?!" Lucario shouted in his usual loud voice.

"Please, give me a second chance." Feebas begged. Glancing around, everyone except Magikarp didn't look convinced. Feebas accepted her defeat.

* * *

It was the bonfire ceremony, Machoke returned after he fully healed.

"I already received all the votes. Well, it is a landslide. Let's get this started shall we? When I call out your name, you will receive a Leppa Berry, this means you are safe." Skarmory explained.

"Miltank, Darmanitan." The two ate their berries comfortably.

"Scolipede, Aromatisse." Scolipede observed the berry before he ate it while Aromatisse ate it normally.

"Duosion, Houndour, Meowth, Ledyba." Skarmory tossed the Leppa Berries to them casually before taking another sip.

"Cryogonal, Oddish, Shedinja, Meowstic."

Machoke was getting nervous, he was in the infirmary so he didn't know how his team feel about his performance. He voted for 'someone' randomly.

"Machoke." Machoke sighed in relief.

"Magikarp." Magikarp already expected it.

"Lucario, I don't know why you are here. Feebas, you messed up in the beauty challenge. It could have been an easy victory. However, your desire to please your teammates ruined everything." Feebas knew what was coming next.

"Lucario, you are safe." Lucario caught the last Leppa Berry easily. Feebas left to the confessional for her last words.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I guess this is what I deserve after I messed up really badly. I think my downfall is that I'm too greedy. The easy route was in front of me, I never take it. I want Magikarp or Dedenne to win, both of them are pretty cool. Just anyone but Larvitar is also fine.

* * *

Feebas headed to the dock. Magikarp waited to see her departure.

"Try your best out there and don't go out like me." Feebas said as she got on the Lapras.

"Take care, I will try my best." Magikarp said as he splashed back to the boys' cabin.

Skarmory then landed on the dock to say his closing words.

"What an exciting episode, for me at least. I'm interested to see how these personalities develop overtime. Some contestants just didn't get enough screen time. I know what a few of them are capable of. Will anyone find the secret advantage? Will romance start to develop? Will alliances be formed? Stay tuned for more drama and excitement in the next episode of Total Skarmory Island."

* * *

It was nighttime, the Feckless Flygon was about to head off to sleep until Lucario blocked them.

"I have a last minute announcement." Lucario said seriously.

"Can't you tell us tomorrow?" Miltank said as she yawned.

"No. Tomorrow and everyday onward, I want all of you to assemble for a daily, routine exercise to improve your fitness." Lucario announced. Everyone else looked tired as they wanted to sleep badly.

* * *

Larvitar was lost in the forest area. He looked around for any of the interns or contestants. However, he failed to find anyone.

"Stupid, stupid, *beep* them all." Larvitar swore as he kicked a rock at some bushes.

"Ouch," Someone shouted in pain.

"Who's there?" Larvitar asked worriedly.

Ursaring appeared and he wasn't pleased.

"Hah, I will get the- Aahhh!" Larvitar screamed as Ursaring threw him back to the camp. The Skarmory statue was still safe.

Larvitar landed in front of the Crawdaunt boys' cabin. The landing was rough to say at the very least.

"My face hurts." Larvitar whined as he tried to open the door. It was locked. Larvitar screamed at his misfortune.

* * *

 **Votes**

Lucario: Feebas

Miltank: Feebas

Darmanitan: Feebas

Duosion: Feebas

Aromatisse: Feebas

Houndour: Feebas

Machoke: Feebas

Cryogonal: Feebas

Shedinja: Feebas

Meowstic: Feebas

Meowth: Feebas

Ledyba: Feebas

Scolipede: Feebas

Oddish: Feebas

Magikarp: Lucario

Feebas: Lucario

Feebas: 14 (eliminated)

Lucario: 2

* * *

It is harder to create a Total Drama than I thought. I have much more respect for other Total Drama authors now. I will try to upload as soon as possible. I try to make my Total Drama as unique as possible. I hope you enjoy it. Review if you want.

If you don't know, the team names refer to my first story, Desire Tunnel. If you are bored, you can check it out. I believe that it isn't as good as this story though. Regardless, the contestants exist in the same universe as Desire Tunnel, you might see some references to that story in later episodes as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome back to another episode.

* * *

 **Reply to Review**

 **Worma-Sir**

It is nice to see you read my story. I must say that your insight on some characters are accurate. I won't say anything else as it might be spoilers. For the challenge, I can understand that the debate part can be a bit boring. I used to compete in debates as well even though I'm not that good. Skrelp's part is the hardest to create. Well, I could give you a hint about how far your favorite contestants will make it. However, I will leave you to analyze this chapter if you want to find that out. There are some foreshadowing and some red herrings as well. I like to keep things unpredictable.

* * *

 **Episode 2: The Key Relay**

The camera lighted up again. Skarmory stood near the dock, sipping green tea instead of coffee this time. The host then placed the cup down and focused on the camera.

"Welcome back, last time, thirty-two contestants were introduced. Some appealed to the viewers while some ended up as a laughing stock. Cough, cough, Larvitar. They got their heads twisted with the two twists. One allows a contestant to gain a secret advantage. One allows contestants to see Chef Drapion less." Skarmory said, feeling amused.

"Hey, I hear that!" Chef Drapion shouted from a distance.

"Furthermore, they competed in a challenge. The Feckless Flygon proved that they have the brawn but not the brain. Vice versa for the Crawdaunt. It came down to the beauty challenge, even though it was the second challenge. Aromatisse gave the Feckless Flygon the lead. However, Feebas gave the Crazy Crawdaunt the miracle. As a result, she was booted off my island. What will happen this time? Will some contestants like Shedinja get more screen time or will the bug fade into obscurity? What kind of alliances will be formed? Will some contestants show their true colors? Find out in this exciting episode of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory announced energetically before he received a phone call through his earpiece.

"Ah, you are the new intern. I hope you know your job."

* * *

Houndour woke up first in the Flygon boys' cabin. The sun was still sleeping at this time. He yawned a bit as he got off his top bunk bed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "My ability is Early Bird. It allows me to wake up sooner than others. I guess this is a good time to explore before Lucario forces us to exercise."

* * *

Houndour ran past the intersection into the forest area excitedly. It was cluttered with trees. Fortunately, his body was small and agile. He maneuvered through the forest quite skillfully. After an hour of hopeless search, he was a bit frustrated.

"Where is this treasure Skarmory mentioned? There is nothing to be found." Houndour complained as the path got narrower and narrower until he reached a small clearing. There was an underground cave in front of him alongside a sign.

"Skarmory Cave. The host really thinks highly of himself and his island." Houndour read and commented, his voice had no hard feelings for Skarmory.

The cave was quite intimidating. Houndour hesitated before he stepped forward slowly.

"What are you doing?" Duosion asked from behind. This surprised Houndour as he jumped back. Duosion snickered a bit.

"What about you? Don't you feel drowsy? It is still very early. I thought that you are more like Tyrunt or Skrelp. Intelligent contestants that prefer to stay indoors." Houndour assumed.

"I don't need much sleep. Also, please don't compare me to both of them with stereotypes like that. I'm immensely different than both of them. I usually earn my knowledge through exploring old caves, ruins and historic sites, not reading books." Duosion explained.

"What do you gain from it?" Houndour asked in confusion.

"Ancient literature and records are much more interesting than you think. It makes you appreciate this modern life that our ancestors granted us. Our world used to be filled with wars, you know?" Duosion's words intrigued Houndour.

"Wow, that certainly is interesting. Maybe, I will check it out. You are really the smartest member in our team." Houndour complimented.

"Don't pressure me like that. I can't beat Skrelp or carry the team in mental challenges, you know?" Duosion shook her head, refusing to accept the compliment.

"Believe in yourself a bit more." Houndour patted her gelatinous back without any signs of revolt.

"Thank you for your kind words. I believe we should head back before Lucario scolds us." Duosion suggested.

"I will follow you back to the camp soon. Just want to explore a bit more in case I get some rare items." Houndour said as Duosion nodded at this.

The canine headed deeper into the forest instead of exploring the scary cave. He eventually found Meowth holding a golden object called a Nugget.

"Ah, Houndour nice to meet you. Do you want to trade? Anything for a Nugget is fine." Meowth offered.

"No, thanks. I don't have anything. How did you manage to find stuff this fast? You were still sleeping back then." Houndour asked with a curious expression.

"My Pickup ability is certainly useful. Here, take this Nugget anyways. Consider this start-up capital as a present to a fellow business partner." Meowth generously offered.

"Are you sure about this? There is no need to give me this, you earned it." Houndour rejected reluctantly, trying to give it back.

"I see… you see me as a shady businessman. A drug dealer at best. My heart wilts due to your suspicions like a money tree about to be chopped off." Meowth's sad expression guilt tripped Houndour.

"Absolutely not. I will accept it then." Houndour accepted the nugget. Both of them then headed back to the camp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "For starters, this business strategy is called promotional or penetration pricing. Setting the price low at first so that the customer receives more than you take. This makes the customer into a loyal customer. With a strong enough customer base, you can increase the price later."

* * *

Archeops woke up early as well. She flew to the mountain area to explore a bit. Archeops looked at the peak of a mountain, there was a brown figure with something. Suddenly, a slingshot nailed her in the head and she fell down.

Ursaring stood on the peak of a mountain, smiling victoriously.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring:** "Yes, Skarmory allowed me to use the secret intern confessional. Flying types better not think that they can take the extra pay away from me."

 **Archeops:** "What the hell was that? Did Ursaring just best me with a slingshot?" Archeops said as she held her head in pain.

* * *

Archeops entered the Crawdaunt girls' cabin with a bandage on her head. Other members looked at her in shock. Snorunt in particular, trembled.

"Who did this to you? I will kill that-" Heracross didn't finish as Archeops interrupted her.

"It was Ursaring. He shot me down with a slingshot. Apparently, he can use tools to make it even harder for us to get the advantage." Archeops explained.

"I hate that damn bear. Can't we set up bear traps or anything?" Heracross suggested.

"That might work. Does anyone here know how to make the trap?" Archeops asked and everyone shook their head.

"There goes that plan. Don't worry about it, enjoy your free time before the challenge." Archeops allowed her team to do whatever they want. The Crawdaunt girls started to leave the room.

As Drifblim and Heracross was about to exit, Archeops signaled them to close the door with her wings. The three of them were the only contestants in the cabin.

"I want to solidify my leadership. Therefore, I want us three to be in an alliance. All of us possess the qualities to make it to the final three together. Don't both of you agree?" Archeops offered them a place in her alliance.

"I'm totally in this." Heracross instantly agreed.

"Fine. However, I think we need more members to solidify our control." Drifblim accepted the offer with a smirk.

"What about Skrelp? She might not be the most likable Pokemon but she is extremely intelligent." Archeops asked her alliance for their opinions.

"I'm not sure about this." Heracross hesitated a bit with a worried expression.

"The more members, the merrier." Drifblim said chirpily.

"The majority rules." Archeops decided.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "I hope all of us can get along."

 **Heracross:** "There is just something about that seahorse… It just irritates me."

 **Drifblim:** "Do you know what I hate the most about Total Drama? A dominating alliance. I don't want all three of us to be in the final three together. That is so predictable and mundane. Sorry Archeops, you aren't as safe as you think. Skrelp is a controversial figure. Including her in the alliance will make things more interesting…"

* * *

Speaking of Skrelp, she was sitting on the beach, reading her book as always.

"Hey Skrelp, want to have a chat while we eat the chef's food or go out exploring?" Jumpluff persuaded.

"No." Skrelp denied simply.

"Why? We can be besties." Jumpluff insisted. Skrelp didn't say anything.

"Come on, say something. Be social." Jumpluff nagged again. Skrelp reached her boiling point.

"Can you just shut up, attention-seeking *beep*?" Skrelp swore as Dedenne just passed by. Jumpluff cried and ran away to the confessional.

"What the hell are you doing?! You are very vulgar and rude." Dedenne disapproved.

"I'm allowed to get rid of that stalking swine, she was invading my privacy. I already gave her the chance to leave quietly." Skrelp replied coldly.

"You are insufferable as much as Larvitar." Dedenne degraded Skrelp.

"Comparing me to that little ruffian? Your pathetic efforts are laughable." Skrelp left after she said this. Dedenne looked very frustrated.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I know that it isn't strategic to make enemies. However, their miniscule votes mean nothing. Why? I'm just too valuable to the team. If they vote me off, they will lose their smartest member. Simple as that."

 **Jumpluff:** "She is just so mean. I hate her now." Jumpluff sniffled.

 **Dedenne:** "Does she have a superior complex or something? It was unnecessary for her to be rude to Jumpluff."

* * *

Drifblim eavesdropped the situation a bit before she approached Skrelp, acting innocent as if she heard nothing.

"Skrelp, nice to see you. Can you spare a moment? It appears that Archeops has something to offer you." Drifblim informed.

"As I expected. An alliance deal? All of you made the right choice." Skrelp assumed arrogantly.

Drifblim slightly nodded, she then guided Skrelp to see Archeops in the cabin. Drifblim opened the door for Skrelp and allowed her to enter first. This stroked Skrelp's ego.

"Skrelp, I want to offer a place in the alliance for you. We want you to be our strategist." Archeops offered kindly.

"I will take this obligation willingly." Skrelp said with a smug look on her face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "This is the perfect way of creating chaos and make things interesting for the viewers. There is no need for me to be a villain myself, when I can manipulate the villains. Skrelp is an arrogant, overconfident narcissist. This type of Pokemon will surely destroy the alliance inside out. I just need to stroke her ego a bit more to ensure that. In the end, I will take Skrelp down myself. This will earn me love and support from Skrelp haters. To all the followers of my blog, I hope all of you anticipate an insane season."

 **Skrelp:** "Archeops, do you really think you are in control of this team? I will ensure that I manipulate all of the alliance decisions and then you will take the blame for it if it pisses our team off."

* * *

Grovyle maneuvered through the forest like an expert, swinging from vine to vine. In his arms were three Dusk Stones. He found them inside a tree's trunk.

"This should be enough for now. I'm pretty good at this." Grovyle praised himself as he exited the forest.

As the gecko reached the intersection, he met Bisharp.

"Do you want to start an alliance?" Bisharp asked.

"Obviously, I want to. What is our first move?" Grovyle said hastily with interest in his eyes.

"I will lay low while you distance yourself from me. Acting as if you aren't in an alliance. Socialize and have some fun. Minimize the target on our back." Bisharp instructed before he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Chef Drapion will regret insulting me. I might not be strategic but I have a strategic partner, that is what matters. My strategy is to make myself look like a gullible idiot that follows Bisharp's orders mindlessly. Therefore, he keeps me safe. In the end, I will snipe the victory."

 **Bisharp:** "Grovyle fits my criteria because he is not threatening or suspicious. No one expects him to work with me. Most importantly, I can control him."

* * *

Jumpluff entered the mess hall. She thought some food will help her cheer up. Tyrunt and Elekid sat in a table next to the door. To her surprise, Larvitar was working alongside Chef Drapion as his personal assistant. Larvitar looked really depressed.

"Keep on working, you idiot! You better finish making food for the contestants by the next hour or else I will slug you up." Chef Drapion threatened. Larvitar winced in fear.

"Chef Drapion, what is going on?" Jumpluff asked in confusion.

"This coward ran crying to me yesterday. He complained and whined about sleeping on the cold, hard ground. Due to pity, I generously offered him a place to sleep in exchange for him cooking the food." Drapion stated. Larvitar was red in embarrassment from this.

"Wow, this is a shocking scoop. I will spread this all over my social media account after the show ends." Jumpluff said cheerfully. She was back to her normal self now.

"What? Don't do that!" Larvitar pleaded desperately. Chef Drapion smacked him in the head to shut him up. Larvitar rubbed his head in pain.

Afterwards, Jumpluff floated next to Elekid and Tyrunt in an attempt to socialize with them.

"I'm a competitive virtual Pokemon battler." Tyrunt told Elekid before he waved at Jumpluff who just approached their table.

"What are you boys talking about?" Jumpluff asked curiously.

"We talk about electronic, games, machinery and stuff. Both of us share similar interests." Elekid answered.

"Can I join?" Jumpluff asked, trying to get involved.

"Of course, do you play any video games?" Tyrunt asked, expecting her to at least have minimal knowledge of the subject.

"No, I'm not good at them. I feel like it is too complex. Let's talk about something else." Jumpluff tried to change the subject.

"What do you want to talk about?" Elekid asked. Tyrunt had a curious, yet worried look on his face.

"What about fashion?" Jumpluff suggested. Both of the two boys stared at her awkwardly. They then turned to each other and whispered something.

"Should we go along with it?" Tyrunt asked quietly so Jumpluff doesn't hear it.

"Let's try it." Elekid replied.

"What are you two whispering about? I don't feel included at all. Are you guys talking behind my back?" Jumpluff felt nervous.

"No, no, we just finish our old conversation. We want to get it out of our mind before we talk to you." Elekid came up with an excuse. Tyrunt nodded to reinforce this.

"I see. Let's talk then." Jumpluff said happily. For the next several minutes, Tyrunt and Elekid listened to Jumpluff rambling about fashion. Occasionally, she asked the boys a few questions. They just nodded in reply.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "That was awkward. I don't care about fashion really. I just don't want to hurt her feelings. Making enemies is a poor strategic move. In the free-for-all mode of video games, you need to focus on making allies and avoid creating enemies."

 **Elekid:** "I never expect this kind of situation to happen. Both Tyrunt and I agree that staying under the radar will be our strategy. Hopefully, having Jumpluff around won't make us a target."

 **Jumpluff:** "My life is centered around social media and talking to others. It is just so much fun. I literally check my social media account every ten minutes. I hate it when my friends hide something from me or don't include me in their conversation. Luckily, these two boys are very nice. I'm dying to check my account already. Why can't Skarmory give us access to the internet?"

* * *

Helioptile and Snorunt chatted in the clearing while Farfetch'd trained in the woods. Nosepass stayed in his cabin, hiding from Larvitar. Rhyhorn did something, somewhere as the cameras missed him. He was last seen in the mountain area. Skarmory flew around, looking at the contestants. Everything seemed quiet until…

"We will start our daily exercise! No slacking off!" Lucario announced deafeningly.

All the Feckless Flygon members were presented in the gym. Currently, they were at the field section. Each lap was around one kilometer.

"First, give me ten laps around the field." Lucario ordered.

"This isn't fair for some of us. How am I supposed to run ten laps around the field when I don't have proper legs? Can't I swim instead?" Magikarp argued.

"How many aquatic challenges do you think there will be?" Lucario asked, his head throbbing in the process. Magikarp said nothing, only curling his lips a bit.

"At least reduce the number of laps. A beautiful Pokemon like me should only run one lap around the field. Physical challenges are not my forte." Aromatisse negotiated.

"Do you want to get eliminated?" Lucario threatened. Aromatisse shook her head.

"Then start moving!" Lucario shouted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "This is how we do things in the Aura Beast. My teammates obey my orders without any questions or excuses. I'm doing this for their own sake."

 **Magikarp:** "Is he a dictator? How inconsiderate."

 **Aromatisse:** "Why must I get involved in these barbaric activities? It will ruin my make-up."

 **Darmanitan:** "The homie is too serious about winning. I need to calm him down a bit."

 **Miltank:** "Lucario is real tough. I like this guy. He is not afraid to boss his team around."

* * *

Lucario sprinted ahead of everyone else. He overlapped Magikarp and Aromatisse five times. Three times for Oddish, Ledyba, Meowth, Machoke, Meowstic. Cryogonal, Shedinja and Duosion were overlapped twice. Houndour and Scolipede were one lap behind. Darmanitan and Miltank were on the same lap as Lucario but they were about to be overlapped. The professional athlete didn't even run at his full speed.

"Wow, you are pretty fast, Shedinja. I thought you are lazy." Cryogonal complimented.

"Naturally." Shedinja drawled, ignoring the compliment.

"Why are you so lifeless?" Cryogonal asked with curiosity.

"This show is boring. Life in general as well." Shedinja replied, there was an indescribable emotion in his eyes. Cryogonal thought it was sadness and maybe _determination_?

"Keep running! Improve your fitness!" Lucario shouted toward Magikarp and Aromatisse. He was about to overlap them again.

"Yay, our leader cares about our fitness." Shedinja said unenthusiastically as he floated faster, surpassing Cryogonal.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "There is something that he is hiding. I shouldn't pester him about it though. I have one of my own as well."

* * *

Aromatisse and Magikarp sweated heavily.

"I expect both of you to be as fast as Oddish at the very least." Lucario criticized.

"Thanks for the compliment." Oddish said, putting on a genuine smile.

"Please… let's stop." Aromatisse begged before she collapsed.

"Yeah." Magikarp collapsed as well. All the other members halted the exercise and ran over to both of them anxiously.

"Why?!" Lucario didn't understand why they collapsed so... _easily_. He kicked the ground out of rage.

"Homie, you must understand that they are very physically weak. We already have enough physically strong members. Be a bit nicer to them next time." Darmanitan advised. Lucario put his hand on his face in disappointment.

"Forget it. The exercise is over." Lucario announced in his unusual quiet voice before he left the gym area. His teammates stared at him silently.

"Well, we should bring these two to the infirmary." Ledyba suggested after a moment. Everyone agreed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "Is it weird that I felt bad when I'm supposed to be angry at Lucario? I feel like I should contribute to this team more."

 **Scolipede: "** This is who Lucario truly is. A demanding leader that can't accept defeat. What a spoilsport. I don't know much about the Pokeathlon but I believe Lucario's record is nearly perfect."

* * *

Skarmory landed in the middle of a clearing to set up a stall. By that, it meant he ordered Chef Drapion to set it up. First, they (Chef Drapion) exploded the statues with dynamites because they wasted space of the clearing. The deafening explosion sound annoyed many of the contestants. They closed their ears at this.

"Was it necessary to destroy the statues? We worked hard for that right, Snorunt?" Helioptile asked.

"Yeah, I actually like them." Snorunt said in her usual quiet voice.

"They are obstacles to my future challenges. In addition, they are just cheap statues that Chef Drapion bought." Skarmory explained and signaled both of them to leave as Chef Drapion was still busy.

Chef Drapion did everything else while Skarmory sipped green tea. Chef Drapion assembled a wooden stall and a banner with the words, 'Skarmory Shop'.

"Lazy as always." Chef Drapion grumbled as he carried a pot of noodles to the stall.

"It is the privilege reserved for the host." Skarmory said as he sipped his green tea.

"What about my privileges?" Drapion asked, banging his arms on the stall. The pot of noodles shook a bit.

"You get to cook food for the contestants. Doesn't that make you smile? Serving food to our mostly wonderful contestants." Skarmory stated.

"Forget it." Chef Drapion said as he left. Skarmory brought out a megaphone from under the stall.

"Wonderful customers across the island, Skarmory Shop officially opens for the day! Each day, I will sell a different item. Today, you have a choice between cup noodles that we bought from a convenience store or Chef Drapion's special delicacy. Each cup of noodle costs one Skarmory token. Bring the rare item to me in exchange for Skarmory tokens. We have a no beggar policy. Therefore, any begging will result in you getting pummeled by Chef Drapion." Skarmory spoke into his megaphone. Some contestants emerged in front of the stall.

"How much Skarmory tokens can I earn from three Dusk Stones?" Grovyle asked, handing him the treasures.

"Six Skarmory tokens." Skarmory gave the tokens to Grovyle.

"Can I have two cups of noodles?" Grovyle asked as he paid the price.

Skarmory poured the noodles into two cups. Each cup was roughly around the size of his coffee cup. It was filled halfway, making Grovyle questioned the fairness.

"Why is it only half a cup?" Grovyle protested.

"The owner is always right in my shop. Do you want to get kicked out and be forced to eat whatever the hell Chef Drapion is cooking?" Skarmory threatened as he pointed with his left wing toward the mess hall. Grovyle zipped his mouth. Skarmory handed the cups of noodles to him.

Grovyle received them as he walked over to the mess hall to eat inside there. Houndour appeared next.

"How much can I get for a Nugget?" Houndour asked. Skarmory was surprised when he saw it.

"This is very rare. I thought I told the interns to hide it very carefully. Whatever, this will give you ten Skarmory tokens." Skarmory exchanged the tokens for the Nugget. Houndour smiled at this.

"I want ten cups of noodles." Houndour paid all of his tokens and Skarmory widened his eyes in surprise.

"Are you going to eat all of this by yourself?" Skarmory asked.

"Of course not, I will give them to my hungry teammates. They are exhausted." Houndour corrected.

"I see…" Skarmory understood. Houndour told his teammates to collect the cup noodles in the meantime.

"Get one for yourself! Hurry up before there is none left." Houndour shouted so his teammates could hear. It was lunchtime already so most of them were around the mess hall.

"Yay, free cup of coffee." Oddish said, acting stupid even though it was technically correct. Oddish feasted upon the cup of noodle without chopsticks, forks or manners. The food spilled all over the place. Skarmory and Houndour glared at her with disgust. Skarmory gestured for her to leave as few contestants waited in the line.

"Thanks, Houndour." Machoke said as he grabbed the noodle cup.

"A freebie, I take it." Shedinja drawled.

"I will take one too." Cryogonal collected the fourth cup of noodle.

"Can I have one too? I want to leave some for others as well…" Ledyba hesitated.

"Just take it." Houndour allowed.

Ledyba smiled as she took one. Scolipede observed the situation before he left. Houndour ran to reassure him.

"Scolipede, you can-" Houndour was about to offer a cup of noodle. However, Scolipede interrupted him.

"In exchange for what? My vote? You can't bribe me with a cup of noodle." Scolipede said skeptically. His eyes were filled with distrust.

"No, that isn't my intention..." Houndour said as Scolipede turned around and moved to the mess hall.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I don't trust Houndour, Ledyba or Helioptile. None of them. Their nice acts are lies. All of it."

 **Houndour:** "I'm only doing this because they looked tired after the exercise." Houndour said, feeling hurt.

* * *

Houndour carried two cups of noodles over to the infirmary. He gave them to Aromatisse and Magikarp.

"You need this to regain your strength. Keep on fighting." Houndour cheered as he placed the cups on the table next to their beds.

"Thank you, you are a nice friend." Magikarp said as he splashed out of the bed to eat it.

"Thank you too." Aromatisse followed Magikarp to eat the noodle.

Houndour smiled as he exited the infirmary. He met Lucario, who was about to check up on his teammates.

"Do you want one as well?" Houndour offered a cup of noodle. Lucario shook his head before he opened the door. Houndour looked down on the ground a bit before moving on to his next destination.

* * *

Meowth walked around in the forest area. He found footprints of Ursaring and turned back immediately. By pure chance, he met Houndour.

"I want to give this to you. You gave me a Nugget so this is rightfully yours." Houndour reached the cup of noodle out to Meowth's hand.

"Are you asking for a refund, dear customer?" Meowth joked.

"Absolutely not." Houndour assured, shaking his head.

"I'm just kidding." Meowth took it as Houndour's face lightened up.

"Now, I have two left." Houndour pondered about who he should give it to.

Houndour walked back to the camp as he continued to think about this. Suddenly, he met Nosepass with his head down.

"What are you doing here, Nosepass?" Houndour asked.

"I'm trying to find a rare item so I don't need to meet Larvitar in the mess hall. However, I can't find anything." Nosepass was upset with himself.

"How about this? You can take one even if you are in the other team." Houndour offered sympathetically.

"Really? Thank you so much." Nosepass joyfully accepted before he left.

Houndour contemplated about the last cup until Duosion appeared. Apparently, she saw what happened. Once Houndour noticed Duosion, he ran to her instantly.

"I want you to have the last cup." Houndour offered willingly.

"Why are you so generous? You earned those Skarmory tokens." Duosion questioned. Houndour shook his head at this. Duosion was baffled.

"It was originally Meowth's, he gave it to me generously. Please accept it." Houndour insisted.

"Regardless, are you sure? You might suffer from disgusting food in the mess hall." Duosion warned.

"I can gobble disgusting food down with my iron stomach. Don't worry." Houndour reassured, exaggerating a bit.

"Let's share it then. At least that way, I can't be guilt-tripped by eating your food." Duosion compromised. "We can ask Skarmory for an empty cup." She suggested further.

"Fine if you say so." Houndour agreed to this.

* * *

The last customer approached Skarmory. It was Farfetch'd.

"Mr. Stalk found a mushroom. Can I trade it for a Skarmory token?" Farfetch'd asked as Skarmory inspected it.

"One Skarmory token." Skarmory offered.

"Then I will have one cup of noodle." Farfetch'd ordered. Skarmory handed it to him.

Farfetch'd accepted it, eating somewhere far away from the other contestants.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk devises a strategy for both of us. By acting as if we are both anti-social freaks, others will underestimate our true potential. I'm planning on going solo because my friends mock me. They told me that I can't win without an alliance. I will prove it to them otherwise. I don't need friends here. I already have a girlfriend back at home anyways."

* * *

Houndour asked for an empty cup from Skarmory.

"An empty cup. Let see… it will cost… zero Skarmory token." Skarmory teased the contestants.

"That isn't very funny." Houndour commented, not feeling amused, neither did Duosion.

"Fine, none of you have a sense of humor." Skarmory whined as he gave them the empty cup.

They decided to sit on the benches. Both of them grabbed their chopsticks, either with psychic power or paw. They ate it slowly as both of them had a conversation.

"Why are you generous? Is sharing food normal for you?" Duosion asked.

"You are doubting me, like Scolipede?" Houndour asked back with a gloomy expression.

"No! Scolipede doubted you?" Duosion denied before she asked with interest.

"Yeah, he thought that I shared food to bribe others for their vote." Houndour said in a depressed tone. He stopped eating for a while.

"I'm sorry for bringing that topic up." Duosion apologized.

"You don't need to feel sorry. I shared food because of… Lucario" Houndour answered assuringly. Duosion had a confused look.

"Lucario wants to win really badly. That is true. However, he also wants to improve our fitness. As someone who supports a healthy lifestyle and likes the outdoors, I can relate to Lucario. Therefore, I shared food to increase our odds of winning." Houndour explained.

"That is… commendable." Duosion complimented. Both of them finished their food. Their stomachs grumbled a bit.

"My stomach is half-full but my heart is full." Houndour described, making Duosion laughed.

"This is why you shouldn't share with me. Your heart is already full from sharing with everyone else. You don't need to include me." Duosion stated.

"Don't act as if you don't want to eat. You didn't meet me by chance. You were looking for rare items, am I right?" Houndour asked confidently. Duosion nodded.

"You are smarter than I thought." Duosion complimented him again.

"This is why I'm in the brain team." Houndour indicated, smiling at her. Duosion rolled her eyes. Both of them stared up at the sky for a moment.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "It is nice that someone understands me."

 **Duosion:** "Houndour… he is a better Pokemon than I thought."

* * *

Grovyle enjoyed both cups of noodles by himself. His teammates gave him jealous looks.

"Gecko boy, can't you share with us?" Heracross asked demandingly.

"Why? These are mine. If you want, maybe I will buy one and let all of you share it." Grovyle bargained.

"I despise your parsimonious attitude." Skrelp insulted. Grovyle frowned.

"Everyone can share four cups, except Skrelp." Grovyle tossed his four tokens to Heracross. Skrelp groaned and took her lunch from Larvitar.

"I hope you choke to death." Larvitar said this to all of the contestants that ate his food.

"Your insults are meaningless, you scullion." Skrelp insulted back. Larvitar's face was red with anger. Skrelp seemed satisfied with his reaction.

Larvitar continued to serve Chef Drapion's special delicacy. It was a purple, edible sludge. Poison types like Scolipede and Skrelp didn't mind it. Steel types like Lucario and Bisharp ate it without any signs of disgust either. However, for everyone else…

"I want to puke my intestines out." Tyrunt said as he wiped his mouth with his bib. His face was purple as well. Heracross only shared the noodles with Archeops, Drifblim, Dedenne and Miltank.

"Hey, Grovyle said that we must share it with everyone else. Why did you share it with Miltank? She's in the other team. I won't tolerate this." Dedenne protested.

"Don't eat it then." Heracross said as she snatched the noodle cup away from Dedenne. This rude act infuriated the little mouse.

Dedenne stomped off the mess hall without eating anything. Grovyle gave a disapproving thumb down to Heracross and left to see Dedenne. Archeops looked stressed out.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "I really hate some members of our team. Mainly, Larvitar, Skrelp and Heracross."

 **Grovyle:** "That isn't cool Heracross. I told you to share it with everyone, except Skrelp."

 **Archeops:** "Why is my team like this?"

 **Heracross:** "Where I live, you take whatever you get. No complaining. If I share it with everyone, I will barely get to eat anything. It is better to make four stomachs half-full for the challenge instead of ten mostly empty stomachs."

* * *

Dedenne sat on the bench alone, feeling hungry.

"Hey, I still have one leftover." Grovyle gave one of his cups to Dedenne. It was eaten a bit by Grovyle.

"Thank you very much. Why is our team filled with jerks?" Dedenne asked.

"This is Total Drama. The other teams probably have jerks too." Grovyle answered.

"Thank you for making me feel better." Dedenne ate the noodle happily now.

"If you need anything else, tell me." Grovyle said as he walked back to the mess hall. Dedenne gazed at his back dreamily.

* * *

Skarmory ate noodles as well, alongside his cup of green tea.

"Convenience store noodles taste better than I expected." Skarmory continued to eat until he realized what time it was. He called someone with his earpiece.

"New intern, aha. I see, you found Rhyhorn. What? He built a secret base in the mountain area and filled it with traps? He nearly caught Ursaring? Luckily, Ursaring escaped. I see… Give him more weapons and gadgets to spike up the difficulty. I don't want the advantage to come in play this early. Also, bring Magikarp and Aromatisse out of the infirmary." Skarmory checked up on his new intern.

Afterwards, he pulled out his trusty megaphone from under the stall to make an announcement.

"Contestants, it is time for a challenge! Meet me next to the noodle stand." Skarmory announced with his megaphone. He then ate the noodles, while waiting for the contestants.

All the contestants eventually arrived. However, Skarmory was still eating his noodles.

"Stop being an unprofessional host and start the damn challenge." Drifblim was frustrated at Skarmory.

"Impatient contestants…" Skarmory grumbled before he explained the challenge.

"Anyways, we will play a game called 'Key Relay'. Created by your benefactor and awesome host, Skarmory." Skarmory showed off his creativity as Drifblim shook her head.

"It is similar to a relay. However, here is the catch. New intern!" Skarmory called.

A Pokemon with two spoons and a special stone teleported in front of the contestants.

"A fellow magician?" Meowstic asked with excitement.

"Magician? Our psychic abilities are magic in itself. I'm Alakazam, a new intern. Nice to meet all of you. Let me explain the challenge. First, you will be teleported randomly all over the island, except for one member of each team. I will give that member a golden key." Alakazam snapped his fingers and two golden keys appeared.

"Wow, magic. How did you do that?" Meowstic stared in awe. The other contestants gave her weird looks. Even Oddish accidentally did it.

"It is a high class move called Teleport, now I will continue. Our great host, Skarmory will carry a treasure box around the island. Your objective is to pass the key around to each of your members at least ten times. If you don't have the key, you can't speak or move. This means that some of you might not even compete. The eleventh member and onwards can catch Skarmory and get the treasure box. The key strategy to this game is to choose who to pass your key and information to. After you pass the key, you will be out of the challenge with my Teleport. Any questions?" Alakazam finished explaining.

"Me, me, me. Can you really teleport all of us to random locations? It requires a tremendous amount of power." Meowstic asked energetically while waving her hands.

"With Alakazite, yes." Alakazam activated a Mega Stone. The stone's energy consumed the Alakazam, transforming him into a different Pokemon. More spoons appeared and his mustache grew longer. Meowstic screamed like a fangirl to see such a talented psychic type. Scolipede rolled his eyes at this. Most of the contestants focused their attention on Mega Alakazam, ignoring Meowstic in the process.

"I have another question, mustache guy. What if we talk or move without the golden key? Can we steal the key from the other team? You can't stop us from doing that, can't you?" Larvitar underestimated Mega Alakazam.

"I can disqualify and teleport you to Chef Drapion." Mega Alakazam warned. Chef Drapion exited the kitchen with a frying pan. Seemingly, he wanted to hit a contestant really badly. His eyes were filled with aggression.

"Lawsuits will not save you from me this time. I'm allowed to hit a contestant as long as I have a proper reason." Chef Drapion threatened. Larvitar and Dedenne gulped.

"Where will we be teleported to after we pass the key?" Lucario asked.

"An isolated, empty room. It is located somewhere in the island. I will teleport all of you back when the challenge is over." Mega Alakazam explained. Since there were no more questions left, Mega Alakazam floated back.

"Decide which member will get the key and we will start." Skarmory took charge again.

The Feckless Flygon were led by Lucario again. He kept things very simple.

"Never give the key to Magikarp or Aromatisse. I will start things off. Announce the number of times the key is transferred. Any objections?" Lucario said, his voice lacked the usual energy. His team said nothing.

"Good." Lucario ended things just like that.

The Crazy Crawdaunt discussed their strategy much more intricately.

"I prefer the team to keep track of Skarmory's location. Pass the information down to each member. Keep track of how many times the key is transferred as well." Skrelp suggested.

"Those are great ideas. Anyone else wants to contribute?" Archeops asked.

"How about we exclude physically weak members like Skrelp?" Jumpluff recommended opinionatedly, giving Skrelp a cold stare. The seahorse smirked at this.

"Yes, I actually agree with that." Skrelp agreed. This made Jumpluff mad.

"Okay, try to pass the key to physically strong members if you can. I also have an idea. We should have a flying type catch Skarmory. I want to step up to this position. Is that fine with everyone?" Archeops observed her teammates. None of them disagreed.

"Finally, who is going to start first? Any volunteers?" Archeops surveyed her members. Grovyle and Drifblim wanted the position.

"Since Jumpluff kindly excluded me from this challenge. I want to kindly include her in the challenge. Her species are generally fast, aren't they?" Skrelp suggested, which annoyed Jumpluff.

"Me? I'm not sure about this." Jumpluff said with concern. She didn't look confident.

"That is true, Skrelp. Jumpluff, please take the starting position. Be confident in yourself." Archeops pressured.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff** : "I'm fast, fast at checking my social media accounts and reply to any posts or comments, that is. I'm not physically strong. I'm an indoor type of Pokemon. Why did Archeops choose me? I now have a feeling that Archeops is deeply involved with Skrelp somehow."

 **Skrelp:** "Yes, Archeops, keep on supporting my decisions. My enemies will soon be yours. This is my strategic plan all along."

 **Drifblim:** "I analyze many Total Drama contestants. Let's say, I know what Skrelp is doing."

 **Grovyle:** "Geez, can't my team just let me do it? I feel like they are ignoring me sometimes. Actually, this might be a good thing. However, being too secretive isn't good either. I feel very suspicious of Rhyhorn. I can't find him the entire time before the challenge."

* * *

Things were intense next to the noodle stall. The two race starters were blindfolded while Mega Alakazam teleported the contestants. Skarmory also flew away during the meantime with a treasure chest beneath his talons.

"Key Relay begins!" Mega Alakazam announced. The two competitors removed their blindfolds as Mega Alakazam teleported to the control room.

Lucario sprinted ahead to the mess hall. He found Chef Drapion with a frying pain. Next to him was a terrified Larvitar. Lucario left immediately.

"Anyone, please help me!" Larvitar begged as Drapion hit him in the head with a frying pan.

"No talking!" Chef Drapion reminded.

Jumpluff followed Lucario into the mess hall. After she saw Larvitar, she left.

"Why are those retards not helping me?!" Larvitar screamed in anger.

"Karma is a *beep*, boy." Drapion said as he laughed evilly and raised the frying pan into the air. Larvitar retreated into a corner.

* * *

Lucario checked the Feckless Flygon cabins next. In the girls' cabin, Oddish was there. Lucario ignored her. Shedinja was in the boys' cabin. Lucario ignored him as well.

"Where are the fast contestants?" Lucario wondered as he tried to find the fastest.

On the other hand, Jumpluff looked inside the confessional room. Tyrunt was there.

"First key transfer. Just don't go inside the mess hall." Jumpluff informed before she passed the key to Tyrunt, who was confused. Jumpluff was then teleported away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "Me? Out of all Pokemon? Oh god, she didn't even explain things in detail."

 **Jumpluff:** "I panicked, alright? I'm going against a professional athlete. It isn't easy dealing with pressure. At least, Tyrunt is better than Larvitar."

* * *

Lucario ran into the infirmary. Machoke was there. Lucario ignored him again. Outside, he spotted Skarmory flying above.

"Picky much, Lucario?" Skarmory commented as he left to the mountain area.

Lucario ran to the field section of the gym area next. There were hurdles in his way and Darmanitan at the end. The professional athlete speeded up, breezing through the hurdles.

"First key! Machoke, infirmary. Oddish and Shedinja. Flygon cabins. Skarmory, mountain area. Remember!" Lucario shouted as he passed the key to Darmanitan. His figure then faded away.

"Got it! I will get Machoke, tell him to get Oddish, who will get Shedinja, the fastest one out of all three." Darmanitan understood Lucario's vague message.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "These locations aren't random. Mega Alakazam tricked us. The stronger the contestant, the harder it is to find them."

 **Darmanitan:** "Lucario knew that I'm his fan. That is why he used the Aura Beast message system."

* * *

Tyrunt scrambled as he entered the Crazy Crawdaunt cabins, only Nosepass was there in the boys' cabin. The guy hid under his bed sheets. Tyrunt hesitated before he left. Tyrunt ran breathlessly with his poor legs toward the beach. As he reached the bonfire, he sat down for a small break. Then, he continued. Skrelp relaxed on the beach as well as Meowth, who rested on the dock. Tyrunt looked at his poor legs before he decided to risk it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I might play Pokemon Dash but that doesn't mean I'm good at dashing in real life."

* * *

"Skrelp, second key transfer. Nosepass is in the Crawdaunt boys' cabin. Jumpluff told me to not enter the mess hall." He said before he handed the key over to her fins.

"Interesting… Jumpluff, eh?" Skrelp absorbed in the information before making her way slowly to the camp. Meowth observed with subtlety.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** : "I need a bit more market research. Remember business enthusiasts, do your research before you commit to anything risky."

* * *

Machoke now ran to the intersection after he heard everything from Darmanitan.

"Oddish first, Shedinja next, Skarmory mountain something." Machoke rehearsed. He made a sharp turn in the intersection to the camp.

"I still have my Machoke No Sweat technique." Machoke said as he sweated. Luckily, a gust of wind from behind cooled him down.

"Lucky me. I mean my technique worked." Machoke said as he ran faster to the cabins. After a moment, he rushed through to find Oddish.

"Third key! Shedinja, boys' cabin in our side." Machoke said simply, hoping that Oddish can understand it. The key was transferred successfully to her.

"I don't think this is the time to act stupid." Oddish talked to herself before moving to the boys' cabin. It was pretty close so Oddish didn't run. She changed her behavior instantly once she was at the door. Oddish opened the doorknob with her mouth to fool Shedinja. Even worse, the doorknob was tainted by her saliva.

"Fourth key." Oddish said as she gave the key to Shedinja. It was drooled pretty badly.

"Is this the fossil age? Am I still in the present?" Shedinja asked himself as he grabbed the key with a revolted expression.

Oddish found herself in a room with plain white floor and walls. She still drooled at this time. Everyone looked at her with disgust.

"You should wear a bib to clean off that mess, you know?" Tyrunt recommended. Oddish acted oblivious to his words.

Lucario relaxed by resting his back against the wall.

"We are in the lead, four to two." Lucario counted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "We better win…"

 **Tyrunt:** "Oddish is just plain disgusting."

 **Jumpluff:** "I put us in this position. Will they eliminate me? I'm… I'm screwed!" Jumpluff started to panic in the confessional.

* * *

Skrelp headed into Crawdaunt boys' cabin. She was surprised at first that Nosepass wasn't there, until she saw a huge lump under the bed sheets. She lifted the bed sheets up to see Nosepass trembling under there.

"Third key transfer. Don't go to the mess hall." Skrelp tossed the key to Nosepass before she was teleported away. Nosepass sighed at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Why must it be me? I don't want to do this challenge."

 **Skrelp:** "To be honest, I could find a better contestant. However, it is not worth it for me to suffer from this drudgery. I'm not intimidated by the elimination anyways. Logically, it is very likely for Larvitar, Nosepass and even Jumpluff to go home if we lose."

* * *

Nosepass scrambled around randomly. He first went to the bonfire, Skarmory sipped his green tea while taking a break there.

"Hey, Nosepass. Are you lost? You can't pass the key? The second syllable of your species is 'pass'. You should be good at this game." Skarmory made a pun. Nosepass didn't laugh. He left to check the restrooms.

"These contestants don't have a sense of humor. Maybe, I should go and check how Chef Drapion is doing with Larvitar." Skarmory said and drank the entire cup of green tea.

* * *

Shedinja cleaned the key in the restrooms before he continued with his search. He crossed paths with Nosepass on his way out.

"Are there Crawdaunt members here?" Nosepass asked timidly.

"Hahaha. We are in different teams. That is very funny." Shedinja drawled as he flew away at his average speed to the intersection. Nosepass felt stupid for asking in the first place.

Nosepass checked all rooms in the boy side. There was one room that was locked. Nosepass ducked down to see something green. It must be Grovyle.

"How can I get inside?" Nosepass looked around for any objects that he can use. There was a mop. Nosepass grabbed the mop and rammed into the door. The mop didn't work. Instead, Nosepass' nose opened it through an accidental collision. Grovyle was surprised to see Nosepass. He expected a more athletic member.

"My nose hurts. Fourth key transfer. Skarmory is near the bonfire. Don't go inside the mess hall." Nosepass rubbed his nose as he said this. The key was transferred successfully.

"Something must go wrong for Nosepass to hold the key." Grovyle said as he tapped his chin. Soon after, he ran outside quickly to catch up with the Feckless Flygon.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Also, why did Mega Alakazam lock me in the restrooms? It wasn't a pleasant place to be in."

* * *

Shedinja floated to the forest area. He ascended above the trees so he could see things clearly. Cryogonal was on top one of the trees.

"Is this Christmas?" Shedinja drawled. Cryogonal wasn't amused. She gave him a serious expression.

"Fine, fifth key." Shedinja gave the key to Cryogonal.

"Where should I go next?" Cryogonal thought as she floated around the forest.

Grovyle swung from vines to vines in the forest. Eventually, he found Farfetch'd relaxing under the shade of a tree.

"Fifth key transfer, Skarmory was last seen around the bonfire. Don't go to the mess hall." Grovyle informed as he passed the key over.

"Mr. Stalk, use your detection skills to find a contestant. I see… you have already found one." Farfetch'd talked to his leek stalk as he walked in front of a nearby large stone. Farfetch'd lifted Mr. Stalk up and slashed the rock. It appeared that the rock was a fake prop. Under the rock was Rhyhorn.

"Sixth key transfer, Skarmory was last seen around the bonfire. Don't go to the mess hall." Farfetch'd quickly passed the key over to Rhyhorn, who just nodded.

* * *

Back to the plain room, Lucario's expression worsen since Grovyle arrived. Another figure started to form. Lucario expected his teammate. However, he was star-struck when it turned out to be Farfetch'd.

"How did you find a contestant this fast? I didn't see anyone around us." Grovyle asked in awe.

"Mr. Stalk detected a fake rock nearby." Farfetch'd explained. No one seemed to believe it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "No one can reckon our true power. See, I don't need an alliance. The fake rock didn't camouflage well with the surroundings. It wasn't detailed enough to look real."

* * *

Cryogonal found Houndour next to Skarmory Cave after she floated over a good chunk of the forest. He looked very bored. His face lightened up immediately after he saw Cryogonal.

"Sixth key." Cryogonal said and gave the key to Houndour.

"Finally, I can stretch my leg muscles a bit." Houndour said as he ran energetically deeper into the forest. He observed his surroundings with his sharp eyes. There was a tree that looked like it was made out of cardboard. Houndour bit down into the tree and tore the cardboard out. Scolipede was inside. He seemed uncomfortable from being stuffed inside a tree. Yet, he glared at Houndour with distrust.

"Look, I know that you don't trust me but please do it for the sake of the challenge. All I know is that I'm supposed to say 'seventh key'." Houndour's eyes pleaded for Scolipede to believe him. Scolipede considered it for a moment before he took the key and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I will observe him a bit more. It is still too early to judge him."

* * *

Rhyhorn dashed to the mountain area. The ground was hard and tough. He eventually hiked up Skarmory Mountain. There were stairs luckily. Therefore, Rhyhorn managed to meet Archeops at the top. She anticipated what Rhyhorn was about to say.

"Seventh key transfer. Do you want to take it?" Rhyhorn asked. Archeops shook her head.

Rhyhorn nodded and ran down to the other side of the mountain. There was another intersection. To the left, it was the haunted area. To the right, it was the desert area. To the middle, it was the snow area. Rhyhorn believed that these areas are for future challenges. Therefore, he turned back and hiked up the mountain again. As he reached the halfway point, he noticed a gray wallpaper glued to the mountain. Rhyhorn removed it with his horn to see a door. He pushed the door open, Drifblim was inside.

"Seventh key transfer. Don't go to the mess hall. Skarmory was last seen around the bonfire." Rhyhorn informed before he gave the key to Drifblim. She floated up to see Archeops, who shook her head to reject the key. Drifblim floated toward the gym area instead.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "I might look stubborn from doing this but Skarmory will be in the air, right? We need a flying type to catch him or else it is game over."

 **Larvitar:** "I hate Skarmory, *beep* him. He sat in the mess hall, laughing at me while sipping green tea the entire time."

* * *

Scolipede found Miltank under a well, deep inside the forest. He pulled her up as it wasn't that deep.

"Eighth key." Scolipede hurriedly passed the golden key. Miltank ran back to the intersection.

Things kept getting intense as Drifblim found Heracross in the swimming pool. It was eight to eight.

Miltank spotted another fake rock as she was about to exit the forest. She crushed it open to see Ledyba. Nine for Flygon, eight for Crawdaunt.

Heracross found Bisharp in the dodgeball court of the gymnasium. Bisharp was told to find Archeops in the mountain area. Nine to nine.

Bisharp hiked up the mountain… Ledyba searched through the girl restrooms.

Bisharp met Archeops… Ledyba met Meowstic…

"Archeops, this is it. Find Skarmory. Don't go to the mess hall." Bisharp told her, Archeops nodded in determination.

"Meowstic, tenth key." Ledyba said before she was warped to the plain room.

* * *

The situation in the plain room was also very intense. Lucario paced around the room worriedly. Some contestants started to throw accusations at each other.

"Why did you pick Tyrunt, out of all the contestants? Who then picked Skrelp, who again picked Nosepass. Jumpluff, do you have an explanation for this?" Grovyle interrogated.

"I panicked. I was competing against Lucario, okay? Archeops and Skrelp shouldn't pressure me to start things off." Jumpluff eyed accusingly at Skrelp.

"You took the position anyways. I believe that it is hypocritical of you to say that." Skrelp argued back.

"Where is Skarmory? How could we miss him the entire time after Nosepass saw him at the bonfire?" Tyrunt asked.

All the contestants speculated about Skarmory's location as another figure appeared. Was the challenge over?

Meowstic appeared with a baffled expression on her face.

"Why is there ten of you? I thought that I'm the tenth member…" Meowstic slowly realized that she made the greatest mistake of her life.

* * *

The camera flashbacked to a while ago…

"Tenth key means that I'm the tenth member right? I probably need to transfer the key again." Meowstic said as she looked under Skarmory's stall. There was a fish bowl with Magikarp inside it. Meowstic was about to leave to the beach. However, she saw Archeops in the sky, flying around rapidly to look for Skarmory.

"What am I supposed to do?" Meowstic scrambled around before she gulped heavily and walked back to the stall.

"Magikarp, find Skarmory, please!" Meowstic prayed as she gave the golden key to Magikarp. The fish was dumbfounded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowstic:** "I'm screwed. I'm screwed. No! A magician always has a trick under his or her sleeve. I won't go down this easily."

 **Magikarp:** "Do you know what Lucario said to me in the infirmary? He apologized a bit about the field incident. Then, he told me that I will probably be eliminated next if we lose." Magikarp sighed.

* * *

Magikarp splashed to the mess hall first because it was the closest place to the stall. Unknown to Magikarp, Archeops followed him secretly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "I know that I can out-speed Magikarp. If he finds Skarmory, I will just rush in for the treasure chest first."

* * *

Magikarp opened the door to see Skarmory laughing as Chef Drapion stuffed an apple inside Larvitar's mouth and served him on a plate of salad.

"I call this dish, Penalized Contestant Salad." Chef Drapion declared.

"This is what you get when you cheated. No talking, Larvitar." Skarmory chided. He then turned around to see Magikarp slowly splashing toward him. Unfortunately for the poor fish, Archeops flew in and snatched the treasure chest next to Skarmory.

"The Crazy Crawdaunt snatch the victory!" Skarmory announced the results as every contestants were teleported to the mess hall.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Incompetent! *beep*!" Lucario swore as he threw a tantrum.

 **Magikarp:** "Damn it! I hope the team blame Meowstic instead of me."

* * *

"Open the chest." Skarmory instructed with a mischievous smile.

Archeops opened it with a wide smile on her face. However, her smile faded once she realized that it was empty.

"Why is it empty? Why are you in the mess hall as well?" Archeops questioned Skarmory angrily.

"What do you expect? It is heavy to carry a treasure box with real treasure inside. Do you think I'm actually active or vigorous enough to fly around for hours?" Skarmory used rhetorical questions to respond back. Archeops became quiet.

"This is what you losers get for leaving me." Larvitar stuck his tongue out. His team gave him annoyed looks and he stopped for once.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "Despite our team victory, I felt like a loser. I used Magikarp to win. This is quite degrading. However, I'm more interested in who spread the message to not enter the mess hall."

* * *

Lucario didn't rally everyone this time. He only called Darmanitan, Miltank and Machoke to the gym.

"I have enough of this pathetic team! Therefore, I want to assign all of you as leaders. Help me lead those incompetent losers! Do we need to train more? Do we need to wipe all the weaklings out? Tell me why we lost!" Lucario shouted as he stomped on the ground angrily.

"Homie, chill out. One of the principle of zen is to walk the middle ground. It is good that you are competitive. However, you shouldn't be overcompetitive. Have some fun, we will get the Crawdaunt next time." Darmanitan advised.

"That is easy for you. However, I'm a professional athlete. Winning and losing means life and death to me." Lucario said, his eyes looked sore.

There was a knock on the door. Darmanitan was about to get rid of that outsider before Lucario signaled for him to stop.

"Come in." Lucario allowed.

Meowstic entered quite apprehensively, she walked slowly to Lucario before she knelt down and cried.

"Please give me another chance. I will submit my loyalty to you. I will be your puppet, your minion. Anything! I just want to have one last chance at proving my skills to the world. Please!" Meowstic begged.

Lucario considered it quietly.

"If you survive the elimination, that means I'm giving you a second chance. However, if you are eliminated, you know my reason." Lucario said before he exited.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Magikarp might have potential to be a Gyarados. However, he isn't loyal to me, especially after I voted Feebas off. On the other hand, Meowstic messed up really badly today."

* * *

Meowstic persuaded others like Ledyba as well.

"I will show you my magic tricks. I promise." Meowstic offered. Ledyba reluctantly agreed.

Magikarp also rallied some Feckless Flygon members to help him.

"Houndour, please let me stay. You are my friend, right?" Magikarp pleaded.

"I will think about that…" Houndour replied.

"Aromatisse, we are in the infirmary together, please let me stay." Magikarp continued to do the same for Duosion.

The others were entitled to their own opinion.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** : "I think you messed up worse."

 **Scolipede:** "I don't trust you."

 **Meowth:** "I will follow Lucario's vote. I want to be a trading partner with him."

 **Oddish:** "You are dumber than me."

 **Shedinja:** "Whatever."

* * *

"Back here again? I expect better from all of you. You have a professional athlete on your team. Forget it. I will give out the Leppa Berries now." Skarmory started the bonfire ceremony.

"Lucario" Skarmory tossed a Leppa Berry to Lucario first this time.

"Darmanitan, Miltank, Houndour." The three ate their berries comfortably.

"Shedinja, Oddish, Meowth, Cryogonal." Meowstic and Magikarp were both very nervous.

"Duosion, Scolipede, Machoke, Ledyba." Magikarp gulped.

"Aromatisse" Magikarp and Meowstic were both on the edge of their seats.

"The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory built up suspense.

…

…

…

…

…

"Magikarp" Magikarp left to the confessional without a word.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I'm very disappointed in myself and my team. I feel like this is undeserved. Meowstic did worse than me. Forget it, I will probably see Feebas in Loser's Island now. Who do I want to win? Aromatisse and Houndour. They are both pretty cool. Anyone but Larvitar is also fine.

* * *

Magikarp boarded the Lapras. Houndour, Aromatisse and Duosion were there to see him off.

"We voted for Meowstic like you wanted." Houndour said.

"I know. I feel a bit mad at Lucario. Maybe I will get a chance to return." Magikarp said as his Lapras departed.

"Bye everyone." Magikarp bid his farewell. They waved to him in return.

After all the contestants left, Skarmory landed on the dock. He drank the entire cup of green tea.

"I like close eliminations. They are so suspenseful and exciting. Anyways, thank you viewers for watching another episode of my show. What will happen next time? Will conflicts escalate? Will relationships develop further? Will Larvitar be eliminated already? Will Nosepass man up a bit? Will Feckless Flygon win? Most importantly, will Chef Drapion refill my drink? Find out next time on another episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Votes**

Lucario: Magikarp

Miltank: Magikarp

Darmanitan: Magikarp

Machoke: Magikarp

Meowstic: Magikarp

Magikarp: Meowstic

Houndour: Meowstic

Duosion: Meowstic

Aromatisse: Meowstic

Scolipede: Meowstic

Meowth: Magikarp

Ledyba: Magikarp

Oddish: Meowstic

Cryogonal: Meowstic

Shedinja: Magikarp

Magikarp: 8 (eliminated)

Meowstic: 7

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoy this episode as well. The challenge is a bit weird but I try my best to polish it. For the elimination, Feebas and Magikarp was intended to go out first and second. I create these two to tease the viewers. Most would expect them to be a couple and make it far. However, that is just cliché and boring.

As always, review if you want. Next episode will come around the weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

Skrelp was always intended to be insufferable. However, she doesn't do it to the extent of Larvitar. In addition, she doesn't exactly show her true colors in the first episode. I'm not morphing my characters into what you said about them. Unless, the character is poorly written. Then, I will try make some adjustments with my reviews. Yeah, Houndour and Duosion relationship is quite obvious. That isn't hard to figure out. However, there will be unexpected couples. Is Drifblim really the main antagonist? There are a few possible main antagonists. I like to keep my viewers guessing. Perhaps, I'm doing this to confuse you. I agree with your point about Lucario. I will be very mad if I'm forced to run ten laps. Houndour isn't intended to be a Gary Stue. However, I want him to be competent. Perhaps, I accidentally overdo it. Well, I won't say anything else as it might be a potential spoiler.

 **magnemitegeek**

First, I must tell you that I like the Magnemite line. They are probably in my top 20 list of favorite Pokemon. I like the Magnezone Sheriff in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Game. I don't put my favorite Pokemon in Total Skarmory Island (except Skarmory as the host) because I might feel tempted to rig the game for them. All of these contestants are Pokemon that I feel neutral towards. I also agree with your point about cliché. Well, it is unavoidable. Thanks for your review.

* * *

 **Episode 3: Berry Master**

The camera zoomed in toward Skarmory. The host sipped berry juice this time before he started the episode.

"Welcome back. Last time, the contestants scrambled to earn Skarmory tokens. Only a few were lucky enough. However, due to Houndour's and Grovyle's generosity, most ended up with a cup of noodle or rather, half a cup. Delicious drama occurred everywhere. Lucario forced his team to exercise, sending two members of his team to the infirmary. Skrelp's profanity damaged Jumpluff's fragile feelings. Eventually, they competed in the Key Relay challenge. Meowstic miscommunicated with her team, sending the Feckless Flygon back to the bonfire ceremony. However, Magikarp was voted out instead for… being a Magikarp. Will a contestant be sent to the infirmary again? Will the Feckless Flygon stop being feckless? Will Skrelp be eliminated next as the last remaining water type? Find out in this episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory announced excitedly.

* * *

Houndour stood in front of Skarmory Cave, his eyes stared intently at the entrance. He tried to gather his courage with a few deep breaths. After a while, he stepped forward into the dark, deep cave.

There was no source of light, Houndour clung to the wall for support and navigation.

"Is this even worth it?" Houndour asked himself. He looked back at the exit briefly before he continued with his exploration.

Suddenly, he slipped on a mysterious object and fell flat on the ground.

"What the hell is this?" Houndour groaned as he checked his body for any signs of injuries. Luckily, there was none. He then picked up the object, it was a shining, sliver gemstone.

"What is this, a Steel Gem?" Houndour asked himself as he exited the cave.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "I'm not exactly the bravest Pokemon around here. However, I know how to deal with fear. I feel like this Steel Gem worth a lot of Skarmory tokens. So, there is no need for me to explore deeper."

* * *

Houndour met Duosion outside of the cave. She eyed the gemstone with interest.

"Did you find a Steel Gem in this cave?" Duosion asked.

"Yeah. Do you want one?" Houndour was about to offer his Steel Gem.

"No thanks. I want to find one on my own. Although, can you accompany me?" Duosion requested.

"I totally understand that you might be scared. I'm scared as well. Therefore, I will go with you as a friend." Houndour decided to help her.

"I think you misunderstood. I'm neither scared or lonely. I just need a source of light and you can breathe fire." Duosion corrected. Houndour realized just then that his first attempt at conquering the cave could have been much more convenient.

"How did I forget about that?" Houndour said as he scratched his head sheepishly.

"I believe it is because you are scared. You even said so yourself." Duosion teased Houndour jokingly. Houndour blushed slightly at this.

"Get over it." Duosion nudged Houndour for him to follow her.

Houndour used Flamethrower to illuminate the cave. Both of them could now at least see what's in front of them. The interior of the cave consisted of dull gray walls and rocky surfaces. Occasionally, there were sharp looking rocks pointing from the ceiling and the ground. Houndour stopped breathing fire temporarily due to tiredness.

"No treasure yet. You seem tired, why don't we take a short break?" Duosion suggested.

"It's alright. We should continue." Houndour continued to walk and breathed fire. He accidentally stepped on a pressure plate. It released cries of a Zubat horde.

"Yikes!" Houndour got a jump scare from one of Skarmory's many tricks. Duosion snickered at this.

"You are easily frightened, aren't you? Are you scared of caves? That is weird, considering that you are a dark type." Duosion asked.

"Well, you see… When I was younger, a horde of Crobat swarmed me inside a cave similar to this one and that left a traumatizing mark. Just because I'm a dark type or an adventurous Pokemon doesn't mean that I can't be scared." Houndour replied, his eyes were warier of pressure plates and traps.

"I understand and I'm sorry for asking you to come here as well as making fun of you a bit." Duosion apologized, feeling guilty.

"It's fine. Hey look! A Rock Gem!" Houndour shouted enthusiastically as he found a Rock Gem in front of him. He gave it to Duosion.

"Thank you very much. Both of us should be able to afford decent food for now. Do you want to leave?" Duosion asked with concern. Houndour looked forward into the dark depths of the cave.

"It is better if we leave." Houndour retreated from the cave as he sighed in relief. Duosion noticed it but she didn't say anything.

"Are you really not scared?" Houndour asked with disbelief, Duosion didn't show any signs of fear the entire time.

"I'm not speluncaphobic or chiroptophobic by any means. If you don't know, they are phobias of caves and bats. I explore many ancient caves and ruins. I'm used to it by now." Duosion answered.

"Having you alongside me makes me feel more comfortable. You are very reliable." Houndour complimented with a look of respect.

"I think you overestimate me…" Duosion said humbly as they just exited out of the cave. The sunlight shined upon them once more. Meowth walked by, eyeing both of their gems with interest.

"You found them inside this cave?" Meowth asked.

"Yes." Houndour answered simply.

"If an opportunity presents, I want to join in your little expedition. Is that fine with both of you?" Meowth persuaded.

"Definitely, the more of us, the less scary it will be." Houndour allowed. Duosion hesitated before she nodded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I look forward to our business trip." Meowth said with a grin.

 **Duosion:** "I don't know if I trust Meowth yet. However, Houndour looked scared so another fellow companion shouldn't hurt. It was also very nice of him to help me."

 **Houndour:** "I'm not that scared anymore. I did face my fear, right?"

* * *

Jumpluff slept peacefully with her blanket covering her face. However, a Pokemon approached her top bunk bed. Archeops shook her awake. It seemed like something bothered the prehistoric bird.

"I still want to sleep." Jumpluff complained with her eyes half-closed.

"I want to discuss something privately with you." Archeops said quietly so that other girls are not disturbed.

"Fine…" Jumpluff floated half willingly out of the cabin. Archeops closed the door and proceeded to speak.

"Why did you tell everyone to not enter the mess hall? Furthermore, you passed the key to Tyrunt? What were you thinking?" Archeops criticized in an accusing tone. Jumpluff was infuriated at this.

"What about you?! Why did you agree with Skrelp and pressured me to start? You didn't even know me personally well enough. I told everyone to not enter the mess hall because Larvitar was freaking inside. We won the challenge, there is no need to be harsh. You are on Skrelp's side right? I thought I can trust you…" Jumpluff replied in her unusual aggressive voice before she floated away quickly.

"Jumpluff! Wait!" Archeops tried to call her back. However, it was too late.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "I hate Archeops now. She probably allies herself with Skrelp."

 **Archeops:** "Why is it so hard to… communicate with Jumpluff. I feel like she is too sensitive and takes things too far. If she really did feel pressured, she should have done a better job telling our team."

* * *

In the Crawdaunt boys' cabin, Grovyle staggered out of his bed. He then scratched his waist as he left the cabin for his daily exercise in the forest.

"I need some coffee…" Grovyle mumbled to himself. Apparently, Bisharp was fully awake as well. He sat on the benches outside with a bowl of Oran Berry cereal and a glass of milk. Grovyle rubbed his eyes immediately.

"Where did you get that? Is this a dream?" Grovyle asked as he pinched himself to make sure.

"No, Skarmory sells a glass of milk for one token and a bowl of cereal for two tokens. I luckily found a few mushrooms in the forest." Bisharp answered as he slowly ate his cereal.

"I need to get a few myself…" Grovyle mumbled as he was about to leave.

"Can I have a short moment with you? I want to evaluate how well you are doing." Bisharp requested. Grovyle walked over to sit on the bench next to him.

"I'm doing fine. Did I do anything wrong?" Grovyle asked.

"I believe you were putting a target on your back yesterday with the Heracross incident. I don't recommend that. Although, I must applause you for not giving me any Skarmory tokens. What I want you to do now is to patch things up with her and her friends. Specifically, give her your vote today. Understood?" Bisharp said in a very analytical manner.

"I see. I really mess things up." Grovyle tried not to argue even if his lips resisted. He then left to the forest.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "If I give him an academic grade in this game, it will be a B-. I think he needs to keep up his cool, loyal guy personality a bit more. Argue less and make more friends."

 **Grovyle:** "Yadada… whatever. I will listen to you just for now. Although, I probably need to patch things with Heracross."

* * *

Lucario punched a few trees and rocks in the morning. He obliterated them completely. Ursaring, who was nearby, fled at the sight of the professional athlete. Lucario released his remaining anger with a charged aura ball. This move was Aura Sphere. Lucario threw it to the sky. It exploded into a giant cloud of smoke.

"I lost two times in a row… Two times?!" Lucario was boiling once again.

"Homie, you need to chill out. Destroying nature won't help." Darmanitan appeared from behind the trees.

"What am I supposed to do then? Put a fake smile on my face and say that everything will be alright?" Lucario questioned.

"No, I think you need to meditate. Let me teach you zen meditation." Darmanitan offered.

"Fine." Lucario took the offer.

Both of them sat on the ground with their legs crossed and their arms in a comfortable position. Most importantly, they closed their eyes.

"Clear your thoughts and chant the word 'zen'." Darmanitan instructed.

"Zen," Lucario chanted. He looked quite uncomfortable.

"Keep on doing that for an hour." Darmanitan instructed as he did it as well. Lucario looked a bit stressed out.

"Zen," Darmanitan chanted calmly.

"Zen," Lucario chanted with an annoyed expression. His eyes fought to open itself.

"Zen," Darmanitan chanted calmly again.

"Z-zen. Screw this. It isn't helping." Lucario gave up as he walked away to vent off some steam.

"His case is worse than I thought." Darmanitan spoke to himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Stupid meditation. It was useless."

 **Darmanitan:** "I think he needs anger management."

* * *

Tyrunt and Elekid sat in the mess hall during the morning. They talked to each other as always.

"Do you want to be strong, Tyrunt? Want to grow them big muscles as a Tyrantrum?" Elekid asked. Tyrunt's face revolted at the thought of being a Tyrantrum.

"They just look ugly. I-I mean no offense to my parents but I prefer to look like this. I don't care about their big muscles." Tyrunt answered.

"Really? I want to become an Electivire like my parents. This is because no one will see me as a nerdy loser again. The bullies will run away like cowards once they stare upon my masculinity." Elekid dreamed about evolving.

"Hah, delusional losers. I will beat you nerds anytime as a bulky Tyranitar. Prepare to be stuffed to your lockers." Larvitar scoffed and laughed about their dream.

"I loathe this guy. Wait until I evolve…" Elekid fantasized further.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I don't really care about bullies. I usually distance myself from them. Being a Tyrantrum will make it awkward to play video games."

 **Elekid:** "I can't wait until I evolve. Then, I will be both smart and strong. I will look attractive and handsome as well."

 **Larvitar:** "Delusional losers. They are still in their basic stage."

* * *

Helioptile brought Snorunt to the mess hall. The ice type shook a bit as she saw Larvitar.

"Another loser. How pathetic!" Larvitar laughed as he exited the mess hall. "Later, losers." Larvitar left an immature remark before he exited. All four of them glared at him as the door closed.

"Don't mind his mean words. There are nice Pokemon in this world. Look at these two. They seem nice. Remember our practice?" Helioptile prepared Snorunt for her first step toward socializing. Snorunt nodded as she stepped toward the two.

"Hi, I'm Snorunt. Nice to meet both of you. What are your… hobbies?" Snorunt attempted to socialize with both of them.

"I'm a professional gamer. I play video games competitively at tournaments." Tyrunt answered.

"I'm an inventor. I like to build machines and play video games a bit as well. What about you?" Elekid asked back.

"I… well I like to make small ice sculptures and watch some… shows on the television." Snorunt tried to sound fluent when she spoke. However, there were times when she paused to think about what to say next.

"Nice, building ice sculptures. That is a great talent to have. I'm glad that you share your hobbies with us." Elekid said supportively.

"Really? No one really compliments me. The kids in school always see me as a loser. You two are nice." Snorunt felt much more comfortable.

"No worries. If you need, help, we got your back." Elekid reassured.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Helioptile:** "It was nice to see Snorunt making her first steps." Helioptile said as she wiped a tear off her face.

 **Snorunt:** "These contestants are better than I thought. At first, I believed that Helioptile was the only decent Pokemon around here. Perhaps, I should talk to others a bit more."

 **Elekid:** "I feel like Snorunt just needs that supportive push to start being social. Well, I'm glad to help her."

* * *

In the clearing, Meowstic and Ledyba sat opposite to each other. The psychic wore her black top hat. Meowstic shuffled her cards and laid them down on the ground. Ledyba looked with interest.

"Pick one." Meowstic instructed.

Ledyba took the card in the middle.

"Now I will guess it. First, I must say my magic words. Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam! It is three of spades." Meowstic guessed. Ledyba was astonished.

"How did you know that?" Ledyba revealed the card, which was a three of spades.

"Magic. Wait, there is more to this." Meowstic indicated as she took her black top hat off and pulled another three of spades out.

"Wow, amazing!" Ledyba applauded. Meowstic smiled at that.

"She is just a swindler. A fraud." Scolipede accused as he showed up.

"Do you have any evidence?" Meowstic stood up and stared at Scolipede in front of his face.

"I have evidence." Scolipede picked up the three of spades card. He exposed the scratch mark on the bottom of the card. Furthermore, he revealed a zip in the top hat. He opened it and shook the hat. Another deck of cards fell out. Meowstic gritted her teeth.

"Screw you!" Meowstic stomped off.

"I hope you are proud of yourself, Scolipede. You hurt her feelings. Please have more respect for magicians, they are just trying to put up a show, not swindling others. I'm well aware of what she is doing." Ledyba scolded him.

"Magicians are just bunch of liars. You should thank me for exposing that filthy swindler. I guess you really want to stick by her side to get her vote, don't you?" Scolipede accused. Ledyba clenched her fist but then she left. Scolipede stared skeptically at her.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Those Pokemon are all liars. They wear masks. I saw Ledyba clench her fist. Her fake acts of kindness won't affect me."

 **Ledyba:** "What is the problem with that guy? I nearly lost control of myself a bit there. I hate violence. I wasn't about to punch him."

 **Meowstic:** "I want Scolipede out!"

* * *

Lucario rallied all of his teammates in the gym again. He seemed calmer than before.

"I have a change of plans today. Due to several complaints, you are allowed to train the way you want. However, I must see progress or else there will be severe consequences." Lucario ordered his team to start their daily exercise.

Scolipede ran laps with Houndour, Cryogonal and Shedinja. The bug was in the lead followed by Houndour, who was about to be surpassed by Shedinja.

"Yay, second place." Shedinja drawled as he floated in front of Houndour.

"Dude, you are faster than me? Why were you behind me last time then?" Houndour asked, a bit embarrassed.

"It is boring." Shedinja answered simply. Cryogonal looked from behind with concern.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "Now, I feel more brainy than brawny. These contestants are all physically stronger than me."

 **Cryogonal:** "What's wrong with him?"

* * *

Machoke lifted dumbbells with Miltank and Darmanitan. He seemed to struggle as he started to sweat.

"This isn't heavy. I have my Machoke Super Strength technique." Machoke said before he dropped the dumbbell down and sweated horribly.

"Muscle boy, this isn't heavy." Miltank lifted it up with one arm as a demonstration. She dropped it down and allowed Machoke to continue struggling.

"Homie, you should walk the middle path and follow the principle of zen. Why don't you take a try with a lighter dumbbell?" Darmanitan advised. Machoke looked at his poor arms and decided to drop it.

"Fine, I will try it." Machoke chose a lighter dumbbell and felt much more at ease. His performance improved greatly.

"Thanks, Darmanitan." Machoke appreciated his help.

"You got the effort. However, you need to remember to take it slowly, one step at a time. Don't overdo it." Darmanitan reminded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "Darmanitan was very encouraging. Only if my parents were this encouraging." Machoke's eyes looked depressed.

 **Miltank:** "Muscle boy got an obvious problem. He is thin as hell. I wish to be that thin. However, I want to keep my muscles as well. It is difficult to get muscles like these nowadays." She flexed her muscles.

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm glad to spread my zen principles. Take it easy, homie. Chill out."

* * *

Lucario was currently supervising Aromatisse and Oddish. Both of them were skipping over ropes. However, they were very slow.

"Faster! Keep on jumping!" Lucario demanded with his loud voice.

"This is uncivilized. It isn't for a beautiful Pokemon like me." Aromatisse argued.

"What am I doing again?" Oddish acted oblivious. Smoke blew out of Lucario's ears.

"Slackers, this is how you do it!" Lucario demonstrated as he rapidly jumped over the rope in a flash. He did it so fast that the rope snapped. Aromatisse and Oddish were shocked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Typical athletes, they know nothing but sports. However, an elegant Pokemon like me prioritizes beauty over brawn any day."

* * *

Meowstic, Meowth, Ledyba and Duosion played basketball. The match wasn't very competitive to say at the very least. They were playing casually for fun. It was a two versus two between Meowth and Duosion against Ledyba and Meowstic.

"Pass me the ball." Meowstic signaled for Ledyba to toss the ball over. Ledyba threw it. However, Duosion used her psychic abilities to steal the ball. She passed it to Meowth who threw the ball into the basket.

"Another customer, I mean ball in the basket." Meowth said, making others laughed.

"This time, I will use my psychic powers." Meowstic informed. Lucario spectated this and he seemed dissatisfied.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "If they don't take the training seriously, we will lose the challenge again!"

* * *

It was lunchtime once again. The contestants were lined up for another round of Chef Drapion's special delicacy. Most of them stared at their food with disgust before they shoved them into their mouth. The lucky few got to enjoy cereal and milk. Duosion and Houndour received three tokens each, which they spent on the items. Grovyle walked over to the stall.

"How much can I get for one big mushroom?" Grovyle exchanged the big mushroom. Skarmory gave him three tokens.

"One bowl of cereal and one glass of milk, please." Grovyle bought the items with all of his Skarmory tokens. Skarmory gave him one glass of milk and a small bowl of cereal. Grovyle was about to protest about the fairness but he knew how it went last time so he left to the mess hall instead. Dedenne saw this and approached Skarmory.

"Why do you charge these items separately anyways? Last time we got a cup of noodle with one token. Now, it is three tokens for a small bowl of cereal and milk. This isn't fair." Dedenne protested

"Hey spoiled contestant, learn to appreciate what you can get. There are kids starving, you know?" Skarmory criticized.

"That is an overused excuse. It doesn't change the fact that you are ripping us off." Dedenne continued to argue. Skarmory looked very frustrated. Meowth (who was behind in the line) joined the conversation.

"Customer, you need to understand that our host is using a strategy called premium pricing. Setting the price of an item high so that it seems valuable and luxurious." Meowth sided with Skarmory. The host nodded at this.

"Finally, a grateful contestant. I will give you one bowl of cereal and milk for free." Skarmory offered.

"What? That is discrimination, you can't favor a specific contestant over the other." Dedenne argued again.

"This doesn't interfere with the challenge, the elimination or the advantage. The owner is always right in Skarmory Shop." Skarmory defended.

"There is no need to argue, a transaction can't happen when one side doesn't earn anything. I will pay." Meowth gave Skarmory one token instead of three. Dedenne mumbled something to herself.

"Hey, can I have a bowl of cereal too? Please put the milk first before the cereal. I have zero token. Will that be enough?" Oddish interrupted, the others gave her weird looks.

"Chef Drapion, beggar alert!" Skarmory called Chef Drapion over to chase Oddish out of his shop.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "I thought Skarmory was a better host than this. The same applies to Meowth. I hate those sneaky business owners. In my blog, I expose their wrongdoings to the public."

 **Meowth:** "In order to be a great businessman, you need to know how to negotiate."

* * *

Larvitar approached Nosepass in the cabin. Nosepass hid under his bed sheets.

"Coward, remember to vote with me alright?" Larvitar reminded. Nosepass fearfully nodded.

"Good, minion." Larvitar successfully intimidated Nosepass.

Rhyhorn was outside, observing the situation. Once Larvitar exited the cabin, he saw Rhyhorn in front of him. The bully ran away instantly. Rhyhorn entered to see Nosepass.

"Why do you submit to that coward?" Rhyhorn asked. "He is all talk, no walk."

"I'm scared." Nosepass replied.

"Fine, I hope you enjoy being scared for the rest of your life." Rhyhorn said while shaking his head in disappointment.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "He did make a valid point. I'm a coward."

 **Larvitar:** "I will get that rock head out of here today."

* * *

Skarmory announced the challenge through his megaphone once again. The contestants assembled in front of him in their own respective teams. The Feckless Flygon looked a bit demoralized due to their consecutive defeats.

"Contestants, I hope you feel berrytastic because today's challenge will be about berries. Follow me into the forest area." Skarmory instructed as he flew ahead of them. They eventually reached an iron gate. Skarmory turned around and continued to explain.

"Behind me is my beautiful berry orchard. Your objective is to get as many berries as possible and put them into a basket. However, here is the twist. It isn't about the quantity or the quality. Rather, it is about the variety." Skarmory said with a slight pause.

"Yeah variety, I don't expect your budget to be high enough for there to be any sort of variety. At best, there will probably be like five types of berries." Drifblim mocked.

"Thanks Drifblim for always having faith in the host." Skarmory said sarcastically.

"Nevertheless, you don't instantly get a point by collecting berries. You must describe their uses and name correctly. Furthermore, Chef Drapion will spice things up." Skarmory rubbed his wings together as Chef Drapion walked toward the contestant with a spicy meatball bazooka. Chef Drapion aimed toward Larvitar and blasted a giant meatball at him as a demonstration.

"Ahh, it burns." Larvitar screamed as the meatball got into his eyes. The other contestants laughed at this.

"Prepare to suffer, I put in extra chili." Chef Drapion threatened. Nosepass and Snorunt quivered while the rest of the contestant felt uneasy.

"Yep, Chef Drapion will chase you around to make sure that you can't put your berries into your baskets. The baskets will be positioned outside of the gate, right next to the entrance. After I open the gate, the challenge begins." Skarmory inserted the key into the lock. However, he didn't turn it right away. He wanted to take the contestants by surprise. Suddenly, he turned the key to open the gate.

The contestants all scrambled through the door as Skarmory flew away to avoid the stampede. Lucario made it through the gate first.

The berry orchard was gigantic with abundant berry trees. Noticeably, they aligned in many, different rows. The trees were naturally short. Therefore, any contestants can harvest the berries. The common berries like Oran Berry, Pecha Berry and Cheri Berry obscured the rarer ones.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Fine, Skarmory has a bigger budget than I thought."

 **Lucario:** "I'm going to do everything to guarantee our victory."

 **Skrelp:** "The intellectual part is for me. I prefer to not compete in harvesting berries."

 **Tyrunt:** "That meatball looked tasty…" Tyrunt licked his lips before he realized what he did. Tyrunt eyes widened as he fled the confessional again.

 **Nosepass:** "Why must Chef Drapion chases us? Now, I have more things to worry about."

 **Ledyba:** "My parents own a berry garden back at home. Hopefully, my knowledge of berries will help the team a bit."

 **Larvitar:** "*beep* you, Chef Drapion!"

 **Aromatisse:** "Eww… Meatballs are certainly not my style of make-up. Please don't hit the face."

* * *

"Spread around and cover the entire orchard!" Lucario ordered. The Feckless Flygon members obeyed.

"Do the same." Archeops ordered the Crazy Crawdaunt. Lucario's face was filled with frustration. They copied his tactic. However, a smirk on his face suggested that he knew how to get his revenge.

"Chef Drapion, your aim sucks. I bet that you can never hit me!" Lucario taunted before he moved to a certain spot.

"Oh, you are going to get it!" Chef Drapion fumed with anger.

The poisonous chef blasted a meatball toward Lucario. At the very last moment, Lucario dodged by jumping sideways. The meatball hit Archeops, who was behind Lucario.

"This is very cheap, Lucario." Archeops said as she wiped the meatball off her wings.

"See? Your aim sucks, Chef Drapion." Lucario taunted again. Chef Drapion blasted another meatball. Lucario used the same tactic. This time, Archeops was prepared for it. She flew out of the meatball range. However, it collided with Grovyle's face instead.

"My face, it burns!" Grovyle shouted in pain as he ran over to the fountain in the middle of the orchard to wash his face.

"Oops, my bad. Sorry, Grovyle." Archeops apologized sincerely.

Meanwhile, the other Feckless Flygon members started to pick up some berries.

"I got Oran Berry in the basket!" Darmanitan announced.

"I got Cheri Berry as well!" Miltank said as she dropped the berry into the basket.

Lucario used himself as a distraction to keep Chef Drapion away from his teammates. It was currently working very well.

"Your sharp shooting skill sucks. You will never get a gold medal at any sports events." Lucario taunted once again. Chef Drapion shot another meatball. Lucario ducked down as it hit Bisharp. Obviously, the strategist was enraged at this.

"Stop Lucario!" Bisharp shouted furiously to his teammates. They stopped finding berries and chased Lucario around the orchard. The athlete ensured that his opponents were as far away from the rare berries as possible.

"Chef Drapion, you sucked!" Larvitar tried the same strategy at the same time. Chef Drapion blasted another meatball at him. Larvitar evaded it… and the meatball hit Nosepass instead.

"Wrong target." Nosepass said as he wiped the meatball off him.

"You should learn how to dodge." Larvitar retorted as Chef Drapion blasted another meatball at the bully's face.

"Ahh! Not again." Larvitar screamed as he ran to the fountain.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Lucario, this is a new low for you. Now, you are officially in my hit list."

 **Archeops:** "I never know that Lucario is this kind of person…"

 **Miltank:** "Lucario is real tough. He isn't scared of anyone."

 **Darmanitan:** "I feel bad for the other team. The homie is being too competitive."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon gained a huge lead. Shedinja collected the Pecha Berry and was about to deliver it to the basket. However, Heracross blocked his way.

"You need to get through me first." Heracross indicated as she rushed in to steal the berry.

"Look, behind you." Shedinja alerted in his usual bored tone.

"As if I will believe you." Heracross said as a meatball blasted her back. Lucario lured Chef Drapion over to shoot her.

"Told you." Shedinja drawled. The bug made his way slowly to the basket. With his Wonder Guard ability, Chef Drapion didn't bother to shoot him.

Meowth saw a giant tree at the end of the orchard. At the very top, there was a berry with a question mark pattern. He looked around to see Ledyba close to him.

"My lovely acquaintance, can you give me a lift? I really want to acquire that berry." Meowth persuaded.

"Of course." Ledyba lifted Meowth up as he harvested the berry.

"It looks like I have rose to the top of the hierarchy. Can you keep me airborne until I reach the basket?" Meowth requested further. Ledyba nodded as she flew to the basket. Chef Drapion saw this and aimed at them.

"Take this, suckers." Chef Drapion blasted another meatball at the two of them. Meowth dropped himself down from Ledyba grasp so he can dodge it. The meatball hit only Ledyba. As Meowth landed, he looked at Ledyba with concern.

"I'm fine. This is for the team." Ledyba assured as she went to the fountain. Meowth ran to the basket. Chef Drapion blasted a meatball toward him again. The cat closed his eyes and braced for the impact. There was a sound of meatball colliding. However, it collided with Machoke instead.

"For the team!" Machoke exclaimed as Meowth ran ahead with the mysterious berry. He passed Chef Drapion successfully out of the gate and placed the berry into the basket. He smiled at the collaborative effort of his team.

* * *

 **Confessional:**

 **Meowth:** "I always reward my loyal customers with loyalty cards."

 **Machoke:** "I took one for the team because I felt useless during the entire challenge. All I see are Oran Berries. I hope my team is proud of me."

 **Scolipede:** "One for the team? It is tough to see the hidden antagonists than I thought… This is very frustrating!"

 **Ledyba:** "Sure, Scolipede will now suspect me of having a hidden motive."

* * *

"Four for the Feckless Flygon and zero for the Crazy Crawdaunt. What a landslide!" Skarmory informed the contestants.

"There is no need to rub salt in the wound." Drifblim said as she tried to deliver the Oran Berry. Chef Drapion blasted a meatball at her. However, Drifblim was a ghost type. Therefore, she vanished to dodge the meatball and delivered it to the basket.

"That's not fair." Lucario complained.

"You have Shedinja." Skarmory reminded. Lucario sighed as he continued to run away from the Crazy Crawdaunt stampede.

"Team, we need to control ourselves. Stop chasing Lucario and come closer, I got a plan." Archeops rallied her members together, she whispered something to them. They all nodded and spread out. Lucario saw this and groaned with dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, Scolipede delivered the Chesto Berry and Duosion delivered the Leppa Berry. It was six to one with Feckless Flygon in the lead for the first task.

Elekid harvested a Cheri Berry and threw it toward Drifblim. The ghost type proceeded to deliver every single berry from now on. Chef Drapion didn't even bother blasting her like Shedinja.

"Here, take this Pecha Berry." Grovyle tossed the berry into her direction. Drifblim caught it and dropped it down to the basket.

"They are catching up fast, Feckless Flygon. It is now six to three." Skarmory updated the score.

* * *

 **Confessional:**

 **Archeops:** "Our strategy worked. All thanks to Drifblim."

 **Drifblim:** "Being a ghost type has many benefits."

 **Tyrunt:** "This game isn't well balanced. I feel like Skarmory should put restrictions on ghost types next time. A good game need patches. I remember the days when certain Pokemon dominate in virtual Pokemon battle online. It forced many players to use top tiers. Luckily, the developers nerfed them really hard. There is even a joke about it. Is it better nerf Greninja?"

* * *

Houndour saw a weird berry, it was green with hairs on its peel. Chef Drapion blasted a meatball toward him. Houndour barely dodged it by jumping away. He held the berry with his mouth and ran to the basket.

"Chef Drapion, are you blind?" Lucario taunted. However, it failed as Chef Drapion continued to shoot at Houndour. Another meatball barely missed Houndour.

On the other hand, Drifblim from Crazy Crawdaunt quickly delivered the Chesto Berry.

Archeops flew around so she can see the berry trees more clearly. There was one tree with two strange berries. They were purple with lumps surrounding them. The lumps allowed Archeops to grip one easily. Ledyba saw this and took the last berry in the tree. At this moment, Chef Drapion blasted meatballs at both of them, successfully. They lost their grasps on the berries.

"I need to wash myself again." Archeops complained. With this opening, Meowstic saw the berries and took both of them.

"Hey, give that back!" Archeops chased after her. Ledyba followed to help Meowstic.

"Help!" Meowstic screamed for help. Luckily, Cryogonal was nearby. She signaled for Meowstic to pass both of them secretly. Unfortunately, Meowstic wasn't secretive enough. She hurriedly passed them to Cryogonal. Archeops noticed this.

"Heracross, block her." Archeops ordered Heracross to block the snowflake. Cryogonal threw it to Shedinja, who caught it luckily.

"Damn it!" Heracross shouted with an angry expression on her face. Shedinja delivered both of the berries successfully. (The type is the same so it counts as one point.)

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "That ghost bug beat me twice. Wait until the merge…"

 **Meowstic:** "Yay, I'm useful to my team."

* * *

Houndour was about to reach the gate. However, the meatball blasted Houndour in the face. The berry was hurled up into the air.

"My face!" Houndour yelled as he ran over to the fountain, which was tainted by meatball sauce by now.

"You better clean the fountain up after this." Skarmory told Chef Drapion, who grumbled to himself at this.

Farfetch'd utilized this opening to collect the hairy, green berry.

"Mr. Stalk, our team need us." Farfetch'd stared at Chef Drapion, who was about to press the trigger of the bazooka. Chef Drapion stared back at Farfetch'd, who tossed the berry up and down. This was an intense showdown as everyone stopped what they were doing to spectate.

Suddenly, Chef Drapion blasted meatballs rapidly at Farfetch'd. There were four meatballs in total. The bird slammed the berry with Mr. Stalk, sending the berry flying into his team basket. The contestants were shocked at this. However, the meatballs were still fast approaching.

Instead of dodging, Farfetch'd swung Mr. Stalk into all four meatballs, deflecting them toward… Skrelp. The seahorse didn't react fast enough.

"*beep*!" Skrelp swore as the meatballs collided with her face. Her eyes were burning. Skarmory looked at the damage with concern.

"Chef Drapion, send Skrelp to the infirmary instantly!" Skarmory ordered. He then turned to the contestants.

"Well, another contestant is in the infirmary. We should move on to the second part of the challenge before any further incidents occur." Skarmory instructed as the teams will now tell the names and uses of the berries they collected.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk is a professional baseball player. It seems like he doesn't like Skrelp because of her arrogant and insufferable attitude."

 **Archeops:** "Great, Farfetch'd. Our team now lost the smartest member thanks to your stunt. She is also a member of my alliance. Your future doesn't look bright to me."

 **Jumpluff:** "Despite what happened between us, I can't help but feel a bit of sympathy for her. Still, she deserves it."

 **Larvitar:** "You deserve it for calling me a scullion, *beep*!"

* * *

"The final score is seven to five, with the Feckless Flygon in the lead. Head off and discuss with your team about the berries. Give me a list with all of the correct descriptions."

The Feckless Flygon were very optimistic with their lead and Skrelp being taken out of the challenge. Lucario started the discussion right away.

"We will move on from the obvious answers like Oran Berry, Cheri Berry, Pecha Berry, Chesto Berry and Leppa Berry. What about these two weird berries?" Lucario asked his team about a berry with question marks and a purple berry with lumps.

"I think I know the name of the purple berry. It is called Wiki Berry. It has these lumps to help Pokemon grip it. Furthermore, it might be used to restore health in a pinch with a possible side effect of confusion." Ledyba answered quite confidently.

"If no one objects, I will take your words for it." Lucario observed his teammates. Everyone seemed fine with the answer. Lucario nodded at Ledyba as he wrote all the things she said down alongside the description for simple berries.

"What about this question mark berry?" Lucario asked. No one said anything.

"If we got everything right, we should lead by one point." Lucario summarized all of the descriptions before he handed the list to Skarmory.

* * *

On the contrary, the Crazy Crawdaunt were very pessimistic.

"We are done for! Might as well start thinking about who we should vote off." Jumpluff told her teammates.

"Relax Jumpluff, there is still a chance for a miracle. Only if Skrelp is here…" Archeops said as she stared at Farfetch'd. He returned the stare.

"Anybody knows anything about this hairy, green berry?" Archeops asked, giving her team a closer look. Bisharp raised his hand. Archeops pointed at him.

"I believe that it is called a Rabuta berry. It tastes bitter and can be used as a Poffin ingredient." Bisharp answered.

"We will go with that. The rest like Oran Berry, Cheri Berry, Pecha Berry and Chesto Berry should be self-explanatory." Archeops finished the discussion as well. Skarmory received both lists.

"Contestants, gather in the middle of the clearing for the results." Skarmory flew away to the clearing as the contestants followed him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "Can't he announce it right on the spot? Why must we wait?"

 **Bisharp:** "I predict our inevitable elimination. I have a few choices…" Bisharp tapped his chin as he thought about the elimination.

* * *

Skarmory landed in the middle of the clearing and sipped his berry juice. When all contestants gathered, he announced the results.

"Both of the teams got the description for Oran Berry correct. I mean it is obvious, slightly restoring your health. The next one, Pecha Berry… Both teams got it correct as well. It cures poison. Cheri Berry cures paralysis obviously. Feckless Flygon and Crazy Crawdaunt are tied with three to three. All of you should get these descriptions correct so, no surprise. The next one, Chesto cures sleep. Tied four to four. The fifth one is different for both teams. Leppa Berry restores your energy. The Feckless Flygon got it right. The Crazy Crawdaunt called this green berry Rabuta, which is correct. It is used as a bitter Poffin ingredient. If the Feckless Flygon get the next two wrong, we will do a tiebreaker. The question mark berry is called Enigma Berry. It restores your health when you receive a super effective attack. The Feckless Flygon called it a question mark berry with no description. We will move on to the last one…" Skarmory built up suspense. The contestants all anticipated the final result.

"The last berry is called Wiki Berry, the Feckless Flygon got the name and the description correct! For the first time, they win!" Skarmory declared the Feckless Flygon the winner.

"Yes!' Lucario shouted in joy as his team carried him away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Finally! Woo-hoo!" Lucario cheered with a smile on his face.

 **Meowstic:** "Yes! I'm safe for another day. I need to make a comeback somehow."

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt were disappointed. It was their first elimination. They separated to their own ways. Grovyle secretly met with Bisharp in the forest. Archeops and her alliance entered the infirmary. Jumpluff headed to the mess hall with Dedenne, Tyrunt and Elekid. Nosepass was forced to go with Larvitar. Helioptile and Snorunt were in the Crawdaunt girls' cabin. Rhyhorn and Farfetch'd were on their own.

"Are you alright?" Archeops asked Skrelp. Chef Drapion applied some medicine to her eyes. She could now see and move normally.

"I have recovered. For the elimination, we should take Farfetch'd out." Skrelp suggested.

"I understand that you hate him for what he did to you. However, it was unintentional. Are you sure about this? He is a strong member." Archeops hesitated.

"There are more reasons than my personal reason. Farfetch'd is a wild card. He is unpredictable and he can't be controlled by his own team. He is extremely independent. He will be a threat in the merge. Take him out now is the best option. That little scullion Larvitar can be eliminated any day. Same with that pathetic, apprehensive Nosepass." Skrelp persuaded. Archeops nodded at this.

"Do both of you agree?" Archeops asked Drifblim and Heracross.

"Fine by me." Heracross agreed. Drifblim nodded as well.

"We need more votes." Archeops contemplated about this.

"I will handle this obligation." Skrelp removed herself from the infirmary.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Archeops is too dependent on Skrelp. Hmm… This kind of leader won't last for long. Just because Skrelp thinks she is smart doesn't mean she is the smartest. Personally, I prefer to get rid of Bisharp. He is more of a threat than Farfetch'd. That bird will get himself eliminated with no alliance. Oh well, Skrelp is taking charge and I'm in the backseat for now. I should also act a bit submissive in front of her."

 **Archeops:** "Hopefully, the team will be fine with this elimination. I prefer to keep winning so that we will have more members for the merge. Lucario will be an enormous threat if he makes it there."

* * *

Larvitar cornered Nosepass in their cabin.

"Vote with me and get rid of that loser, Rhyhorn. Or else…" Larvitar threatened Nosepass. He nodded immediately. However, Rhyhorn's words lingered in his mind still. His eyes showed it.

Skrelp opened the door and Larvitar stomped toward her.

"Hey loser, you better vote with me or else…" Larvitar tried to threaten her.

"Or else what? You are just a scullion, a weakling that belongs in the kitchen. Do you think you even have the guts to attack me? If you commit that impetuous act, I will ensure that my team obliterate you." Skrelp threatened back, her eyes filled with rage. Larvitar gulped at this.

"What do you want?" Larvitar stepped backward as Skrelp stepped forward.

"Vote for Farfetch'd or else…" Skrelp pressured Larvitar into submission.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Larvitar isn't scary at all. So why am I scared of him?"

 **Larvitar:** "Nosepass better vote for Farfetch'd with me."

* * *

Grovyle walked to see Heracross near the infirmary. He tried to patch things up with her.

"You know Heracross, I thought we are close. Remember the time when we arrived on this island? You complimented me. However, you went behind my back for cups of noodle. Is that something that should be an obstacle between us? I'm willing to be a bigger man and ignore that incident, how about you?" Grovyle asked as he offered his hand.

"Vote Farfetch'd with us to prove your loyalty then." Heracross said as she considered the handshake.

"Deal." Grovyle accepted as Heracross shook his hand.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Bisharp helped me to create the script. Without him, I probably will fail to patch things up with her." His eyes hid subtle rage and envy. "Man, I read off the script all the times. A protagonist like me deserves better. Maybe, I should write my own script."

 **Heracross:** "Hey, the guy isn't bad. He isn't in the list of my hated contestants."

* * *

Bisharp paced around in the clearing. Skrelp approached him.

"We are both ingenious. Why don't we join up in a temporary alliance? An erudite man like you should have an alliance. If you agree to my terms of service and stay loyal. We might even be a permanent alliance. Do you reciprocate this?" Skrelp persuaded Bisharp.

"Deal." Bisharp accepted the terms of service.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Excellent, she didn't know about my alliance with Grovyle. This is a chance for me to be a double agent. Infiltrating her true alliance will be challenging, but it must be done."

 **Skrelp:** "I feel like I share a connection with Bisharp. Having him on my side shouldn't be a problem."

* * *

Jumpluff looked indecisive as she asked her fellow teammates.

"Should we vote for Larvitar or should we vote for Skrelp?' Jumpluff asked.

"Skrelp, I don't like her. She is vulgar and rude." Dedenne expressed her opinion.

"Larvitar, I hate bullies. He even insulted me." Elekid thought otherwise. Tyrunt didn't know who to vote for. Everyone stared at him.

"Larvitar, because he is a jerk." Tyrunt came up with it right on the spot.

"How about this? We split the votes between both of them." Jumpluff came up with a solution. All of them agreed to this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I'm fine with both of them getting eliminated. I'm pretty sure it is between both of them. I mean Skrelp and a few of her friends might vote for Farfetch'd but I doubt that it will be enough.

* * *

Helioptile and Snorunt kept things simple.

"Vote for Larvitar." Helioptile told Snorunt and she agreed.

Rhyhorn looked around for Ursaring to no avail and then left to the bonfire ceremony.

Farfetch'd sat alone under a tree, staring at the rising moon.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** I plan to stick by my words, no alliances. My girlfriend doesn't want me to do that and I will honor my promise to her. There is no need to scramble for votes. If my team feel the need to kick me out, they kick me out. It is no biggie. I still have a chance at redemption. There are probably a few spots for returning contestants. Mr. Stalk and I know that we are both capable of making it back.

* * *

Skarmory sipped his berry juice before he started the elimination. Drifblim shook her head at this.

"Crazy Crawdaunt, this is your first elimination. If you receive a Leppa Berry, you are safe. Simple as that. Let's start right away." Skarmory explained simply. He rubbed as wings together before he threw the first few Leppa Berries.

"Archeops, Drifblim, Bisharp and Grovyle." The first four were happy to receive their berries.

"Helioptile and Snorunt." The two shared smiles with each other.

"Heracross" Skarmory announced the name slower to build up suspense.

"Tyrunt"

"Elekid"

"Dedenne"

"Jumpluff"

"Nosepass"

"Rhyhorn" The final three were on the edge of their seats.

"Skrelp" Skrelp had a smug look.

"Larvitar, you are a bully. Your insufferable attitude will be the end of you someday. However, is that day, today? Farfetch'd, you are a strong contestant. Yet, you don't have alliances. Will that mark the end for you and Mr. Stalk? The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory paused dramatically.

…

…

…

…

…

"Farfetch'd," He left to the confessional, Mr. Stalk hanging lower than usual on his right wing.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Well, Mr. Stalk and I had a great run. We know that there is still a chance for us to make a comeback. I stick by my integrity until the very end. I could be a bit more social but Mr. Stalk argues against it. Our greatest achievement is probably beating Chef Drapion in the meatball showdown. I want Rhyhorn to win. I feel like he is playing a similar game to us. Mr. Stalk also predicts that he will make it far. I don't want that arrogant Skrelp or that cowardly Larvitar to win.

* * *

Farfetch'd left to the dock. There was no one to see him off. Farfetch'd sighed as he stared straight at the shining moon on his Lapras.

"I feel a bit of sympathy for him. No one is seeing him off. He is a pretty cool contestant. Anyways, another contestant is eliminated and another contestant entered the infirmary. Will the infirmary streak continue? Will spicy drama occur? What do I have in store for the next challenge? What will I drink next? Find out next time on Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode. The camera zoomed away from the island.

* * *

 **Votes**

Archeops: Farfetch'd

Skrelp: Farfetch'd

Heracross: Farfetch'd

Drifblim: Farfetch'd

Jumpluff: Skrelp

Dedenne: Skrelp

Tyrunt: Larvitar

Elekid: Larvitar

Grovyle: Farfetch'd

Bisharp: Farfetch'd

Rhyhorn: Larvitar

Farfetch'd: Skrelp

Helioptile: Larvitar

Snorunt: Larvitar

Nosepass: Farfetch'd

Larvitar: Farfetch'd

Farfetch'd: 8 (eliminated)

Larvitar: 5

Skrelp: 3

* * *

I know that a few of you like Farfetch'd. Please don't kill me, most of the eliminations were already predetermined before I write this story. There is little room for change. However, this doesn't mean Farfetch'd won't be one of the returning contestants. He might or might not be. I enjoy writing his character. It is a shame Skrelp voted him off.

The challenge was pretty basic. The next few challenges might also be a bit basic. I plan to have unoriginal challenges as well. However, there will be some sort of extra twist to make it interesting. I will release the next episode sometime during next week. I plan to have weekly updates. However, there will be no guarantee. This episode is shorter than usual. However, I hope you enjoy it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Reply to Review**

 **Worma-Sir**

I'm glad that you like Houndour a bit more. I must admit, he was a bit inspired from Electrike. However, I change him to make him more original. Meowth is one of the characters that I plan intricately. You will see… Yeah, I remember when Eva hurt that poor janitor. Lucario is a bit inspired from her. However, he is a professional athlete in the Pokeathlon Nationals. I actually expect you to be angrier for getting rid of Farfetch'd. Good for me. About characters interacting in the same group. I totally agree. The thing is they will interact in different groups once the merge hits and some of their friends are eliminated. Don't worry, I already plan some dialogues. I just want to make the alliances and groups a bit clear in the first few chapters. They will scramble and make new allies in the merge. Thanks for your continued support. Honestly, I doubt myself a lot sometimes. English isn't my first language and it can be tough to write. However, your words of motivation really encourage me. I also recover from the Pokemon Anime XYZ incident. I actually plan to upload this yesterday but well, stuff happened.

* * *

 **Episode 4: 7.8/10 Too Many Cameras**

Many cameras were turned on. Skarmory looked around at each of them.

"There are more cameras than usual. I wonder if the challenge will involve them today." Skarmory hinted.

"Last time, contestants scavenged for Skarmory tokens. Some searched the forest as usual while some were bold enough to enter the legendary Skarmory Cave." Skarmory said in his spooky voice.

"Poor Houndour fell for my Zubat trick, making him officially a coward. In return, he got a bowl of cereal and milk as a consolation reward. Totally worth it right? A certain contestant disagreed and complained. What an ungrateful customer. On the other hand, a certain businessman sweet talked his way to a discount. The contestants were then forced to collect a variety of berries. Lucario used his dirty tactics to secure his team victory. Drifblim and Shedinja abused their type and abilities. Best of all, Farfetch'd sent Skrelp to the infirmary, getting himself eliminated. Will the infirmary streak continue? Will relationships develop? Who will be eliminated? Find out in this episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory finished the opening.

* * *

Lucario jogged around in the forest. Strangely, there was a smile on his face. The athlete held a big mushroom in his hand. His eyes scouted his surroundings for more rare items.

Meowth coincidentally found Lucario on his way to the Skarmory Cave. The two faced each other.

"How is your day, Lucario?" Meowth greeted.

"Great, I'm satisfied with our first victory yesterday. Especially, the showcase of teamwork between you, Machoke and Ledyba. All of your efforts shall be noticed. I hope the team keep up the exceptional performance. To motivate them, I'm planning to throw a celebration party." Lucario explained.

"An athlete needs his sponsor. Do you need help in funding the event? I will gladly be of your service." Meowth offered his help.

"I appreciate that. If you can find more Skarmory tokens, please bring them to me. I will wait next to Skarmory Shop at lunchtime." Lucario replied. Meowth nodded and shook Lucario hand.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "In the Aura Beast, I punish my teammates when they lose and I reward them when they win. This is how I operate things. Mr. Nice Guy Lucario will only come out when his team wins. Therefore, I want our team to remember that through this party."

 **Meowth:** "Customers are rushing into my business. The door opens and I welcome them with a smile. I offer them a few drinks. They give me their entire life savings joyfully. Profits are raining and raining and raining. Hahahaha..."

* * *

Houndour waited for the others in front of the cave. He tapped his feet to pass some time.

"When will they arrive?" Houndour asked impatiently. Houndour looked around. Some bushes rustled. A Pokemon was coming.

"Meowth?" Houndour asked, he didn't expect a reply. Houndour ran over to the cat straight away.

"Am I punctual for the business meeting?" Meowth asked with a worried expression.

"You are right on time. Dude, no need to be formal and serious. We are all friends here." Houndour assured. Meowth stared weirdly at Houndour for a short moment. It was as if he needed time to adjust himself.

"I'm not late then." Meowth spoke, his language was adjusted.

"Yeah, we still need to wait for Duosion." Houndour reminded as they waited. The wait was awfully silent.

"How is your time here?" Houndour broke the ice.

"The island is rich with natural resources. There are many opportunities for business." Meowth answered as Houndour shook his head.

"I'm not talking about business, dude. I'm asking how you feel personally." Houndour clarified. The two looked at each other awkwardly at first. Meowth then opened his mouth.

"I see… I'm doing well. The island isn't half-bad. There is enough accommodation. I also earn enough Skarmory tokens to buy average-income food every day." Meowth adapted.

"That's good. I also earn enough to afford decent food. The pillows and bed are a bit uncomfortable but I'm not spoiled so they are fine. The island looks beautiful. It is thrilling to explore the different environments." Houndour told about his experience as well.

Duosion finally appeared, both of them looked at her with expressions of relief.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "Meowth is cool and all but it can be a bit tough to socialize with him. Hopefully, things will be less awkward next time."

 **Meowth:** "It is very important for a businessman to have social skills. However, I usually talk to more mature groups of Pokemon. Our topic of discussion mainly involves business. Therefore, I need some time to adjust to certain groups of Pokemon in this island. My deadline will be tomorrow."

* * *

"Are both of you, alright? I'm not late, am I?" Duosion asked with concern.

"Everything is fine. We are just keen to enter the cave. Now that everyone is here, we should enter." Houndour replied before he entered the cave first.

Noticeably, he walked slower than usual. His eyes darted from place to place, trying to find hidden traps. The fire type lighted the cave up once again. While Meowth could be seen behind him, Duosion stayed beside Houndour. She looked worried about his phobias.

"I find a Normal Gem." Meowth said as he picked up a white gemstone.

"Pickup isn't it?" Duosion assumed about his ability. Meowth nodded.

They eventually reached a ladder at the end of the first floor. The second underground level was dark and ominous. Houndour hesitated to go down. Meowth eyed this with worry.

"Are you alright, partner?" Meowth asked. Duosion whispered the truth into his ears and the businessman nodded.

"I will accept your resignation letter if you are that scared. I can find a different job for you." Meowth consoled. Houndour took a deep breath.

"No, I must face my fear." Houndour said confidently as he descended down the ladder. Sure, his past was traumatizing. However, Houndour was also brave. He didn't want to disappoint his friends. They made him face his fear. A few droplets of water fell from the ceiling on Houndour's head as he went down the ladder. It made him flinched. Duosion noticed this and used Psychic to block out the droplets of water.

"Thanks Duosion." Houndour was grateful.

"No problem for me." Duosion said as they all went down to the second floor.

The interior was roughly the same. Sharp, pointy rocks and uneven ground. Houndour walked very carefully while illuminating the cave with his fire. Duosion pointed out pressure plates and tripwires while Meowth picked up a Nugget.

"We are a great team." Houndour commented. All of them agreed.

They eventually made their way to the end of the second floor. There was another ladder down to the third floor. This time, there was a revolting and repulsive smell from down there.

"I think our trip is a success. We should leave." Meowth suggested as he acquired a Ground Gem.

"Yeah, I agree." Houndour said as he stepped back and closed his nose from the smell. The three explorers left the cave safely. Back at the entrance, they talked to each other before their separation.

"We got three rare items, which worth sixteen Skarmory tokens." Duosion calculated.

"We are great partners in this trip. Therefore, I want all of us to start a partnership business together. Don't you agree?" Meowth suggested.

"I agree. However, I don't want this partnership to be an evil alliance. We will only cooperate when it comes to Skarmory tokens, deal?" Duosion bargained with Meowth.

"Obviously, we are setting up a legal business." Meowth assured with his persuasive tone.

"I'm in then. We should create a name. A cool one. What will it be?" Houndour said with excitement at the creation of their business.

"Meowth & Co. Is that alright?" Meowth proposed a team name shamelessly. Houndour gave Meowth a weird look.

"Nah. How about Treasure Trio? That sounds cooler." Houndour asked for feedback.

"I like the alliteration." Duosion supported it.

"The majority rules in this meeting. I guess I have no choice." Meowth said half willingly.

"It is official. We are the Treasure Trio!" Houndour announced as they held on to each other before they all jumped.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "Meowth is such a jokester. I like his business jokes but sometimes they are just too much, you know? I know that he wasn't being serious with that Meowth  & Co. thing."

 **Meowth:** "Oh, I'm deadly serious about that name. Treasure Trio is decent but it doesn't suit my taste. However, a great businessman can't be selective. I welcome all Pokemon to my business. Whether old or young, male or female, smart or stupid, villains or heroes. Meowth never isolates any Pokemon. I want to form connections with everyone yet keep it under the table." Meowth winked at the camera.

 **Duosion:** "Meowth is intriguing. I don't know whether or not he is a hero or a villain. He might be in the middle. A businessman that trades with both sides. A part of me wants to suspect him. Yet, another part of me wants to trust him faithfully. I don't want to be like Scolipede. I should trust him a bit more."

* * *

Grovyle opened the door to the mess hall. He saw Tyrunt and Elekid inside. This might be an opportunity for him to socialize a bit with them.

"Hey guys, doing well?" Grovyle said as he sat next to them.

"Yeah, what are you doing here? This isn't lunchtime." Tyrunt asked.

"Just chilling out with you guys. It is pretty boring outside." Grovyle explained.

"You don't seem to be the type of individual that will sit with us." Elekid raised his eyes in suspicion.

"Why? I have nothing against any of you." Grovyle asked, he looked a bit anxious.

"You are not close to us either." Tyrunt said.

"Guys, I'm just trying to be a friend." Grovyle assured.

"Can we trust him?" Elekid whispered to Tyrunt. Grovyle tried to listen but he failed.

"Err… He isn't half bad. I never see him with any of our enemies." Tyrunt whispered back.

"My heart hurts, you know? I'm a pretty nice guy. I don't know why both of you don't trust me." Grovyle said with a sad expression. He was about to leave.

"I mean…we can talk a bit if you want." Tyrunt said to make Grovyle feel better. Grovyle returned to his seat with a slight smile.

"Superb, since we are in the mess hall. What about the chef's food? What do you think of it? I never eat it before. I only see the purple sludge on the plate." Grovyle asked with curiosity. Tyrunt and Elekid looked as if they were about to puke at the mention of the disgusting sludge.

"Eww. It isn't even food, more like garbage being made edible." Tyrunt degraded the food as he coughed with his arms on his neck. Elekid patted his back to make him feel better. Grovyle was disturbed by the thought of the food.

"It squirms inside your stomach after you eat it. I mean it makes us feel full but in a negative way." Elekid described further. Now, Grovyle felt fortunate that he didn't get to eat the sludge.

"I feel bad for you guys. Perhaps, I can share food with you two next time." Grovyle offered.

"Share with us?!" Both of them shouted in disbelief. Grovyle looked confused.

"What's wrong with that?" Grovyle asked.

"You don't seem to be the kind of Pokemon that will do that. You share it with the likes of Heracross last time. Even though you seem to regret it, why share with us now? Aren't we just a bunch of nerds to you?" Tyrunt asked with disbelief. Grovyle shook his head and his hands.

"No! I told you I have nothing against any of you. I'm willing to share if you need it. Last time, I made a mistake. I should have shared with you guys instead." Grovyle reassured.

"Wow, you are a better Pokemon than I thought. Thanks man." Elekid said.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I mean half of me is doing this to get their votes. Another half of me is just trying to be genuinely nice. I'm not that all serious about winning. However, at the very least I want to prove Chef Drapion wrong. After all, I'm Good Guy Grovyle." Grovyle pointed to himself.

 **Elekid:** "Grovyle is that kind of Pokemon that you will see with the cool kids or the jocks, you know? At least that is what I think. I never expect him to be nice to us."

 **Tyrunt:** "Good food, here I come!"

* * *

Snorunt and Helioptile sat on the benches in the clearing. They were talking to each other.

"What do you want to do here other than competing for the million?" Helioptile asked.

"I don't know. I'm here to build up my confidence I guess. I don't have many friends in school. They can be mean sometimes. They act nice one day then turn mean the other day." Snorunt sobbed a bit.

"You can forget about them! Don't let them make you feel like trash. Don't let them demoralize you. You got more heart than them. I will always be here for you as long as I can." Helioptile consoled her.

"Thank you so much…" Snorunt thanked Helioptile for supporting her all this time. A shadow slowly approached both of them. It looked intimidating at first glance. The shadow slowly consumed them. Both of them felt uncomfortable all of a sudden. They turned around slowly to see… Larvitar. Nosepass was next to him, shaking terribly.

"Hey losers. I'm forcing you weaklings to join my super awesome, invincible alliance as my personal slaves. I need you and this stone head to go around the island, collecting rare items for me." Larvitar demanded.

"What if we don't? You are a mean jerk, nobody likes you!" Helioptile stood up against Larvitar.

"Then, I will beat you up!" Larvitar said as he pushed Helioptile to the ground.

"Hey meanie, don't hurt my friend!" Snorunt shouted angrily before she tried to help Helioptile.

"What can you do?" Larvitar said as he laughed. Helioptile pushed herself off the ground with Snorunt's help. Nosepass just stood there, he was too scared to move.

"Who said you have the right to help her?" Larvitar pushed Snorunt down to the ground as well. Nosepass trembled, anxiety written all over his face.

"How dare you?!" Helioptile yelled as she stepped on Larvitar's foot.

"This hurts!" Larvitar screamed in pain before he ran away. Nosepass sighed in relief before he fled, far away from Larvitar.

"You are so strong." Snorunt complimented.

"I didn't step on him that hard." Helioptile admitted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar:** "Those losers will pay! *beep* them all!"

 **Nosepass:** "I hate it! I hate it! I hate my incompetent self! Even Snorunt is stronger than me…" Nosepass started crying.

 **Helioptile:** "Larvitar better back off from me and my friends. Snorunt is getting better as of right now. I don't want him to make things worse."

 **Snorunt:** "I want to be strong like Helioptile. I know that I can be strong."

* * *

Larvitar kicked some small rocks around the forest. One of the rocks bounced off a tree and hit him in the face.

"Ouch. Stupid rock." Larvitar said with frustration clear on his face.

"This will teach you a lesson." Larvitar talked to the rock as he picked it up. Afterwards, he threw the rock against the same tree. It bounced again, hitting him in the face for the second time. Drifblim saw this and giggled.

"What are you laughing at, loser?!" Larvitar shouted angrily as he stomped on the ground.

"You are just a laughing stock, Larvitar. You tried and tried again to assert your dominance by insulting and bullying those that are weaker than you. Unfortunately, there are only a few that you can control. Perhaps, you aren't as powerful as you think." Drifblim mocked. Larvitar's face was red.

"Shut up! I'm the strongest. I will be a Tyranitar someday and all of you will bow down to me." Larvitar denied.

"Then, why don't you be a real villain? You are nothing to this show as of right now. A villain? I doubt that the viewers think of you as that. You are just a jerk that will be eliminated soon. At the very least, go out with a bang. Can't you think of simple schemes and tricks like sabotaging a contestant or framing? How pathetic." Drifblim manipulated Larvitar, so that he creates chaos for the viewers.

"I already think of doing that before you even born. Yeah, sabotaging and framing, they are originally my ideas!" Larvitar kept denying anything that makes him look pathetic.

"Indeed, they are your ideas. I'm not involved or associated with you in anyway." Drifblim said before she left.

"Of course, I already planned to do all of that since the first day. You are nothing but a ghost. All of you are…" Larvitar continued to rant and ramble to no one.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Larvitar is a disappointing contestant. He brings nothing to the show other than slapstick humor. Therefore, I'm giving him a second life. I want him to create a real drama before his inevitable elimination. Like I already said, there is no need for me to directly create drama, neither will I. I'm much smarter than that."

 **Larvitar:** "First target is that loser, Helioptile. I will make her pay for what she did."

* * *

Jumpluff floated to get fresh air from the beach. Along the way, she met Skrelp near the bonfire. The seahorse read her book as usual. Jumpluff frowned upon this.

"What is with that facial expression? Did you friends ditch you?" Skrelp tried to annoy Jumpluff. Her eyes didn't move an inch from the book. This made Jumpluff even more annoyed.

"What about you? Did you friends ditch you? You are alone as well." Jumpluff retorted.

"This is normal for me. I'm introverted. I prefer to read this book quietly in seclusion. I only interact with you because there are a few rumors going around about your annoying attitude." Skrelp said coldly.

"What rumors?" Jumpluff looked anxious.

"Figure it out yourself." Skrelp ended the conversation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "That is a lie. Why am I doing this? Well, Jumpluff will only suspect a few Pokemon. The most logical conclusion is Archeops, due to their recent discording debacle yesterday. I don't need to get rid of Jumpluff right now, neither is she my target. Why? She is a weak contestant, simple as that. Her vote against me is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The Pokemon I'm aiming for is Archeops. She is one of the few that can challenge me. The other threats are Bisharp and Lucario. The rest are all weaklings. However, I don't want to get rid of her right now. I want to capitalize on her leadership to win a few more challenges first."

 **Jumpluff:** "Who spread the rumors? It must be someone close to Skrelp. Heracross? She is with Skrelp a few times but I don't think they are close. The only one left is Archeops. That two-faced, no good leader!"

* * *

Jumpluff arrived at the beach. Bisharp sat on the edge of the dock, holding a fishing rod. Was he fishing?

"What are you doing, Bisharp? Where did you get that fishing pole?" Jumpluff asked.

"I'm fishing to practice for the next fishing tournament. I found this fishing rod in a secret room at the back of the mountain area. It was hidden by a gray wallpaper." Bisharp answered.

"Why do you compete in a fishing tournament? Is that your hobby?" Jumpluff asked Bisharp curiously. The Blade Pokemon captured her attention.

"My parents force me to enter many tournaments and shows. I have a busy schedule this year. I need to compete in a chess tournament, the Amazing Race Pokemon, a fishing tournament, a tournament of geniuses and a lot more." Bisharp listed some of his upcoming activities.

"Force? Did you say that your parents force you? Why?" Jumpluff asked.

"They are… demanding. They expect me to be perfect. Despite my perfect academic grades, I need to be talented in every area of expertise." Bisharp said, he suddenly looked stressed. Jumpluff looked down in sympathy.

"Do you enjoy competing in this show, even a little bit?" Jumpluff asked. Bisharp said nothing, silence was his answer.

"Sorry. I want to request something from you but I don't think it is appropriate now." Jumpluff was about to leave. Bisharp pulled her back.

"Don't worry, what do you need of my services?" Bisharp said politely and formally.

"Since you look very smart, I want you to beat Skrelp in an intellectual challenge. Knock her down a few pegs or several even. Reel her in like a fish out of water!" Jumpluff requested. Bisharp became silent, staring at the calm water. He spoke up shortly after.

"I don't think I can…" Bisharp looked unconfident when it comes to beating Skrelp.

"Oh, I see. Also, can you tell me the names of your social media accounts? I want to follow you for the upcoming events." Jumpluff said cheerfully. Bisharp looked even more distressed. Jumpluff noticed this and left. There wasn't even a nibble on Bisharp's fishing rod.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Why do these Pokemon have absurdly high expectations of me? Do they expect me to be a legendary fisherman, a chess master, a master manipulator, a professional athlete, and a genius all at the same time? My win rate isn't even that impressive. I won five out of forty-five competitions so far. One out of nine. Roughly, eleven percent. My parents expect me to be competent at everything, this means that I specialize in nothing. I can't beat Lucario in a physical challenge and I can't beat Skrelp in an intellectual challenge. I am well rounded but not perfect."

 **Jumpluff:** "Wow, his parents are very strict. I'm glad that my parents are carefree. I can do whatever I want. Well, I guess that is why I'm a straight C student."

* * *

Grovyle walked over to Bisharp after Jumpluff left.

"What is the result of your observation? Does it match with mine?" Bisharp asked.

"Yeah, it is an alliance between Archeops, Skrelp and Heracross. It is three members like you said." Grovyle reported.

"Good, now don't let anyone see us together." Bisharp dismissed Grovyle before anyone can see them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Three members… I need to gather up votes. After the next few eliminations. I will catch the big fish."

 **Grovyle:** "Bisharp is basically piggybacking me to the finish. He creates the strategies and I execute them. We are such a perfect team. Yet, there is only one winner."

* * *

The Treasure Trio met up with Lucario in front of Skarmory Shop.

"We heard about the party from Meowth and we totally support it dude." Houndour assisted.

"Good. How many Skarmory tokens do you all have?" Lucario asked.

"We have sixteen in total." Duosion told him.

"I have twelve. That makes twenty-eight our final amount." Lucario calculated.

"That will be our budget then. Now we should find out the actual amount." Meowth said as they all turned to Skarmory Shop. Skarmory presented the items to them.

"Today, I have two high quality items for our wonderful customers. First, we have a cup of berry juice for one Skarmory token and one plate of salad for one Skarmory token as well." Skarmory informed his customers with a smile.

"I want to negotiate. We are regular customers. In addition, we buy in bulk. Can we get twenty plates of salad and twenty cups of berry juice for twenty-eight Skarmory tokens?" Meowth persuaded. Skarmory was deep in thought. The contestants all anticipated the answer.

"Deal. Chef Drapion, come here and serve the items!" Skarmory accepted it as he ordered Chef Drapion to come out of the kitchen. The contestants saw Chef Drapion wheeling a supermarket cart with all the items. Lucario took over and wheeled the cart to the gym. It was the place of the party.

"You four purchased everything. Well, we are out of stock." Skarmory said as he closed the shop down. Archeops just arrived, she was shocked at this.

"I got some items to exchange." Archeops said, looking hopeless when Skarmory flew away.

"You get to eat my delicacy for another day." Chef Drapion indicated. Archeops groaned. In her claws, she held a few mushrooms.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "This is how you do business. Another successful transaction."

 **Lucario:** "Meowth's stellar performance keeps him out of my elimination list. As of right now, Oddish and Aromatisse are in my list."

 **Houndour:** "Damn, things are looking good for the Treasure Trio. Each of us has our own strength. Meowth is a great businessman, Duosion is smart and I'm physically strong? I feel like I'm outshined by other contestants lately. I mean I guess I earned a lot of friends after sharing noodles but still…"

 **Archeops:** "Why are bad things happening to me? What did I do wrong? I feel unlucky lately."

 **Tyrunt:** "Another day of sludge? I just saw the shop closing down. I have a few leftover Skarmory tokens from Grovyle. If I knew this, I would arrive sooner. I want to eat good food for once." Tyrunt complained, accidentally dropping the tokens. He proceeded to pick them up and leave the confessional with his head hanging down.

* * *

Lucario opened the door to the gym. More accurately, the basketball court section. All of the Feckless Flygon members gathered there already. Darmanitan rushed over to help wheeling the cart.

"What do we have for today, do we get to eat the cart as well?" Oddish acted stupid. Everyone gave her stares.

"Genius, I hope you reserve a visit with the dentist." Shedinja sarcastically mocked Oddish.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Remember when I said that I welcome everyone to my business? I change my mind, there will be a few exceptions."

 **Oddish:** "I hope this works. I mean they will keep me until the finale because I'm stupid right?"

 **Aromatisse:** "Oddish isn't beautiful, strong or smart. I feel pity for her. Although, I have a feeling it was all an act."

* * *

Aromatisse applied her make up before she ate the food. Oddish continued to eat without any manners. Lucario reminded everyone to eat healthily and slowly. Everything seemed normal except for Scolipede. The bug didn't touch the food. He just stared at them. Afterwards, he eavesdropped the conversation between Machoke, Ledyba and Meowth.

"Really Meowth, you negotiate for us? That's wonderful." Ledyba complimented.

"Not a big deal. Consider it as repayment for yesterday. I'm rewarding my loyal customers, which are you guys in this case. Enjoy the party." Meowth said before he sipped his berry juice. Machoke and Ledyba chuckled happily.

Everyone was having fun. There was a table with three cups, Meowstic put a ball in one cup and switched them around. Miltank selected the middle one. It was the wrong cup. She angrily accused Meowstic of fraudulence. The magician showed that the real ball was in her top hat the entire time. The two then laughed it off. Even Shedinja seemed a bit amused at the party. Cryogonal was happy at this as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Look at all of those sickening scammers. Tricking others to their advantage. Ugh! Why are they are having so much fun? Why? Meowstic freaking remove the ball at the very last second with Psychic. Meowth is a corporate monster in my eyes. Ledyba is a two-faced swindler. I will never believe any of their lies again. Not after what happened…" Scolipede looked miserable.

* * *

Scolipede stayed in the corner, not touching the food.

"Yeah, I got many techniques." Machoke socialized with Ledyba. She then noticed Scolipede in the corner of her left eye.

"I will be back." Ledyba excused herself before she flew toward Scolipede.

"What do you want? Acting nice for my vote?" Scolipede said pessimistically.

"Hey Skeptipede, stop being so distrustful. We are your friends or at least teammates." Ledyba assured.

"A friend that will backstab me when I'm out of use. Perfect, make a pun of my name." Scolipede retorted. Ledyba was frustrated at this point.

"Fine! Do whatever you want. See those Pokemon over there, having fun? You don't need to be one of them. Even Shedinja has more optimism and faith in others than you. Vote me out next then." Ledyba said snappily and left. Scolipede hesitated, he was indecisive. A part of him locked down all of her words.

"Yay, I'm a celebrity. Others mention my name." Shedinja drawled. Yet, a part of Scolipede wanted to believe Ledyba. Scolipede moved slowly toward the others, Shedinja was the closest to him. In addition, Scolipede drank a berry juice. Others looked at him as if it was a miracle. Ledyba smiled a bit.

"Attention everyone! We are about to run out of time. I want to thank Meowth, Houndour and Duosion in particular for the success of this event. Grab your berry juice and shout cheers!" Lucario announced, toasting for a spectacular event. Everyone grabbed their berry juices and shouted "Cheers", with varying levels of enthusiasm.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "I know that Scolipede can open up to others. I hope that he trusts some of us now."

 **Lucario:** "I will give my team this special treatment again if they can win two more times."

* * *

On the other hand, the Crazy Crawdaunt were depressed as they once again shoved their sludge into their mouths. Strangely, Larvitar was serving the food.

"Hey loser, did you get wrecked by Chef Drapion again?" Heracross insulted Larvitar.

"No, I volunteer because our wonderful chef needs a break." Larvitar 'corrected'.

"Nah, you are lying." Heracross denied any possibility of Larvitar telling the truth. Larvitar had a grin on his face.

Helioptile approached the bully next. Larvitar secretly added a spoonful of a strange liquid into her food. He then hummed innocently.

"Have a nice day suffering, loser." Larvitar said as he served the sludge. Helioptile was baffled at what he said. However, she eventually ignored it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "When did that scullion learn juxtaposition let alone oxymoron?"

 **Helioptile:** "Oh well, who cares about what Larvitar said? He insults you and that's it. He isn't threatening at all." Her stomach made some weird noises. "Chef Drapion, what did you cook for us?"

 **Larvitar:** "Chef's secret ingredient, Drapion Poison. You are going to be a bit sick, Helioptile. I will show the whole world that I'm the greatest villain alive!" Larvitar laughed evilly before he coughed.

* * *

"Follow me to the beach area!" Skarmory ordered with his megaphone.

The contestants eventually all assembled into their respective teams in the beach area. They focused their attention to the cameras behind Skarmory. Each camera was pretty small, it also included a neck strap. Next to the cameras were diving masks.

"Today, all of you will work as a photographer, cameraman, whatever. The objective is to collect pictures. Here is the twist, you need to gather pictures of water Pokemon only. No, you can't take pictures of any contestants. You need to take pictures of the strangers under the sea. Don't worry, the cameras are waterproof. We also have diving masks available. I will give you a score based on two things: quantity and quality. You can show me as many pictures as you want. It might increase the score of your team. However, I can deduct and penalize your score for poor pictures and lack of variety. For example, if you show me two pictures of a Magikarp, I can penalize you. The rarity of the Pokemon might be taken into account for your score. Mega Alakazam will teleport you out when the challenge ends. Any questions?" Skarmory explained as he looked around for any questions. Drifblim lifted her arm.

"What is it? Going to insult my challenge again?" Skarmory assumed.

"Can we secretly take pictures of strangers? Isn't that considered as invading their privacy?" Drifblim asked.

"Good question. Well, I don't care. They have every right to beat you up if you want to play that risky." Skarmory explained as he looked around for any more questions. There was none.

"The challenge starts now!" Skarmory declared the start of the challenge.

All of the contestants scrambled to get the cameras and diving masks, except Helioptile. She walked over slowly instead.

"Are you alright?" Snorunt asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Helioptile tried to smile. However, she failed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "A water challenge? An athletic one as well? If I need to give a score for this challenge, it will be a 7.8/10. Why? Well there is a game called Kyogye's Sapphire Alpha edition. That game was well received except for one thing. There is too much water. Seriously? Well a bunch of discriminating land Pokemon probably rate it ignorantly."

 **Snorunt:** "I think Helioptile needs help. Maybe, it isn't that severe, I guess."

 **Helioptile:** "I might need to go to the infirmary after the challenge."

* * *

Bisharp grabbed his fishing rod and swung it into the sea right away. An Oran Berry was used as a bait. Bisharp placed the fishing rod down and waited. He gripped his camera, preparing to take a picture.

"Patience is a virtue." Bisharp reminded himself.

"I got one!" Lucario shouted. In the shallow parts of the water, Lucario held a Magikarp single handedly with his right hand. He used his left hand to take the picture. The Magikarp was flopping and flailing in the grasp of the athlete. His team looked happy.

"Please free me." Magikarp begged. Lucario freed the fish after he took the picture. The Crazy Crawdaunt looked worried at this.

"Spread out!" Archeops shouted to her team. They started to swam, flew, floated around the sea. However, a few like Tyrunt, Helioptile, Nosepass and Snorunt stayed in the shallow parts, where they could stand properly.

"I can't swim." Tyrunt told his teammates.

"Neither can I." Snorunt had the exact same issue.

"I'm scared. There might be a Sharpedo somewhere around here." Nosepass shook at the thought of them.

"Hah losers, you can't swim like me. I'm an expert." Larvitar bragged as he performed a doggy paddle.

"We can probably stay here. They are probably a few fish Pokemon." Helioptile said optimistically.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "We will win, even if it means that I must carry my team! There is a swimming task in Pokeathlon Plus and I beat even the strongest Poliwrath. I will wrestle a Sharpedo out and take a picture of it." Lucario slammed his fists.

 **Bisharp:** "In ancient times, fishing was used as a method of hunting by land Pokemon. It used to be effective. However, water Pokemon are smarter in recent times."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon members were ordered by Lucario to split into pairs. One will capture a water Pokemon while another will take a picture. This strategy differed from the Crazy Crawdaunt spreading out by themselves.

Lucario swam like a professional swimmer. Aromatisse swam slowly behind him, a camera (originally Lucario's) hanging from her neck. A strong member was paired up with a weak member.

"Swim faster! Even a Slowpoke is faster than you." Lucario scolded her.

"I can't. My make-up is already ruined." Aromatisse complained. Lucario looked frustrated.

"Just hold on to me." Lucario ordered. Aromatisse clung onto his back. Lucario speeded up before he dived underwater. Both of them breathed and talked through their diving masks. Lucario saw a Sharpedo and followed it.

"Are you crazy?!" Aromatisse screamed in fear.

"Trust me." Lucario said as he caught the tail of the Sharpedo and turned him around. Lucario's intimidating glare pierced through the eyes of the Sharpedo.

"Please don't hurt me." Sharpedo begged as he was completely intimidated.

"I just want to take a picture with you." Lucario assured. Sharpedo looked confused until he realized something.

"Wait… are you that Lucario? I'm a big fan of you. Yippie!" Sharpedo exclaimed joyfully. Aromatisse was flabbergasted. She never thought that a Sharpedo could be this friendly and unthreatening.

"Start taking pictures, Slowpoke!" Lucario brought Aromattise back to reality.

"Alright, I want you to do a few poses." Aromatisse told them to perform different poses. First, they hugged each other. Second, Lucario was surfing on the Sharpedo. Finally, Lucario was brawling with the Sharpedo.

"Fabulous. Perfect photography." Aromatisse commented as they resurfaced. They waved to the Sharpedo as he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Wow, Lucario is more masculine than I thought. He has a shot at modelling. Anyways, I like the second pose the most. Lucario stood on the Sharpedo as it was surfing at a high speed. It symbolizes perfect control, balance and adrenaline. I managed to make the camera focus perfectly on them as well."

 **Lucario:** "Why did I choose to take Aromatisse over Oddish? At least, Aromatisse is artistic. Oddish is useless."

* * *

Oddish was accompanied by Darmanitan, he held the camera because Oddish didn't know how to use it. The two dived under the dock.

"Look, a Feebas!" Darmanitan pointed toward a Feebas. The Feebas considered eating the Oran Berry hanging as a bait.

"Hmm… what kind of idiot will take this bait?" Feebas talked to herself. Suddenly, Oddish took the bait. Darmanitan was shocked. Both him and Feebas face-palmed.

"Can I take a picture of you? I will use it temporary. If you don't feel comfortable, you don't need to." Darmanitan politely asked. He looked a bit uncomfortable staying underwater. Feebas nodded and agreed to take a picture.

Bisharp noticed some movements. He instantly reeled up the fishing pole. Oddish splashed up to the dock.

"What are you doing? You are not a water type!" Bisharp questioned.

"The Oran Berry looks tasty." Oddish said simply. Bisharp face-palmed himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I wonder about her IQ. It must be very abysmal. Alternatively, she is doing it to annoy me."

 **Oddish:** "I wasted his time. Is that dumb or is that smart?"

* * *

Dedenne swam around aimlessly until she saw a Swanna, resting on the surface of the sea. She immediately rushed toward it. Miltank saw this and swam quickly to it as well. The cow eventually surpassed the little mouse.

"Hey, I saw her first. This isn't fair." Dedenne whined.

"Life isn't fair." Miltank said as she splashed some water toward Dedenne. This gave her an opportunity to take a picture with the Swanna.

"Swanna, I will take a picture of you!" Miltank requested demandingly. Swanna didn't seem pleased.

"You are rude. I don't let hooligans like you take my picture." Swanna rejected.

"What? You have no choice!" Miltank tried to take a picture by force but Swanna just flew away.

"Screw it!" Miltank ignored Swanna and left. Swanna noticed this and flew back to Dedenne.

"You, you on the other hand are alright. You can take my picture." Swanna allowed.

"Really? There is fairness in the world after all." Dedenne regained her faith in the world.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "Stupid Swanna. What's wrong? I'm just trying to take a picture. First come, first serve. This is how the world works."

 **Dedenne:** "Miltank can be very rude sometimes. No wonder why Heracross and her get along so well. They are not even on the same team."

* * *

Grovyle dived underwater to see a male Clamperl. He hid in his shell immediately.

"Clamperl, can I take a picture?" Grovyle asked.

"No." Clamperl disallowed simply.

"Come on, I need to win a challenge." Grovyle begged.

"My parents don't want me to interact with strangers." Clamperl explained. Grovyle sighed and resurfaced. He saw Bisharp using an Oran Berry as a bait. This gave him an idea.

"Bisharp, give me one." Grovyle said as Bisharp threw one at him.

"Thanks." Grovyle thanked Bisharp before diving down again.

"Little Clamperl, Good Guy Grovyle is here. I got a free snack for you. Don't worry, I will just place it down and leave." Grovyle placed the Oran Berry in front of Clamperl and left.

After a while, Clamperl opened his shell and ate the berry. Grovyle secretly took a picture from far away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Sometimes, you got to use tricks like this to get ahead in the game. I mean I did give him an Oran Berry right? I could trick Clamperl to think that I have an Oran Berry and take a picture that way but I'm a better person than that."

* * *

Bisharp noticed the four non-swimmers moving around like fools in the shallow sea. He frowned at this.

"Hey, go and grab a fishing pole and start doing something." Bisharp ordered.

"Where is it?" Tyrunt asked.

"In a secret room behind the mountain area." Bisharp explained vaguely.

"Mountain area? Too far away, my poor legs won't make it." Tyrunt replied. Bisharp looked frustrated. Suddenly, something tugged his fishing rod fiercely. Bisharp immediately reeled it to see a Dragalge.

"Poison and dragon type. Ugh! How frustrating!" Bisharp complained, letting Dragalge escaped.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I swear that I perform better than this in a fishing tournament. Seriously!"

* * *

Skrelp swam around easily in the sea. She didn't need a diving mask. There was a Pokemon that caught her eye, it was a Clauncher.

"May I bother you for a few seconds to take a picture?" Skrelp asked politely. Clauncher turned around, observing Skrelp for a short moment.

"It is my pleasure to help a beautiful Pokemon like you." Clauncher said flirtatiously. Skrelp felt a bit uncomfortable. Nonetheless, she took a picture of him.

"See you again, attractive." Clauncher said as he left. Skrelp felt even more uncomfortable.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "Typical lustful males. I'm not scared of him. However, if he truly sees me as attractive, I might be able to abuse this. Perhaps, I should learn Attract and make him my servant. He can cook and do all the housework like that scullion, Larvitar."

* * *

Shedinja floated around until he saw a Pelipper in the sky.

"Say cheese." Shedinja said unenthusiastically as he took a picture of a Pelliper. He looked very angry at this.

"Hey man! When did I tell you to take a picture of me? For your information, I don't like to eat cheese. I prefer cup noodles and meat. Yeah, I also hate cameramen. They are so annoying. Furthermore…" Pelipper kept ranting, without realizing that Shedinja was long gone.

"Hey, where are you going, man? I'm not done scolding you!" Pelipper talked to himself.

Shedinja met up with Cryogonal, who looked relieved.

"Why did you go off on your own? We are supposed to be a team." Cryogonal reminded.

"I got a picture." Shedinja showed.

"Yeah, but that isn't the point. We are supposed to be a team." Cryogonal complained.

"Not my problem." Shedinja drawled as he continued to take pictures.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Sometimes, I just don't understand him. I get it that he did it for the challenge but can't he at least wait for me?"

* * *

Archeops flew around until she saw the ranting Pelipper. She took a picture of him and left.

"Hey! You…" Pelipper continued to ramble on about his nonsense.

Machoke saw a Magikarp and took a picture. He then realized that Lucario got a picture of Magikarp already. Machoke scratched his head.

Drifblim saw a pink Jellicent and asked for a picture with her next to the beautiful corals. Jellicent agreed.

Heracross forced a scared Magikarp to take a picture. On the other hand, Larvitar swam away from an angry group of Carvanha.

Elekid took a picture of a Dewgong juggling a few balls like a circus Pokemon.

Rhyhorn took a picture of a Barbaracle lifting a dumbbell.

Jumpluff floated around until she saw a horde of Wingull.

"Oh my gosh, my friends will be so jealous when I post this picture!" Jumpluff exclaimed as she pressed the button on the camera.

Houndour and Duosion took a picture of a scary looking Basculin. Meowstic (who was supposed to be with Miltank) played a few magic tricks to entertain a Buizel.

"It is a five of clubs." Meowstic predicted. Buizel revealed the card which was a five of clubs.

"A deal is a deal. I lost fair and square. I'm a man of my word. Therefore, I will take a picture with you." Buizel accepted his defeat. Scolipede (who was supposed to be with Machoke) saw what Meowstic did but he ignored it for the sake of the challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I will let this slide, just once. Wait, did I really say that? This is unlike me..."

 **Meowstic:** "I'm the great magician, Meowstic. I'm pretty sure that I will be very rich and famous. Everyone will be shocked with my tricks."

 **Archeops:** "That Pelipper is weird. He kept talking to himself. It reminds me of Farfetch'd, who kept talking to his leek stalk. Speaking of Farfetch'd, I still wonder if it is the right move to get rid of him. He is a lot more useful in challenges than those four non-swimmers."

* * *

Ledyba and Meowth created a photography store. Meowth started to rally his customers.

"Dear customers, please come in and take a picture. Whether you take it by yourself or take it with your family, we don't mind. We provide high quality services for free! Here, we have our expert photographer, Ledyba. Please be reminded that you need another camera if you wish to keep your pictures." Meowth announced. Water Pokemon lined up to take pictures.

"Anything suits your preference? Backgrounds and props can be customized." Meowth asked a family of Remoraid and Octillery.

"We want a sky background and I want to hold a gem." Octillery told Meowth.

"We will proceed right away." Meowth signaled Ledyba to adjust the green screen. He then gave the Octillery a Water Gem. Meanwhile, he served leftover salads from the party to the impatient customers at the back of the queue.

"You are such a professional." Staryu complimented.

"Tasty salad." Vaporeon complimented as well. Overall, everyone was satisfied. Meowth and Ledyba took ten professional looking pictures in total.

"Thank you, Ms. Milotic for letting us borrow your equipment without any fees." Meowth thanked Milotic for the majority of their props. Apparently, she worked as a real photographer.

"It isn't a big deal. I like to see new business owners showing off their skills. I'm very impressed by how you two handled everything." Milotic praised.

"We are just amateurs, you overestimate us." Meowth stayed humble.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Am I really an amateur? Hmm… I will let the viewers speculate for a while."

 **Ledyba:** "Meowth is very talented. He performs exceptionally well in many challenges. I'm glad that he is in our team."

* * *

Bisharp ordered the four non-swimmers to grab the fishing pole with him.

"Remember, when there is even a slight movement, pull!" Bisharp reminded.

"We got it." Helioptile said, her face looked green.

"Are you really fine?" Snorunt asked with increasing anxiety. Helioptile looked gradually worse.

Surprisingly, something tugged on the fishing rod really hard. Bisharp and the others pulled with all their might. A gigantic Gyarados appeared.

"Hold it while I take a picture." Bisharp ordered as he was about to press the button. However, Helioptile vomited her lunch out. This shocked everyone, allowing the Gyarados to escape.

"Damn it!" Bisharp yelled with frustration.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "She vomited at me. That is disgusting. I don't know who to vote out now if we lose and we will probably lose."

 **Bisharp:** "As a fisherman, my pride is damaged. I used to be better than this. My parents are probably going to kill me."

 **Snorunt:** "She should have quitted the challenge before it gets worse."

 **Helioptile:** "I'm so sorry for messing up." Helioptile vomited again.

* * *

"The challenge is over! Discuss about which pictures to show me and then bring them over." Skarmory announced the end of the challenge. Everyone gathered into their own team.

The Feckless Flygon had a great time showing off their pictures.

"I got several fabulous pictures." Aromatisse told her teammates.

"Check our products." Meowth addressed Lucario. The professional athlete came over to look.

"They are exceptional." Lucario commented as he showed everyone each of them.

"I like the props and backgrounds in particular." Aromatisse agreed.

"I believe that we should only use Aromatisse's and Meowth's pictures. Moreover, we will delete any pictures that look too similar between them. Any objections?" Lucario asked once everyone saw all the pictures. No one objected.

"Good, we should win again." Lucario said with a small smile on his face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "This is the kind of team that I want to lead. A team of skilled members."

 **Aromatisse:** "I delete all the ugly and similar pictures. My eyes are sharp when it comes to beautiful pictures."

 **Meowth:** "I'm a valuable asset to the team, am I?"

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt got a headache as all the pictures were average at best.

"Maybe we should give Skarmory all of our pictures. Quantity is important as well." Archeops suggested.

"I recommend to take the duplicates out at the minimum. We don't want pictures that are too similar." Skrelp suggested.

"Any other ideas?" Archeops asked. No one said anything. "I will start deleting the duplicates then."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I predict another elimination. Logically, Larvitar will get the boot."

 **Larvitar:** "I have a last resort." Larvitar laughed evilly.

 **Archeops:** "Is it our team used to be strong or their team used to be weak? I looked through all the pictures and only a few are good."

* * *

Skarmory looked through all the pictures.

"I have some comments. I will talk about the Crazy Crawdaunt first. I feel like most of you just take a picture and that is it. You don't consider about the background or anything else. For example, a picture of a Clamperl. This picture is mediocre at best." Skarmory criticized. Grovyle looked worried.

"The Clamperl is very small in the picture. I don't think it is the center of attention. I feel like you take a picture of the underwater and Clamperl is just there as a cameo. Next, a picture of a Pelipper." Skarmory moved on. Archeops anticipated the critic.

"It is alright. There is an angry looking Pelipper and the sky. Not much else to say." Skarmory commented. Archeops actually expected worse.

"Moving on to the few gems you have. The first one is a picture of a female Jellicent. I like how the Jellicent is surrounded by corals. It gives her a feeling of majesty. Overall, I like it. The next gem is a Barbaracle lifting a dumbbell. I like his facial expression. He looks overconfident and stoic. It emphasizes his strength quite well. The last gem is a Dewgong juggling balls. It is funny and humorous. Overall, I give you ten points. One for the Pelipper and three for the three gems. The rest earn you zero." Skarmory gave the Crazy Crawdaunt their score. Drifblim, Elekid and Rhyhorn were satisfied with their performance.

"On the contrary, the Feckless Flygon pictures made me speechless. The props, the ever-changing backgrounds. All of these things blend in very well. For example, a Lucario surfing on a Sharpedo. Waves of water splashing, the perfect balance and the atmosphere. It makes both Sharpedo and Lucario the stars of the picture. Another great picture is one where Lucario grips a Magikarp. It conveys the tale of a Magikarp struggling in a grasp of an athlete very well. The next one is a family of Remoraid and Octillery in the sky. It gives me a sense of surrealism. In addition, it makes me wonder if that Water Gem has any special powers. With these three pictures alone, the Feckless Flygon already earn twelve points. There are no penalties. Therefore, the Feckless Flygon are the winners!" Skarmory announced the results. The Feckless Flygon cheered as they won twice in a row. The Crazy Crawdaunt looked down in defeat.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Suck it, Crazy Crawdaunt. My team is the best. I will keep on winning every single challenge."

 **Dedenne:** "I thought my picture of a Swanna is decent…"

 **Bisharp:** "Helioptile, I'm voting for you no matter what. You made me look like a bad fisherman. Now, my parents are going to kill me."

 **Skrelp:** "Adieu, scullion."

 **Helioptile:** "I hope my team don't think of any silly ideas like voting for me. I mean Larvitar should get out already."

 **Archeops:** "I consider between two options. It will either be Larvitar or Helioptile. Helioptile just performs horribly in this challenge. Larvitar is insufferable as always."

* * *

Larvitar sneaked into the Crawdaunt girls' cabin. He tiptoed to Snorunt's bed. He saw a diary. Larvitar didn't read it. Instead, he hid it under Helioptile's pillow. Larvitar then sneaked out. After he did, Drifblim appeared.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar:** "This is payback, *beep*!"

 **Drifblim:** "I have two choices. Reveal everything and be a hero or I can let Larvitar keep on messing around for a little longer. Well, I must admit that I'm interested to see how the relationship between Nosepass and Larvitar will develop. Will Nosepass rebel against Larvitar?"

* * *

Snorunt and Helioptile entered their cabin.

"We should vote for Larvitar." Helioptile suggested. She looked a bit better after Chef Drapion gave her some medicine in the infirmary.

"Yeah, wait… where is my diary?" Snorunt panicked, scrambling around to find her diary.

"I don't know." Heliotile said, looking around to help her search.

Skrelp eventually entered the cabin. "Why are you two scrambling around? Lost something?" Skrelp asked.

"I lost my diary." Snorunt explained.

"Can't you organize things properly? It isn't my responsibility, but I will spare my precious time to help you imbeciles." Skrelp said coldly as she observed the room. She saw a lump under Helioptile's pillow.

"Why are you looking at my pillow like that?" Helioptile asked worriedly. Skrelp lifted the pillow up with her fins. Snorunt saw her diary under the pillow of her best friend.

"Did you s-steal it?" Snorunt had a look of disbelief.

"No! I'm framed." Helioptile defended.

"Where is your evidence?' Skrelp interrogated. Helioptile struggled to come up with anything.

"Caught red handed. Prepare for elimination." Skrelp said coldly as she left the cabin to spread the news.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Helioptile:** "I want to say that I'm with Snorunt the entire time but I did go to the infirmary without her. Everything points toward me as the criminal but I'm not."

 **Larvitar:** "I'm the greatest villain ever. Seriously, I can manipulate everyone and get away with it. I'm the strongest, the smartest and the most attractive."

 **Skrelp:** "Helioptile has a hidden evil side after all. Well, I can't have a threat like that near me. There can only be one threat in this island and that Pokemon is yours truly."

 **Archeops:** "I heard everything from Skrelp. Helioptile, that is very mean of you."

 **Dedenne:** "I don't believe it. I will still vote for Larvitar."

 **Tyrunt:** "Helioptile is a genuinely nice person, Larvitar for me."

 **Jumpluff:** "Someone must be behind this. I bet that it is Skrelp. She framed Helioptile!"

 **Snorunt:** "I thought we were best friends… Is everything a lie?"

 **Elekid:** "I don't think she did it. Even if she did it, I will eliminate Larvitar first."

 **Grovyle:** "Bisharp wants me to vote for Helioptile. I vote with him because I certainly care about my strategist as the good guy around here. Bye, bye Helioptile, the Dairy Thief. Good Guy Grovyle got'cha."

 **Heracross:** "Wow, that little kid got some guts. I give her my respect."

 **Rhyhorn:** "…Hahaha…" Rhyhorn couldn't control his laughter. It wasn't a laughter of joy, it was a laughter of hatred and agony. His eyes looked demented. "You remind me of that Pokemon, Helioptile. Everyone that remind me of that Pokemon shall…" Rhyhorn left the confessional before he finished.

* * *

"Welcome back to the bonfire ceremony. I'm pretty sure all of you know how it works by now." Skarmory said lazily before he sipped his bitter green tea. Drifblim shook her head at this.

"Drifblim, Rhyhorn and Elekid." Skarmory tossed the berries to the three with the highest scores.

"Archeops"

"Heracross"

"Grovyle"

"Dedenne"

"Jumpluff"

"Tyrunt"

"Skrelp"

"Snorunt"

"Nosepass" Bisharp looked worried.

…

…

"Bisharp" Bisharp sighed with relief.

"Larvitar, you are a bully and nobody likes that. However, you still did better than Helioptile at the challenge. That picture of you swimming away like a coward from a horde of Carvanha nearly earns you a point." Skarmory admitted. Larvitar reddened.

"Helioptile, you messed up. Other than your sickness, the Gyarados successfully escaped because of you. The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory built up suspense.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Helioptile" Helioptile got up from her seat and walked to the confessional. She turned around to look at Snorunt one last time. The ice type looked down on the ground.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I will get to see the footage now. When that framer gets over to the Loser Island… Snorunt, I'm sorry. You probably hate me now. I should have gone to the infirmary at the start of the challenge. Perhaps, we can stay together for much longer that way. I will always cheer for you. I also like Tyrunt, Elekid, Jumpluff and Dedenne. They are my friends as well. I don't want Larvitar and the framer to win. I don't think they are the same person. Larvitar doesn't seem capable of doing something like that.

* * *

Helioptile boarded the Lapras. She didn't expect anyone to see her off, especially Snorunt. Unexpectedly, Snorunt appeared.

"Why are you here?" Helioptile asked, feeling shocked.

"I didn't vote for you. I trust you. I will find the real framer and I promise that we will get our revenge." Snorunt vowed, looking determined.

"Thank you so much for staying by my side." Helioptile sobbed a bit.

"No, you stayed by my side the entire time. No matter what others say about you, I know that you are truly a kind-hearted person." Snorunt sobbed a bit as well. The Lapras departed and the two waved to each other sorrowfully.

"What a tragedy. Oh well, this is Total Drama, duh. This should be common to the viewers by now. Will the contestants finally stop going to the infirmary? Will the framer get caught? Will Nosepass man up finally? What challenge do I have planned for the contestants? Who will be eliminated next? Find out next time on Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode.

* * *

 **Votes**

Archeops: Helioptile

Helioptile: Larvitar

Skrelp: Helioptile

Snorunt: Larvitar

Bisharp: Helioptile

Jumpluff: Larvitar

Grovyle: Helioptile

Dedenne: Larvitar

Drifblim: Helioptile

Tyrunt: Larvitar

Larvitar: Helioptile

Elekid: Larvitar

Rhyhorn: Helioptile

Heracross: Larvitar

Nosepass: Helioptile

Helioptile: 8 (eliminated)

Larvitar: 7

* * *

During the early stages of planning, I intended Snorunt to vote for Helioptile. However, I don't feel like that is realistic considering the bond between them. It is obvious that she is framed. Helioptile is a decent character but a very minor character nonetheless. Pretty much, she is one of the last few characters to be created. I didn't plan her intricately like some of the other characters. She is pretty much 'Snorunt's friend' at the very best. A filler character to be honest. She might return. Her odds don't look that favorable though.

The challenge is pretty basic. Although, I add a few twists to it. At first, I plan this challenge to do exploring the sea for treasures but I feel like that is boring. I change it to a photograph challenge instead. I will give you a hint about the next challenge. It involves sports. As always, I will release a chapter per week.


	5. Chapter 5

**Reply to Review**

 **Worma-Sir**

I took your suggestion about *beep* into consideration and I decided to implement it. I already fix the older chapters including a few grammar mistakes. There will probably still be mistakes. Proof reading isn't that easy when you have 50,000 words to go through. My eyes aren't that sharp either. I will try my best to offer the best experience regardless. Yeah, some eliminations will make people emotional but some will have the opposite effect. I feel like they balance each other out. There will be both annoying and satisfying eliminations. I see that you don't have faith in 'Good Guy Grovyle'. You will see how he eventually ends up… Is Houndour really the winner? I have the elimination list next to me and… no spoilers. You might be right or you might be very wrong.

* * *

 **Episode 5: The Duel Games**

Skarmory looked into the distance from the dock. He saw a boat, carrying something. Skarmory didn't seem to be surprised or shocked at all. It was expected for the boat to arrive. The camera then panned back to the island as Skarmory started the opening.

"Welcome back our loyal viewers. It is obvious that you are in a ride to the finale at this point. If not, then I don't understand why you stick to our show this long. If this is your first episode, I suggest you to view the actual first episode. No skipping to spoilers, alright? With that out of the way, I will start the recap." Skarmory dragged the intro longer than usual.

"Get to the point! Hire actual cameraman next time as well." Chef Drapion or the cameraman in this case shouted impatiently.

"Fine. Geez, impatient. Last time, the contestants competed in the first aquatic challenge. Bisharp tried to prove that he is a legendary fisherman. However, he flopped like a Magikarp in the grasp of an athlete. Speaking of an athlete, Lucario intimidated the hell out of a Sharpedo. That guy is sure scary. Anyways, the Feckless Flygon won because Meowth innovatively decided to open a photography store. Helioptile was framed, sabotaged and eliminated. Short enough?" Skarmory ended with an annoyed glance at Chef Drapion.

"Finally, I can get a break." Chef Drapion grumbled as he turned the camera off.

* * *

Tyrunt sat in the mess hall, he was currently eating breakfast.

"Same, old meal." Tyrunt complained as he shoved the sludge into his mouth.

The door opened and Elekid entered. He looked worried about something.

"What is with that face?" Tyrunt asked as he pushed his plate away.

"I don't think it is healthy for you to sit in the mess hall all day, buddy. You can't even swim yesterday. I might not be the fittest but I at least exercise." Elekid revealed his concern.

"So, you want me to exercise? No way, no more moves." Tyrunt shook his head.

"You must. As a result, I have a special guest that will help you to be healthier and stronger. He will push you to your limits. Tyrunt, meet Houndour." Elekid moved away from the door so that Houndour could enter. Houndour waved at Tyrunt. The gamer looked pale all of a sudden.

"I understand how you feel about exercises. Hopefully, I can help you to appreciate the great outdoors a bit more. It will also improve your longevity." Houndour said encouragingly.

"Elekid? Are you kidding me? You want me to go out with this outdoor freak?" Tyrunt refused, his words damaged Houndour's feelings.

"Don't be rude, Tyrunt. This is for your own good. You might even get Skarmory tokens along the way." Elekid scolded.

"I'm not going! You can't force me." Tyrunt childishly snapped. He banged the table with his fists. Elekid and Houndour sighed at his temper tantrum. They looked at each other and nodded. Afterwards, they advanced toward Tyrunt.

"What are you guys doing?" Tyrunt asked with anxiety as both of them grabbed onto his arms.

"We are doing this for your own good. Please understand." Elekid patronized. Both of them tried to drag Tyrunt out of the mess hall. Tyrunt futilely resisted.

"I hate the outdoors." Tyrunt complained as he continued to resist. All of his attempts ended in vain.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "What kind of friend does that to me? For my own good? If that is the case, they will let me do whatever I want. I don't need someone to boss me around like my parents. If it wasn't for the million, I would already quit this show."

 **Elekid:** "His attitude is worse than I thought. I start to understand why his parents forced him to sign up for this show now."

 **Houndour:** "Well, we have an extra member today. I didn't tell Duosion and Meowth anything about this yet. Hopefully, everything will be alright."

* * *

"Have a nice time." Elekid said as he left after Tyrunt stopped resisting. The fossil Pokemon crossed his arms grumpily instead.

"Can you absorb the wonderful nature around you? You can't experience this indoors, you know?" Houndour tried to teach Tyrunt a lesson.

"No. Why should I care about the dirt, trees, rocks in general?" Tyrunt said unhappily.

Both of them stayed silent for a while until they reached the entrance of Skarmory Cave. Duosion and Meowth were there already, waiting patiently. They looked surprised upon seeing Tyrunt.

"Sorry that I'm late. Elekid requested me to bring Tyrunt with us today. Is that okay?" Houndour checked with the other Treasure Trio members.

"Escorting a VIP guest, I see. That will be fine." Meowth allowed.

"As long as he isn't a liability." Duosion sounded unsure.

"He isn't a liability. Right, Tyrunt?" Houndour assured Duosion. However, Tyrunt's attitude and body language suggested the opposite. Tyrunt sat on the ground with his arms crossed. In addition, he turned his face sideways.

"Ah, I see. Our VIP guest needs special treatment. You should carry Tyrunt. Don't you agree, Houndour?" Meowth persuaded.

"I guess it is my responsibility." Houndour sighed as he piggybacked Tyrunt. The spoiled gamer didn't resist yet his discontent expression remained the same.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I think Tyrunt is spoiled. He acts like a baby sometimes. I feel like he is going to be a burden despite Houndour's words."

 **Meowth:** "We need to make our VIP guest satisfied."

 **Houndour:** "I don't want to babysit him but he needs to get out of his comfort zone a bit. It is for his own good."

 **Tyrunt:** Tyrunt didn't say anything, he just stared at the camera with a dissatisfied look.

* * *

Houndour illuminated the cave once again with his fire. Due to the extra weight on his back, he moved slower than usual. Tyrunt still crossed his arms rebelliously. His eyes were closed. He refused to absorb in the surroundings. Duosion critically glared at Tyrunt.

"Touchy, touchy. I think you are abusing Houndour's hospitality. Please be a bit more mature, you are literally on his back." Duosion criticized. Tyrunt remained indifferent. Duosion looked frustrated. Meowth saw this and tried to help.

"Dear VIP guest, you are wasting your opportunity to observe Skarmory Cave. Your friend literally paid us with credit to bring you here. We are trying to offer the best experience that we can. However, we ask for your cooperation. Think about how your parents will feel to see their son acting rather childishly in national, no international television." Meowth persuaded to the best of his ability. Tyrunt opened his eyes a bit. However, he still looked depressed. Meowth gave him a Fire Gem as a consolation gift.

"You can speak to us. We are willing to listen." Houndour encouraged Tyrunt to open up.

"How do you think I feel when I was forced to join this show?" Tyrunt started to speak, capturing their attention. "I was in despair. I watched Total Drama before and I knew how cruel and disgusting things can be. I will be tortured, I will be humiliated, I dreaded these things. All of this for the sake of the heartless viewers."

"Initially, everything went better than I thought. I had friends. I didn't get hurt that much. For a moment, I was delusional. I thought that I can stay in the mess hall all day and avoid physical challenges. Now, the reality strikes me. This show is just like a shitty game I wish I never pick up. Do you really think a million is worth it for all the pain that I will go through? I need to sleep in an uncomfortable bed. The food tasted like garbage. I miss my home. I miss my mom's home cooking. I miss playing video games. Now, the traps in this cave will hurt me." Tyrunt whined rather querulously.

"Worse of all, I'm a burden to myself and all of you. Why did you force me to enter this cave? Why do you need to change me into a Pokemon that I never will be? Why?! I will never like the outdoors. I'm not an athlete. That isn't my lifestyle. Is this for my own good?" Tyrunt started to sob after he finished his story. All three of them looked at Tyrunt with sympathy, yet they disagreed with some of his points. This was especially true for Houndour.

"Tyrunt! Snap out of it! If you think Total Drama is already cruel, the real world is even crueler. Dude, there are Pokemon starving and fighting on the streets. If you don't step out of your comfort zone, can you really defend yourself in the outside world? Your parents love you Tyrunt. That's why they sent you here. Love doesn't always translate to pampering and spoiling. That will make you grow up into a delicate man. Get up and make your parents proud." Houndour lectured Tyrunt before he dropped him down. Tyrunt obeyed and started to walk on his own two feet.

"I'm still scared and I will never like the outdoors." Tyrunt said apprehensively.

"It is normal to be scared. I'm scared too. However, we will face our fears together. You don't need to like the outdoors, just tolerate it." Houndour said to the surprise of Tyrunt. Never in a million years would Tyrunt think that Houndour was scared as well. Tyrunt looked at Houndour with deep respect, alongside Meowth and Duosion.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I never see this side of him before. He opened my eyes up. I will tolerate this game a bit longer then. I can't give up now. For my parents and friends."

 **Meowth:** "Treasure Trio is doing well. We have such skilled workforce. When money start to rain, I will be sure to collect them first."

 **Duosion:** "Houndour and Meowth are both growing on me. Houndour is stronger than he looks. He lectured Tyrunt without being too aggressive or soft. He has great social skills. Meowth also managed to make Tyrunt open up a bit as well."

 **Houndour:** "I might not share a similar background with Tyrunt but I can relate to him in some ways. We are both scared and not the bravest. However, I know that we have the will to face our fears and insecurities."

* * *

Elekid waited outside of the cave. Tyrunt appeared, his facial expression changed. There was a slight optimistic smile on his face. He no longer crossed his arms.

"Tyrunt, are you alright? I didn't mean any harm by forcing you to enter this cave." Elekid tried to fix things between him and Tyrunt.

"No worries. I understand what you are trying to do. I guess I'm a bit stronger now." Tyrunt assured that he held no grudge. Everything ended happily for all of them.

* * *

Heracross walked around the forest area. She looked around a bit before she headed back to the cabin. Along the way, she met Miltank.

"How are things going in your team?" Miltank asked.

"Larvitar is a nuisance. My team is filled with a bunch of weaklings as well. I prefer to be in your position really." Heracross admitted.

"Yeah, my team is alright. Could have been better in the first few challenges but decent nonetheless. After Magikarp and Feebas were eliminated, things got better. What about the merge, what are we going to do?" Miltank asked.

"We have two choices, either you flip to my alliance or I flip to yours." Heracross explained.

"We can also build our own alliance. I don't want to play second fiddle to either Lucario or Archeops." Miltank suggested.

"That is too risky. We need the numbers-" Heracross heard some noises and signaled for Miltank to hide. Both of them hid under some bushes. Rhyhorn appeared behind the trees as he squeezed his way through them. He looked around a bit before he left. Heracross looked up after Rhyhorn left.

"We are safe for now. However, there is no telling if someone will actually see us together. We should head back to whatever we are doing." Heracross said before she separated with Miltank.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I need to win even if it means to play dirty or play a bit nice. In my neighborhood, things are pretty rough. Tough to find money nowadays. I need it more than other contestants."

 **Miltank:** "I like Heracross. She doesn't take crap from any contestants. I have respect for Pokemon like her. In the past, I used to be mocked by the people who visit the Moomoo Milk farm. They said that I'm overweight and fat. You know what? Screw them! I bet that those visitors aren't tough as me. Now, I beat up anyone that get in my way. I'm not afraid to be outspoken and get in their face. The strong beats the weak regardless of appearance."

* * *

Meowstic shuffled her cards and allowed Ledyba to pick one.

"Choose wisely." Meowstic advised.

Ledyba saw scratch marks on all of them but she didn't say anything. She just gave Meowstic a smile and picked the card in the middle.

"It is a queen of hearts." Meowstic looked at the scratch mark secretly and answered. Ledyba revealed the card, it was a queen of hearts.

"Wow, you are amazing." Ledyba complimented.

"Of course, I'm the great magician. I'm glad to have a wonderful friend like you that appreciate my tricks." Meowstic replied.

"A great magician? More like a scamming swindler." Scolipede appeared and scoffed at Meowstic tricks.

"Scolipede, you aren't welcome here." Meowstic hissed for Scolipede to go away.

"Scratch marks huh? A real magician doesn't use a simple trick like this. Regardless, all magicians are swindlers." Scolipede continued to attack Meowstic and magicians in general. Meowstic stomped off in anger. Ledyba gave Scolipede a disapproving look.

"Scolipede! I think you have a personal vendetta against magicians. I saw the scratch marks as well. However, Meostic did that for fun and entertainment not to fool me or anything like that. She is a nice girl." Ledyba defended Meowstic.

"You are either a swindler like her or you are too naïve and optimistic. Either way, suit yourself." Scolipede remarked before he tried to leave.

"What's wrong with being optimistic and see the good in others? Aren't you tired of always focusing on others' flaws? You will be happier if you look at others in a more positive light." Ledyba said her final words. Scolipede stopped for a moment before he left for real.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "See the good in others? She probably said that so I ignore the ugly truth. I won't be delusional and hopelessly optimistic like that. Never again."

 **Meowstic:** "Scolipede ruined everything again!"

 **Ledyba:** "When will Scolipede ever learn to trust and believe in others? When I do something nice, he doubts my good intentions. If I do something bad or mean, he sees me as a villain anyways. How am I supposed to reason with him?"

* * *

Dedenne tried to climb a pretty tall tree. It was challenging due to her small stature, lack of wings and etc. As expected, she slid off and fell down the three every time. It started to become a hopeless, desperate struggle to the top. There was a shiny Star Piece at the top of the tree.

"Come on." Dedenne said frustratingly as she tried to hang on by biting the tree with her teeth. She was very close to the top, a few inches away to the valuable red gem. Unfortunately, she ran out of strength and fell down the tree again.

"Where there is determination, there is success." Dedenne tried to encourage her exhausted body to move. However, she failed. There were sounds of someone maneuvering from tree to tree. Dedenne looked up to see the forest expert.

"Need help?" Grovyle jumped down from a tree to offer his help.

"I will appreciate it if you can get that Star Piece for me." Dedenne requested.

Grovyle jumped up from branch to branch until he reached the top. With his right arm suspended on a branch, he used his left arm to throw the Star Piece to Dedenne.

"Thanks." Dedenne said gratefully.

"No problem. Good Guy Grovyle is here to help everyone." Grovyle tried to act nice. "See you." Grovyle bid his farewell before he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I need to make myself likable because likable Pokemon get far in this game. They also have a lot of friends as well. I'm that kind of guy. That is why my friends call me Good Guy Grovyle. I like that nickname."

 **Dedenne:** "Grovyle is better than most of the contestants here in this island. He shares and he cares."

* * *

Bisharp sat on the edge of the dock with his fishing rod next to him. He waited and waited for any signs of water Pokemon. Finally, there was a nibble.

"Bisharp, fishing again? Can I join? I want to get involved!" Jumpluff exclaimed enthusiastically. This scared the fish away. Bisharp held his head with his hands and shook it. His eyes looked down upon the empty fishing hook. The bait was eaten.

"Why? Out of all the time, why must you interrupt me at this moment of glory?" Bisharp asked in denial.

"Did I scare the Pokemon away? If that is the case then I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Jumpluff apologized. Bisharp sighed and clicked his tongue.

"Yes, you ruin my chance…" Bisharp groaned.

"I'm sorry." Jumpluff apologized again.

"It is fine. This isn't a real fishing tournament. Might as well waste my bad luck here and get all the good luck when it actually matters. Do you want to join? Why don't you bring a fishing rod then?" Bisharp said as he reverted back to his normal self.

"I just want to talk." Jumpluff clarified.

"Talk? Talk about what? I'm not exactly the most social Pokemon. My favorite topics can be boring to you." Bisharp seemed a bit confused as to why Jumpluff wanted to talk to him.

"Don't worry, socializing isn't that difficult. How about we talk about fashion?" Jumpluff suggested. Bisharp widened his eyes.

"Not your favorite topic? Sorry, it is my favorite topic and common interest that I share with my friends. Maybe we can talk about the price of things in a shopping mall. It is about maths and you seem to like maths." Jumpluff suggested a different topic. Bisharp looked a lot more comfortable at this.

"That suits me a bit more. Why don't you start?" Bisharp allowed.

"Well, there is something that I don't understand. Sometimes, the price is high at first then it suddenly drops. For example, there is this cool, trendy fedora that a celebrity wears. It was expensive at first then the price dropped after a month. Obviously, I bought it when it was still popular and in the trend like my friends. However, I feel like it was a rip-off because others get it for a lower price now. I don't understand. It happens to other products like phones and accessories as well, except for food from what I noticed. I'm not a business student. Can you explain?" Jumpluff asked.

"Yes, I study business a bit myself. There are several possible reasons. I will tell you a few of them. First, a pricing strategy called creaming or skimming. This involves setting a price high at first to target high-income class of Pokemon. After a considerable period of time with signs of sales declining, decreases the price to target medium and eventually low-income class of Pokemon. This works with things like phone where there are new and updated versions coming out. The obsolete version will be for the customers with less income. The new version will be for customers with higher income." Bisharp paused for a moment.

"Wow, I understand it a bit more now. Still, I don't feel like waiting for the price drop. That is so boring. Please continue to explain." Jumpluff commented as Bisharp continued.

"Now, there are other reasons like deflation, supply and demand. However, I will not go into details on those subjects. I advise you to ask Meowth instead as he is more of an expert. Rather, I will explain why you are confused when the same logic doesn't apply to food right?" Bisharp said as Jumpluff nodded.

"Well, it is because of price elasticity. Some goods are affected by price changes more than others. Essential goods like food are absolutely necessary so the impact on decreasing the price is minimal at best. Therefore, business owners don't usually do that. We consider these goods as price inelastic. I believe that this is enough for today." Bisharp ended his explaination.

"Wow, Bisharp, you are so smart. I believe that you can beat Skrelp in an intellectual challenge." Jumpluff encouraged. Bisharp turned silent immediately. He stared into the white, fluffy clouds in the sky.

"Be a bit more confident in yourself. I believe in you." Jumpluff insisted.

"Do you see those clouds?" Bisharp asked.

"Yes, they are beautiful." Jumpluff commented.

"My parents expect me to rise to the top of the sky like those clouds. They believe than I can be perfect. However, I'm tired of perfection. Sometimes, I just want to be myself. A normal Pokemon on the ground. However, that will ruin the honor of my ancestors and I can't do that." Bisharp looked strict and adamant immediately when he mentioned his ancestors.

"I feel sorry for you. You must have a tough life." Jumpluff sympathized with Bisharp. Noticeably, there was something that pestered Bisharp.

"Why did you come here? Is it really just to socialize with me? You have your friends, don't you?" Bisharp released his stored suspicions.

"Oh, about that. I have friends… A lot of friends outside this show. I really miss them. I'm not lonely in this island but… Dedenne doesn't like to talk about my favorite topics. She prefers to talk about social justice. I don't want to bother Tyrunt and Elekid, they seemed bored when I talked to them lately. I don't know Snorunt, Drifblim, Nosepass, Grovyle and Rhyhorn that well. Worse of all, Skrelp harassed me lately. I think I'm going to get voted off soon." Jumpluff said as she looked down at the water.

"Ignore Skrelp, she can't do much other than playing mind games. Rest assured, you have nothing to lose in this island. However, I have a lot to lose." Bisharp said as he left. Jumpluff looked at him with concern.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I need to win. For the pride and honor of my family. The million isn't what matters the most to me. I have no choice."

 **Jumpluff:** "I feel really bad for Bisharp. He must be very stressed out. I hope that I don't make things worse for him. I also feel troubled lately. Who spread the rumors about my annoying attitude? It annoys me."

* * *

Snorunt looked around the cabin, she saw a mysterious footprint.

"Is this Larvitar's footprint?" Snorunt asked herself as she investigated the room a bit more.

"Helioptile went to the infirmary for half an hour. It takes around fifteen minutes to get to the gym section if she walked. She needs to run for her to steal my diary. For what purpose? I share a lot of things with her already. Doesn't make much sense. Larvitar doesn't seem capable of doing this but he surely has a motive. Maybe, I should ask someone." Snorunt summarized her investigation so far. As Snorunt exited the Crawdaunt girls' cabin, she moved to the benches where she used to sit with Helioptile. With her gone, Snorunt sat all alone. Her eyes were in a trance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Snorunt:** "I feel a lot lonelier now. I got over some of my confident issues thanks to Helioptile. She doesn't deserve to get eliminated."

* * *

Drifblim saw Snorunt sitting on the bench all alone. She floated next to her.

"How are you feeling? Angry, sad, lonely, nostalgic?" Drifblim asked.

"All of it… I think Helioptile was framed. It enrages me to see someone nice like her going through that. I'm now all alone. All I can do now is to recall happy memories in the past." Snorunt revealed her feelings to Drifblim.

"I understand. Do you need help with the investigation?" Drifblim asked.

"Yeah, I'm so confused. I saw Larvitar's footprints but I doubt that he can frame someone. I mean Helioptile stepped on his feet lightly and he screamed in pain. Revenge could be his motive. I believe that he has an accomplice." Snorunt told Drifblim about her investigation. Drifblim didn't show any signs of anxiety, she was perfectly calm.

"It seems likely. Think deeper into this. Who can manipulate Larvitar? It must be a very smart contestant. This Pokomon must also have a motive." Drifblim implied. Snorunt's face suddenly lightened up. It was as if she got the answer.

"It must be Skrelp. I saw her a few times with Larvitar. She was in the cabins with us. She found the diary instantly. She spread the news about Helioptile stealing my diary. It all makes sense now. Perhaps, she wants to weaken me as a possible motive." Snorunt came up with a conclusion.

"I agree." Drifblim nodded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Who expected these chains of event to happen just because I gave Larvitar a few ideas? As a super fan, this is very exhilarating. I can't wait to see what is going to happen next."

 **Snorunt:** "Skrelp, you rotten, dirty, little framer. I will get my revenge."

* * *

Lucario called all of his teammates to the gym once again. He then forced them to exercise as usual.

Aromatisse and Oddish toyed with the jumping ropes again. They barely made any progress, which annoyed Lucario.

Ledyba, Meowth, Duosion and Meowstic played another round of basketball casually.

On the other hand, Shedinja floated around the field. This time, he was slower than usual. Neither did he care as Scolipede was the only one running with him.

"Do you want to play dodgeball with the others, Shedinja?" Cryogonal invited.

"Meh." Shedinja refused.

"Fine, don't regret it later." Cryogonal said as she left to join the others.

"I think she is hiding something. You should be careful, Shedinja." Scolipede warned.

"Whatever." Shedinja didn't care. He just floated around lifelessly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I don't even know why Shedinja is here. I don't think he cares if he gets eliminated. Anyways, Cryogonal is still suspicious in my eyes."

 **Aromatisse:** "Stupid sports. Why can't my team be a bit more civilized like the other team?"

* * *

"We will start the first round!" Lucario acted as the referee of the dodgeball game. On the left side, there were Houndour, Miltank, Cryogonal. The right side only had two members, Darmanitan and Machoke. Therefore, they got to throw the ball first.

"Relax homie, and aim." Darmanitan advised. Machoke nodded as he threw the first ball. It completely missed and hit the wall instead.

"Damn it!" Machoke yelled in frustration as Miltank grabbed the ball and threw it back at him. It knocked Machoke out. Darmanitan was at a disadvantage. He lost as expected.

Machoke sat on the bleachers after the game was over. He planted his face down.

"Homie, no big deal. We lost, it is fine." Darmanitan consoled.

"I'm useless. Most Machoke are usually strong but I'm not." Machoke was disappointed with himself.

"Relax, you might not be good at dodgeball but you got to be good at something. Chill here for a while." Darmanitan said as he patted Machoke's back.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "I don't want to let my team down. Still, I'm not that useful in challenges."

* * *

It was lunchtime once again. There was an alluring, mouth-wetting smell from Skarmory Shop. Tyrunt arrived in front of the stall first. He breathed in the smell deeply.

"What is this smell?" Tyrunt asked while licking his lips.

"Bib boy, it is pasta and lasagna." Skarmory revealed as he opened the pot. Tyrunt seemed insulted from the nickname. He frowned a bit before the smell calmed him down.

"How much does it cost?" Tyrunt asked excitedly as he showed a handful of tokens on his claws.

"Five tokens." Skarmory stated. Tyrunt paid without bargaining. The plate was small as usual. Tyrunt didn't complain as he was done with constantly eating purple sludge.

Nosepass appeared next. He was lucky enough to have five tokens. However, Larvitar blocked his way to the shop.

"Give me your tokens." Larvitar forced a shakedown upon poor Nosepass.

"Just don't hurt me." Nosepass threw up his hands and forfeited all of his tokens. Rhyhorn saw this and tackled Larvitar, sending him flying.

"I will be back, *beep*!" Larvitar swore.

"Thank you very much." Nosepass thanked gratefully as he recollected his tokens on the ground.

"I can only help you so many times. You need to take the first step forward." Rhyhorn said before he left. Nosepass felt even more pathetic.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Why? Why am I the only one left that is scared of Larvitar? If I go against him, he will surely beat me up. Right?" Nosepass sighed as he looked down.

 **Rhyhorn:** "I'm willing to help Nosepass become stronger if he takes the first step by himself."

 **Tyrunt:** "Finally, delicious food! The pasta melted in my mouth."

* * *

Skarmory stood in the beach area. "Gather around the beach area!" He used his megaphone to call the contestants over. After they arrived, he started his explanation.

"See the boat over there?" Skarmory pointed with his left wing toward the boat next to the dock. Some contestants were confused and shocked to see two Rapidash. "Today, we will have a one versus one duel between three types of sports. First, we have equestrian. Each team will get to choose one Rapidash. Don't worry, it is safe to sit on them without risks of burns. Afterwards, we will start the event in the gym area. Specifically, the colosseum. I will explain the next two events later. The Feckless Flygon will get to choose first since they won the last challenge." Skarmory explained before he allowed each team to choose the Rapidash of their choice.

Lucario walked forward to the first one. It was male, with timid looking eyes and shaking legs. Lucario immediately moved to the second one, which was female. She looked fierce and competitive.

"We will choose this one." Lucario made the decision for the team.

"Crazy Crawdaunt, you get the other one. Let's go the colosseum." Skarmory led everyone to the colosseum at the very back of the gym area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "Horse riding is my kind of sport. Back at my Moomoo Milk farm, I race with my co-workers on our Rapidash."

 **Tyrunt:** "I don't like sports. I don't want to fall down and get an injury. I want an intellectual challenge. Only if I can use a controller to control the Rapidash instead." Tyrunt whined.

 **Dedenne:** "What kind of cruel sport is this? We are riding on another Pokemon as if it is our slave."

 **Oddish:** "Err, what is equestrian? Are we supposed to cook our Rapidash and serve it for food? Rapid, dashing, dinner." Oddish tried to be funny in front of the viewers.

* * *

The contestants entered the colosseum. It was circular, with a muddy area in the middle. There were two entrances, the back and front entrance. In addition, a flag was placed next to each entrance. The contestants looked baffled upon seeing the colosseum.

"Is this the traditional equestrian set-up? I think you need to do a bit more research." Drifblim criticized.

"Of course not, I have a different plan in my mind. Instead of racing around or doing horse shows, all of you will fight instead. Each team will need to guard their flag from the opposing team. Alternatively, you can push your opponent off into the mud. Both ways will earn you a point. To make it fair, Chef Drapion has a little surprise for some of you. Come in, chef!" Skarmory explained before he called the chef. The contestants looked behind to see Chef Drapion holding a box of iron balls.

"We will give flying types iron balls to hold so they can't fly, glide or float. No cheating that way. This includes Cryogonal as well due to your Levitate ability." Skarmory explained. The flying types and Cryogonal looked irritated.

"I think it gives us a disadvantage as well because iron ball reduces our speed." Archeops protested.

"Your Rapidash speed is the only speed that matters." Skarmory countered.

"What if you deduct a point from us instead if we fly?" Archeops suggested a different idea. She didn't want to hold the iron ball.

"Fine, picky contestant. Other hosts would disqualify you already. Chef Drapion, leave." Skarmory ordered.

"What a waste of my time." Chef Drapion grumbled to himself as he left.

"Any other complaints?" Skarmory glanced around the contestants. Lucario lifted his right hand up. Skarmory pointed at him.

"I think you should also ban ghost and psychic abilities to make it fair." Lucario suggested.

"Fair enough." Skarmory accepted the suggestion and looked around for more complaints. There was none.

"Splendid, I will now explain the last twist of this challenge. Each team will privately create a list where each contestant will be numbered from one to fourteen. That will decide who you will go up against. Head off right away." Skarmory finished his explanation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "Interesting. This adds a psychological depth to the game. Each contestant might prefer a different number. I wonder who is going to choose the lucky seven and the unlucky thirteen. Having our weakest contestant, Nosepass facing off against Lucario is the most ideal scenario."

 **Nosepass:** "Please, the gods of random number generator, put me against Oddish."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon didn't take the list seriously. They all chose random numbers.

"It is all luck, who cares?" Lucario disregarded.

The list looked like this:

1\. Shedinja

2\. Duosion

3\. Machoke

4\. Oddish

5\. Lucario

6\. Houndour

7\. Meowth

8\. Miltank

9\. Cryogonal

10\. Scolipede

11\. Meowstic

12\. Ledyba

13\. Darmanitan

14\. Aromatisse

* * *

On the other hand, the Crazy Crawdaunt overcomplicated the situation.

"Psychologically, Lucario will choose the number one. This is evident due to his professional athlete status and competitiveness. He aims for the gold. We should put Nosepass against him." Skrelp suggested.

"I agree. What about lucky number seven?" Archeops asked for opinions.

"I think a weak contestant will take that spot because he or she believes that it translates to good luck." Skrelp suggested.

"A decently strong contestant can take that spot then." Archeops wrote these crazy psychological theories from Skrelp down.

The list looked like this:

1\. Nosepass

2\. Archeops

3\. Heracross

4\. Snorunt

5\. Bisharp

6\. Rhyhorn

7\. Grovyle

8\. Dedenne

9\. Tyrunt

10\. Elekid

11\. Jumpluff

12\. Skrelp

13\. Drifblim

14\. Larvitar

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I think my team thinks too deep into this. I don't really care about the mumbo jumbo psychology. I don't think Lucario and his team care either."

 **Nosepass:** "Please, not Lucario."

* * *

Skarmory looked at both lists with interest.

"Match one, Shedinja versus Nosepass." Skarmory announced.

"I'm lucky, no Lucario!" Nosepass shouted in joy as he stepped down from the spectator area. He went to the front entrance. Skrelp looked frustrated.

Shedinja floated down unenthusiastically to the back entrance. He eventually sat on his horse.

The alarm rang, signifying that the match officially began. They were cries of cheer during the entire event.

"Just get the flag." Shedinja drawled. The female Rapidash ran to the flag. She curved to avoid the mud area in the middle.

"What are we going to do? They are getting close. I'm scared!" Nosepass panicked as he talked to his Rapidash.

"I'm scared as well. Make a decision." The male Rapidash said fearfully. It was too late. Shedinja grabbed the flag and ended the boring, first match.

"Yay." Shedinja cheered unenthusiastically. Nosepass sighed in defeat. Larvitar laughed at him. He stopped after he received stares from his teammates.

"Match two, Duosion versus Archeops." Skarmory announced the next match.

Archeops waited for Duosion to make the first move. Duosion ordered her Rapidash to run to the left. Archeops speeded to her right, which was Duosion's left. The Rapidash clashed into each other. Duosion nearly lost her balance. This allowed Archeops to get the flag first.

"One to one, match number three. Heracross and Machoke." Skarmory announced again.

Machoke ordered his Rapidash to go as fast as possible. He couldn't hang onto her neck and fell into the mud.

In round four, it was Snorunt against Oddish.

"Go slowly." Snorunt told her Rapidash. The male Rapidash understood.

"What are we supposed to do?" Oddish acted oblivious.

"Are you serious?' The female Rapidash asked her. Oddish shrugged. The female Rapidash just rolled her eyes and raced to the flag at her average speed. Oddish reached the flag first.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Oddish:** "We sure picked the right Rapidash for dinner. I acted stupid and we still win."

* * *

Bisharp looked tense as he rode his Rapidash against Lucario. Bisharp tried to move to the left. Lucario followed him. Bisharp moved to the right, Lucario followed him. Bisharp sighed as he decided to change direction once again. This time, Lucario ordered Rapidash to run at full speed. The professional athlete wanted to take Bisharp down to the mud.

Both of them got closer and closer. Lucario was about to collide into Bisharp. Bisharp tried to dodge but Lucario's Rapidash tackled his Rapidash, sending both of them (Bisharp and his Rapidash) into the mud.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I expected more from him. I didn't even need to hold my Rapidash. My balance is perfect from Pokeathlon training."

 **Bisharp:** "That was very degrading. Now, I need to wash this mud off." Bisharp wiped some mud off his body.

* * *

Rhyhorn automatically lost because he was too heavy. His Rapidash couldn't carry his weight.

"Sorry Rhyhorn, your weight might be useful later on." Skarmory apologized.

"It is fine." Rhyhorn said simply as he returned to the spectator area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "I don't like a free win but well I shouldn't complain."

 **Larvitar:** "He is too heavy. Hahaha…" Larvitar laughed.

* * *

"Currently, it is four to two lead for the Feckless Flygon." Skarmory updated the score. "Can the Crazy Crawdaunt catch up?"

Grovyle was next. He seemed uncomfortable sitting on a fire type.

Meowth climbed up and sat on his Rapidash.

The two stared at each other.

The alarm rang and the match started. Grovyle went to his left. Meowth went to his left. Their horses didn't collide with each other.

"Giddy up!" Grovyle raised the speed of his Rapidash. He nearly fell off. However, he hung on tight with his arms and legs locked. This allowed him to reach the flag first.

"Woo-hoo!" Grovyle cheered as he won.

The next match was a rematch between Dedenne and Miltank.

"I remember what you did to me last time, Miltank." Dedenne said in an accusing tone.

"I will finish this quickly." Miltank said as she rode her Rapidash very aggressively. She grabbed the ears and steered it like driving a car. The female Rapidash didn't looked pleased. Still, she didn't complain. Miltank drove the Rapidash straight into Dedenne, sending her flying into the mud area.

"Sweet justice." Miltank said as she celebrated by waving the flag around as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "What she did is very cruel and mean. She could have just take the flag without hitting me." Dedenne spat the mud out.

* * *

Cryogonal was too heavy, resulting in her disqualification as well. The score was five to four with Feckless Flygon in the lead. Tyrunt headed back to the spectator area, sighing in relief at his luck.

"Match number ten, Scolipede versus Elekid." Skarmory called both of them down.

Scolipede tried to get on the Rapidash but he was too heavy.

"I think you should start teaching your Super-Secret Weight Busting Technique." Miltank talked to Machoke.

"Yeah, I should." Machoke laughed nervously.

"Another disqualification. Next, we have Jumpluff against Meowstic." Skarmory moved on to the next match. The host hoped that it will be more exciting.

Meowstic prepared her Rapidash for a crazy stunt.

"We will jump over the entire mud area." Meowstic told her Rapidash.

"Are you crazy?!" The female Rapidash questioned.

"I'm the great magician, just listen to me." Meowstic assured.

The match began and Meowstic speeded up her Rapidash. They kept getting faster and faster until they reached the mud area. The female Rapidash made a great leap… and fell flat into the mud with Meowstic.

"What the hell are you thinking?!" Lucario scolded from the spectator area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowstic:** "I'm the great magician. I already calculated that our speed should be high enough to the point where it will be a success. I even enhanced our odds with my magic. It is the fault of that Rapidash."

 **Lucario:** "She is now in my elimination list!" Lucario gritted his teeth as he pulled his ears.

 **Jumpluff:** "I'm not very good at this equestrian thing. However, I'm lucky enough to get away with it. Hooray! Wait until my friends hear about my victory."

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt were now in the lead with the score of six to five.

"Match number twelve, Ledyba versus Skrelp." Skarmory announced.

"I want you to maximize your velocity. Just keep your eyes on the flag, no looking back at our opponents. Understood?" Skrelp instructed the male Rapidash. He nodded in reply.

"I believe in you. I know what you are capable of. Just keep up the good work." Ledyba said as she sat on the Rapidash. The Rapidash looked more satisfied and happy with this rider.

The match started.

The female Rapidash galloped at her full speed. Ledyba held her neck with all of her arms for support. Skrelp struggled to hold her Rapidash. Once she realized that Ledyba was far ahead, she told her Rapidash to stop.

"Great job!" Ledyba complimented Rapidash as she claimed the flag, the score was tied with six to six. Scolipede looked from the spectator area with worry.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I don't want to trust Ledyba. No, I can't trust. I will never trust. No… this can't be happening. I'm starting to trust someone again. Are her nice acts really genuine?"

* * *

"Both team need to win both matches or else there will be a tiebreaker. Next, we have Darmanitan versus Drifblim." Skarmory declared.

Darmanitan rushed to the flag on his Rapidash. Drifblim was also close. Darmanitan decided to play risky and monkeying around a bit. He held the Rapidash with his left arm and swung himself to grab the flag with his right arm. His team applaud his bravery and talent.

"Larvitar, you need to win. Don't do anything stupid, alright?" Archeops warned.

"Obviously, equestrian is easy. Even my grandma can do it." Larvitar looked overconfident. He folded his arms and walked over to his Rapidash.

"Horsey, you better go fast or else this will happen." Larvitar threatened the male Rapidash as he slapped his butt. His flame rose up and his eyes turned hostile. The male Rapidash angrily kicked Larvitar into the mud area, ending the challenge early.

"Wow, what an anti-climatic ending. Forget it, we will move on." Skarmory ended the challenge with the Feckless Flygon in the lead.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar:** "Ouch, this really hurts. You are supposed to obey my orders, *beep*. I could have whipped you. You know that? I let you go easy this time." There were injuries all over Larvitar's body.

 **Aromatisse:** "With beauty comes luck." Aromatisse then applied her shiny powder make-up in the confessional room.

 **Lucario:** "Of course, we win. Obviously, our team is more athletic. There will be no third round."

* * *

Everyone followed Skarmory into the dodgeball court. There was no dodgeball ball.

"What kind of game will we be playing? Any guesses?" Skarmory asked a question.

"Dodgeball." Drifblim answered simply. Skarmory had a deceiving smirk on his face.

"Yes, it is dodgeball. Hard to trick contestants nowadays. Chef Drapion, bring it in." Skarmory revealed as Chef Drapion entered the court and placed a ball on the ground.

"Get hit, you are out. If your opponent catches the ball, you are out as well. The ball will be in the middle. Run over and get it as quickly as possible. Same as before, no flying, no psychic and ghost abilities. However, you can float if you don't have proper legs. Also, don't use any moves. Head off and write me a list." Skarmory explained.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "Dodgeball, my nightmare. Every sport is my nightmare really. I prefer e-sports."

 **Larvitar:** "I'm the god of dodgeball, I will teach those losers a lesson to remember."

 **Aromatisse:** "Another barbaric activity. I don't want to get a face surgery after this."

 **Oddish:** "Does anyone find it weird that catching the ball is a strategy in dodgeball even though the game is clearly called dodgeball? Or is it just me?" Oddish emphasizes the word 'dodge'.

* * *

For the Feckless Flygon, Lucario came up with a different strategy this time.

"We put all of our strongest members up to the challenge first. Then, we can finish this game early." Lucario told his teammates. No one disagreed.

"Can I have the last spot? I prefer to save my pretty face." Aromatisse pleaded.

" _Fine_." Lucario allowed.

The list looked like this:

1\. Lucario

2\. Miltank

3\. Darmanitan

4\. Scolipede

5\. Houndour

6\. Cryogonal

7\. Machoke

8\. Meowth

9\. Duosion

10\. Shedinja

11\. Ledyba

12\. Meowstic

13\. Oddish

14\. Aromatisse

* * *

On the other hand, the Crazy Crawdaunt spread their members randomly since they believed that the Feckless Flygon will do the same. Nosepass also requested the final spot.

The list looked like this:

1\. Skrelp

2\. Larvitar

3\. Heracross

4\. Grovyle

5\. Tyrunt

6\. Elekid

7\. Archeops

8\. Bisharp

9\. Drifblim

10\. Rhyhorn

11\. Dedenne

12\. Jumpluff

13\. Snorunt

14\. Nosepass

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Don't overcomplicate things. This is how I like it. I'm tired of listening to Skrelp rambling about psychology."

 **Lucario:** "The cowards that requested the last spot will never earn my respect."

 **Heracross:** "Sometimes, you need to get dirty in the mud. Hiding will never save you."

 **Tyrunt:** "I don't want to compete but I also don't want to embarrass my parents. Sure, I don't like dodgeball but what can I do? Like Houndour said, I need to learn to tolerate it."

* * *

"First match, Lucario and Skrelp. Chef Drapion, want to bet? I bet one million P that Lucario will obliterate Skrelp." Skarmory persuaded the chef to bet. However, Chef Drapion knew the odds very well. He didn't say anything.

"Fine, take it that way. Start the match!" Skarmory declared the start of the challenge.

Lucario ran to the ball like a speed demon. He then stopped in front of the ball once he realized that Skrelp didn't even move an inch. He had a confused expression.

"You aren't going to even try?" Lucario asked.

"Why should I try when there is zero percent chance of winning? It is illogical." Skrelp stated coldly. Lucario shook his head as he picked up the ball. His team cheered loudly for him. Some members of the Crazy Crawdaunt also cheered for Lucario.

"Obliterate her." Jumpluff cheered quietly. The noises were so loud and deafening that her team didn't hear it.

"Teach that cold hearted bookworm a painful lesson." Snorunt whispered.

Lucario jumped up and slammed the ball straight to Skrelp's snout. This created a powerful colliding sound.

"Ouch!" Skrelp screamed in pain as Lucario walked back to his team victoriously.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar:** "Bring the pain train! She deserved it for calling a wonderful person like me a scullion. Suck it, *beep*."

 **Lucario:** "Pokemon that don't even try also won't earn my respect. Those slackers better start moving or I will whip them into shape."

 **Archeops:** "Skrelp should at least try her luck catching the ball. Still, I can understand her reasoning."

 **Skrelp:** "Lucario, that *beep*!"

* * *

"Moving on, we have Larvitar against Miltank. Want to bet, Chef Drapion?" Skarmory poked Chef Drapion.

"Can I bet for Miltank and you bet for Larvitar?' Chef Drapion asked. Skarmory shook his head.

"What are you doing, chef? You should bet for me. This fatty Miltank can't beat me!" Larvitar made the worst mistake of his life. He insulted Miltank's weight. There were clouds of smoke and steam coming off her head. Miltank's face looked extremely red. Larvitar gulped immediately.

"Begin!" Skarmory started the round.

"It was just a joke." Larvitar retreated back as Miltank picked up the ball.

"Ah!" Larvitar screamed in high pitch as he fled the dodgeball court. His team booed his cowardice.

"Another score for the Feckless Flygon. We might not even go to round three. I might need to keep the last challenge for the future." Skarmory said as he sipped his energy drink.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "Larvitar is dead!"

 **Nosepass:** "I'm so ashamed to be a bigger coward than him. I'm so ashamed." Nosepass started to cry.

* * *

"Round three, Heracross versus Darmanitan. This might be cutting it close." Skarmory was excited for a close match. He sipped more energy drink as the two contestants stared each other down. Heracross stomped the ground to intimidate Darmanitan. Darmanitan did a few stretches to relax himself.

"Begin!" A fierce round started.

Darmanitan ran with both his arms and legs toward the ball. Heracross did the same. They got closer and closer as the ground thundered with energy. The team cheered loudly for their respective member.

"Show her the strength of a fellow Pokeathlon competitor!" Lucario cheered.

"Change the tide of this challenge. Start us off with a point!" Archeops cheered.

"Go, Darmanitan!" Machoke cheered.

Darmanitan got the ball first. Heracross sprang to her defensive position immediately. Darmanitan threw the ball hard at her. Heracross sidestepped to the right. She grabbed the ball and faked a throw. Darmanitan jumped. Heracross saw an opportunity as she threw the ball against the right side wall. It bounced and hit Darmanitan legs. The Crazy Crawdaunt roared for their first point.

"Good game." Darmanitan showed sportsmanship as he offered his hand.

"Good game." Heracross returned the sportsmanship.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I feel like this show lacks sportsmanship sometimes. It is just a game, don't be serious. Chill out."

* * *

"Round four, Grovyle versus Scolipede!" Skarmory announced energetically after the thrilling third round.

Grovyle jumped from the bleachers down to the court. Scolipede didn't bother to show off and just moved to the court normally.

"Ready, set, go!" Skarmory changed his words to add more variety.

Grovyle hurriedly ran over to the ball. Scolipede rushed over to the ball as well. They were both equally close. However, Grovyle slid on the ground and grabbed the ball first. The gecko then back flipped and threw the ball at Scolipede.

"What a show off." Scolipede said as he caught the ball. However, it slid off his centipede arms and hit the ground.

"Just having fun, man." Grovyle said as his team cheered for him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I think he was pulling off a dirty trick on me. The ball was sweaty. It must be him. Or was it my imagination? This is giving me a headache. I'm exhausted with this witch hunt of mine."

* * *

"The fifth round, Houndour against Tyrunt." Skarmory called for both of the competitors to step down the bleachers. Tyrunt nervously stepped down. He was sweating nervously.

"Try your best, don't worry." Houndour assured. Tyrunt breathed in deeply as the match was about to start.

"One, two, three, four, five…" Skarmory dragged on. Chef Drapion gave him a weird look.

"Start already." Houndour tapped his feet impatiently. On the other hand, Tyrunt smiled. He needed all the time in the world right now.

"I'm not going to get hurt." Tyrunt whispered under his breath.

"Forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven…" The audience looked bored.

"Fifty, start!" Skarmory finally started the match.

Tyrunt ran with his inadequate, poor legs to the ball. Houndour ran slower than usual to give him a slight chance. Lucario saw this and face palmed. The professional athlete looked frustrated.

Eventually, Houndour reached the ball and tossed it pretty lightly at Tyrunt. Tyrunt closed his eyes and braced for impact. The ball missed him.

"Open your eyes, Tyrunt! The ball missed." Elekid shouted from the bleachers.

Tyrunt opened his eyes and grabbed the ball. He threw it with all of his might. The ball didn't travel far enough to hit Houndour. Houndour sighed as he didn't want to stretch this match out any longer. He grabbed the ball and threw it at Tyrunt without his full strength. Tyrunt expected it to hurt but the ball just bounced off him without any major damage.

"You tried your best." Houndour consoled.

"Yeah, I tried." Tyrunt said in a disappointing tone.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Having mercy? Hmph."

 **Tyrunt:** "My performance could have been better. I probably embarrass myself in international television. Houndour was going easy on me and I still failed."

 **Houndour:** "Tyrunt is scared of pain. That's why he lives such an indoor life. It isn't good for his health."

* * *

"Next match, Elekid versus Cryogonal. Start immediately!" Skarmory took the contestants by surprise.

Elekid hopped down from the bleachers while Cryogonal floated in a hurry to the ball. Cryogonal reached the ball first and grabbed it with her snow chains. She then threw it at Elekid. He tried to jump away but it barely touched his left leg. Tyrunt patted his back as they both went back to the bleachers. The Crazy Crawdaunt didn't seem mad at Elekid for failing.

"Four to two, Flygon leads." Skarmory updated the score.

"Up next, Machoke versus Archeops." Skarmory announced as Machoke walked down to his side of the court.

"I will use my Machoke Dodgeball Lucky Spin Technique." Machoke informed. Archeops looked amused.

"Show me, big guy." Archeops challenged.

"Start!" Skarmory started things simple this time.

Archeops ran over to the ball and grabbed it first. Machoke danced around on his feet. Archeops waited as Machoke continued to waste his energy and then she suddenly threw it. Machoke sweated as he tried to catch it. He failed as the ball hit him and bounced down to the ground.

"I lost again." Machoke sighed in defeat as he returned to the bleachers. Darmanitan patted his back.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "I'm so useless. I didn't even get a chance to show my technique."

* * *

"Bisharp versus Meowth." Skarmory called the next two competitors. They arrived at their respective positions.

"Duel begins!" Skarmory declared before he took another sip of energy drink to satisfy his thirst.

Bisharp ran over and grabbed the ball first. Meowth eyed the ball carefully. Bisharp faked the throw once. Meowth didn't flinch. Seemingly, Bisharp hurled the ball for real this time. Meowth waited patiently as the ball fast approached him. He then grabbed it successfully.

"Your project is denied and I'm sorry to tell you that you are fired." Meowth joked. Bisharp took a few deep breaths.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "My parents will kill me for my unforgivable performance."

 **Jumpluff:** "I hope that he is okay."

 **Houndour:** "Meowth is such a jokester. First, Meowth  & Co. and now this." Houndour laughed happily.

 **Meowth:** "In business, your eyes need to be sharp. Or else you will miss the defective products."

* * *

"Five to three, Flygon still leads." Skarmory updated the score.

"Drifblim versus Duosion, an interesting match indeed." Skarmory commented

Both of them floated over to the court.

"Begin!" The ninth round started.

Drifblim floated over to the ball faster than Duosion. She grabbed it with her arms. Afterwards, she spun around a bit before she threw a curve ball.

"You can do this!" Houndour encouraged loudly.

Duosion steeled herself for the ball and grabbed it with her sticky body.

"I will let that pass." Skarmory allowed as the Feckless Flygon cheered.

"Shedinja versus Rhyhorn, begin!" Skarmory took the contestants by surprise once again. Shedinja floated to the ball at his average speed. On the other hand, Rhyhorn ran quickly to the ball first. He tackled the ball at the ghost bug. Shedinja ducked down, the ball missed. Afterwards, he grabbed the ball and threw a lazy shot.

"Meh." Shedinja said lazily. Lucario gave him an infuriated glare.

"Just kidding." Shedinja drawled as he caught the ball before it reaches the ground. He then threw it faster this time. Rhyhorn was too slow to dodge it. The Feckless Flygon cheered loudly. The Crazy Crawdaunt looked pessimistic. They were getting destroyed.

"Yay." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "He acts as if he is toying with this game all the time. Does he even care?"

 **Lucario:** "I will consider that as a strategy."

* * *

The next two matches were too boring. Skarmory fast forwarded it. The duel between Ledyba and Dedenne was too nice and kind. The game dragged very long as well as they kept missing each other for ages. Skarmory yawned at that match. Dedenne eventually hit Ledyba luckily.

The duel between Meowstic and Jumpluff was weird. Meowstic hogged the ball to herself for the majority of the game. She used it for her 'magic trick'. She hid the ball under a blanket and tried to make it disappear and land on Jumpluff. After her several failed attempts, she was disqualified by Skarmory.

It was seven to five. The Crazy Crawdaunt looked more optimistic.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Why? Meowstic, why? I should have kept Magikarp." Lucario banged his head against the wall.

 **Ledyba:** "Meowstic is just trying something different… I guess."

 **Meowstic:** "I tried to learn Teleport and use it to win the game. That isn't against the rule right? I didn't really pay attention."

 **Jumpluff:** "My friends will be so jealous when they see me win two athletic challenges. Both times against Meowstic."

* * *

"Round thirteen, Snorunt versus Oddish." Skarmory said unenthusiastically.

"Begin." Skarmory started the unlucky thirteenth match.

Oddish bit into the ball and drool all over it. Snorunt covered her mouth in disgust. Oddish then spat the ball at Snorunt. Snorunt fled to the restrooms immediately.

The contestants all looked at Oddish with disgust.

"Well, the Feckless Flygon win!" Skarmory announced the final result. The Feckless Flygon jumped in joy as they won again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "As promised, there will be a party tomorrow."

 **Snorunt:** "Oddish is so disgusting and badly mannered."

 **Archeops:** "Three defeats in a row. There needs to be a change in our team!"

 **Skrelp:** "Adieu, scullion. This time, it is for real."

 **Nosepass:** "I… I will vote for Larvitar. God, please save me from what is about to happen."

* * *

Nosepass was about to go to the restrooms until a hand grabbed him from behind. It was Larvitar. He covered Nosepass' mouth and dragged him to the forest. Rhyhorn saw this and followed them.

After Larvitar thought he was far away enough from the others, he freed Nosepass. Unexpectedly, Nosepass had that disobedient look on his face.

"Minion, I want you to sacrifice yourself for me. I want you to eliminate yourself." Larvitar ordered.

"No! I'm tired of being your minion. I will follow my own wishes from now on! I'm not your puppet. I'm not your slave. I'm an individual that has basic Pokemon rights." Nosepass rebelled against Larvitar.

"How dare you?!" Larvitar grabbed a nearby rock and slammed Nosepass on his nose. Nosepass tackled Larvitar back. Larvitar fell down to the ground. However, he was still persistent to defend what little he had left. Larvitar threw the rock at Nosepass. It hit his left eye.

"Ouch, Argh!" Nosepass yelled in pain.

Rhyhorn tackled Larvitar and sent him flying.

"I will be back, *beep*." Larvitar swore.

"Let me bring you to the infirmary. Well done for defending yourself." Rhyhorn congratulated as he carried Nosepass on his back.

"I'm still weak…" Nosepass groaned in pain.

"I will help you to be stronger, don't worry." Rhyhorn reassured.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "Larvitar crossed the line. It is time for all of us to vote him off."

* * *

The elimination ceremony was shorter than usual. Everyone distanced themselves from Larvitar. No one looked at him, cared about him. He was nothing.

"I will end this quickly, everyone except Larvitar and Nosepass get a Leppa Berry." Skarmory handed the plate of Leppa Berries for the contestants to share. There was still one Leppa Berry left on his right wing.

"Nosepass, while you might be weak, you are a better Pokemon than Larvitar. Larvitar, there are so many reasons as to why everyone hates you. Larvitar, you are eliminated." Skarmory handed the last berry to Nosepass. It was the most delicious Leppa Berry that Nosepass ever tasted.

"*beep* all of you!" Larvitar swore at the contestants as Chef Drapion dragged him to the dock. There will be no final confession for him. There was no Lapras for him, only a boat and two angry Rapidash.

"I will get my revenge!" Larvitar screamed as he was thrown to the boat. The shadows of the two horses consumed him. Larvitar realized just then that it was about to be the longest night of his life.

"Ah!" Larvitar screamed in pain. Sounds of stomping could be heard.

"Well, Larvitar is finally eliminated for good. We will probably never see him again unless he returns. Nah, that is impossible. Larvitar will never succeed in the redemption challenge. It requires… I will not spill the surprises just yet. This time, Nosepass entered the infirmary. The streak continues. As a compensation for what Larvitar did, I will give a hint about the next challenge to all of you wonderful viewers. The codename is 'babysit'. Is it just babysitting, who knows? Find out next time on Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode.

* * *

 **Votes**

Archeops: Larvitar

Heracross: Larvitar

Drifblim: Larvitar

Skrelp: Larvitar

Grovyle: Larvitar

Bisharp: Larvitar

Jumpluff: Larvitar

Dedenne: Larvitar

Tyrunt: Larvitar

Elekid: Larvitar

Snorunt: Larvitar

Rhyhorn: Larvitar

Nosepass: Larvitar

Larvitar: Nosepass

Larvitar: 13 (super eliminated)

Nosepass: 1

* * *

Hope you enjoy this episode. That third challenge will be featured later on. Trust me. As always, I will maintain my weekly upload schedule. In addition, I want to ask my viewers something. Should I write The Amazing Race Pokemon? Will it be exciting for all of you to see Bisharp and his unrevealed partner compete? Tell me. If I receive enough support, I might write it next year. I still have a lot of stories planned. Check my profile for more information.


	6. Chapter 6

I have a few things that I want to clarify. I will keep it simple so you can enjoy this chapter faster. There will be no Mega Evolutions. Shedinja can eat in my story and my profile will be filled with information about my future stories. However, I didn't update it yet. Lastly, I want to remind all of you that this set place in the same universe as my other story. There are no humans, Kanto to Alola. Nope, I create a new universe with Pokemon in it. I plan to make many stories relating to this universe. I will post information about this universe later in my profile. Don't worry about it, you can enjoy my story without understanding everything.

* * *

 **Reply to Review**

 **Worma-Sir**

I don't want to talk too much about Houndour because of spoilers. About Grovyle, you are right about him in some ways… Yes, I study business or else I can't use Meowth as a character. Nope, it is not French. The "adieu" was a reference to Kalos. The region where Skrelp belongs in. I will keep my first language a secret for now.

* * *

 **Episode 6: Babysit Brats**

Another boat was visible from the dock. However, Skarmory didn't pay any attention to it. Rather, his eyes stared at his empty cup of coffee.

"Chef Drapion, refill." Skarmory ordered as he gave the cup to Chef Drapion.

"Why do I need to babysit you?" Chef Drapion grumbled. Since Skarmory didn't hear it, he started the opening.

"Welcome back, viewers. Previously, we saw Tyrunt acting like a crybaby. Snorunt played the role of a detective. Most memorably, Nosepass rebelled against Larvitar. In the challenge, the contestants engaged in a duel within three types of event. The lucky few like Jumpluff won twice against a certain 'great magician'. The unlucky few like Machoke and Bisharp received a mud bath and a humiliating defeat in the dodgeball challenge. The cowardly few like Aromatisse, Nosepass and especially Larvitar hid under their bed sheets. The Feckless Flygon dominated the entire game, ending the game early before we could see the final event. What will happen this time after Larvitar was eliminated? What's in the boat? Stay tuned for another exciting episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

Houndour waited in front of the entrance as usual. He hummed and tapped his feet to pass the time. Meowth finally arrived to the relief of the impatient canine. The cat stopped walking momentarily, something bothered him.

"Finally, I'm glad to see you. It is pretty lonely to stand here for ages." Houndour said. Meowth looked hesitant to say something after he heard this.

"Sorry, my valuable partner. I'm not going inside the cave with you today. I have private matters to attend. Therefore, I will be absent." Meowth told Houndour regardless.

"Oh, I understand. Don't worry about me, dude. Go and attend to your business." Houndour assured, masking his loneliness.

"I'm glad that you understand." Meowth said contently as he left.

"I should have arrived later." Houndour complained as he continued to wait.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I can't have one supplier, can I? I need to form more connections."

 **Houndour:** "Waiting is just plain boring, especially when you are alone. I'm not used to stand still and doing nothing. There isn't a second of time that I want to waste. However, I can't enter the cave all alone either." Houndour sighed.

* * *

Duosion met Houndour soon after. Houndour beamed at this.

"Great, we can finally enter this cave! Meowth won't be with us because he has private matters to attend to. Let's go." Houndour said eagerly as he stepped inside the cave. Duosion chuckled as she followed him.

"You act as if you waited for decades." Duosion commented.

"I already waited for one hour straight." Houndour stated.

"Early bird, learn to be a little late." Duosion retorted in a friendly manner. Houndour nodded at this as he traveled deeper into the cave.

It was a regular activity for them to enter the cave at this point. Obviously, they got familiar with the surroundings. They evaded all traps easily as they went down to the second floor.

"Even though it is tougher to find rare items without Meowth, it is refreshing for the two of us to enter this cave without him." Duosion said.

"Yeah, socializing with Meowth can be awkward sometimes but he isn't that bad. I still prefer him to be with us." Houndour replied as they finally reached the end of the second floor. The revolting smell rose up from the ladder. This slowed their breathing rate down.

"Want to go down?" Duosion asked. Houndour hesitated yet his curiosity got the best of him.

"It smells sickening and I want to avoid that. However, there are probably rare treasures down there. Why not? I like the thrill of finding treasures. We are here together. What is the worst that can possibly happen?" Houndour answered optimistically. Duosion smiled upon seeing his reaction.

"I like your attitude." Duosion approved.

"Without you, I might have a different answer." Houndour admitted as he laughed nervously. Eventually, he descended down the ladder. At the same time, he tried to use one of his paws to block the smell from reaching his nose.

"Houndour, do you ever wonder about the history behind this island? Before Skarmory bought it of course." Duosion asked. Houndour considered his answer for a while.

"Err… It is probably a normal island. I guess?" Houndour didn't sound confident.

"Are you sure? For starters, it must be isolated or for sale in order to be bought. This isn't a normal island." Duosion analyzed as they landed on the third floor. Houndour looked deep in thought.

"This island is quite unheard of until recently. Who was the former owner? What was the history behind it? Are there any natural inhabitants? These mysteries are the reasons that I signed up for this show. Is it… boring to you?" Duosion assumed that it was boring to him.

"No, it is very interesting. Why did you assume otherwise?" Houndour assured as he asked back.

"Well, it is quite a rarity to see someone that likes or even shows a remote interest in history or archaeology." Duosion stated from experience.

"History is pretty cool. I mean we get to learn about things like fossils of our ancestors. I personally enjoy that." Houndour showed his liking for history.

"Really? You aren't saying this just to make me feel better right? You can be too nice sometimes. I still remember the time when you shared noodles with everyone. Being friendly has it perks but eventually others will abuse your trust." Duosion alerted.

"I'm being genuine about liking history and archaeology. Don't worry about my game, I think I can survive pretty long." Houndour replied.

Apparently, the two didn't pay any attention to their surroundings. The third floor was a wasteland filled with garbage mountains. The sharp rocks on the ceilings even had garbage hanging from it. This floor reeked revoltingly with all the rotten and decayed garbage. There was an unstable garbage can on the top of one of the numerous mountains of garbage. It rocked back and forth before it started rolling toward Duosion. Ursaring snickered behind the garbage mountain quietly. It seemed like this was a trap planned by him.

Houndour heard the sound of the garbage can rolling. "Watch out!" Instantly, he warned Duosion as he pointed to her left. Duosion turned to her left to see it fast approaching her. Houndour knew that she couldn't dodge it fast enough. Therefore, Houndour tackled her out of its range.

In a predicament, Houndour's face was accidentally very close to Duosion's face. Both of them distanced themselves from each other as they blushed.

"I'm sorry. I have no choice. It was unintentional." Houndour apologized shamefully.

"I understand… Just be more careful next time." Duosion didn't take it as a big deal. The two then exited the cave after they had enough with the garbage floor.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "It was an accident, I swear! I would never do that. I hope things don't become awkward between us because of that incident." Houndour still blushed in the confessional.

 **Duosion:** "I got too close to Houndour lately. I wonder if… I will fall in love with him. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with a relationship in this show. They never last long in real life. There are many things in a relationship that a couple must consider. Do we live close to each other? What are our similarities and differences? Can we deal with staying with each other for the rest of our lives? It needs time."

 **Ursaring:** "Another point for team Ursaring. See this statue next to me? It is mine. Do you know how much a bonus means to an intern? I will use every single trap and trick in the book to protect it."

* * *

Meowth walked over to Lucario, who was collecting mushrooms around the forest.

"I'm here to lend a hand." Meowth offered.

"I appreciate that." Lucario accepted his help.

Meowth and Lucario walked around the forest, looking up at tree branches. Looking down on the ground. Surveyed through bushes and rocks. Meowth dug up some dirt underneath a tree. There was a Sun Stone.

"Great job." Lucario praised Meowth for his hard work.

"You can't be lazy in business or else where will you earn your income?" Meowth told.

"Definitely, I can relate to that. You can't be lazy in practicing for the next Pokeathlon or else you will lose. We have a similar mentality." Lucario socialized and bonded with Meowth.

"I agree. Winning or losing means a lot in both business and sports. One wrong move and you can either be bankrupted or kicked out of the tournament. Therefore, I have a proposal. We keep each other safe at least until the final ten." Meowth proposed a truce.

"I see nothing wrong with that. You are a solid member of this team." Lucario accepted it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Another transaction closed. Another trading partner in the bag. Soon enough, I will establish a monopoly."

 **Lucario:** "I have a very strong sense of team spirit. This is my strategy. We gather all of our strongest members for the merge so that we win every single challenge. Then, we vote all of the Crazy Crawdaunt out one by one."

* * *

Tyrunt entered the mess hall. Elekid was nowhere to be found. However, there was a note on the table. Tyrunt picked it up and read it.

"Tyrunt, I have a secret, special project to take care of. I'm sure you will love it. Will show you tomorrow. From your friend, Elekid." Tyrunt read it out loud as he thought about what kind of special project it will be.

"Could be anything." Tyrunt shrugged before he grabbed a plate of food.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "Elekid once told me that his parents sell robots for a living. I wonder if this has anything to do with that."

* * *

Meowstic sat on the ground. She was practicing her next trick. Pretty much, there was a top hat and inside was a plush of a Buneary. She tried to squeeze the plush in without anyone being able to notice it. However, the hat was a bit enlarged by the plush. Meowstic acted normal as she went to Ledyba.

"Hey, look at my next trick." Meowstic sought for her attention.

"Alright, what is it this time?" Ledyba kindly watched her magic show.

"Ta-da!" Meowstic said dramatically as she pulled a Buneary out of a hat. Ledyba clapped for her.

"Great show." Ledyba complimented.

"Thank you to all of my wonderful audience." Meowstic acted as if there was an audience except Ledyba.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowstic:** "It is my life-long dream to be the greatest magician alive. I will rise to popularity and fame someday. Then, others will want my autograph." Meowstic said with shining eyes.

 **Ledyba:** "I mean I need to be encouraging. She already got a headache from Scolipede revealing her tricks every now and then."

* * *

Jumpluff tried to find someone to socialize with. She didn't want to talk to the other team as Skrelp and the others might find that as a reason to vote her off.

"Why did everyone don't want to talk to me? I'm not interesting? I feel like nobody cares about me sometimes. I tried to be a friend with Skrelp and she gave me the cold shoulder. I don't want to bother Bisharp, Tyrunt, Elekid and Dedenne. I feel uncomfortable talking with Grovyle and the other Crazy Crawdaunt members." Jumpluff mumbled to herself. She saw Aromatisse in the distance with Oddish. She wanted to talk to them but she felt scared.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "I have pretty great social awareness. That is my specialty. I know that Archeops, Skrelp and Heracross are probably trying to find a reason to vote me off. What a bunch of jerks."

* * *

"Oddish, what did you do in your free time?" Aromatisse asked out of boredom. There was no one else to talk to.

"I fly around, straight to space." Oddish said the dumbest things she came up with.

"I see that you have wings." Aromatisse mocked.

"Obviously, everyone knows that all grass types have wings." Oddish acted dumber.

"Aha." Aromatisse nodded as she polished her nails.

"I'm also a mathematics teacher. One plus one equals two. Oops, I mean eleven!" Oddish accidentally messed up. Aromatisse raised her eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "She is faking it. Acting dumb for a strategy. That is very shallow and pathetic. Even I will not stoop that low."

 **Oddish:** "My strategy is the most brilliant strategy ever. I hope that everyone will be inspired by my flawless gameplay."

* * *

Grovyle was fishing with Bisharp. They didn't talk about strategy in case someone notices them together.

"I live in a rural area. Nature, trees, ponds, rivers. I got everything back home. My school is pretty relaxing, not the most academic. More physical, you get what I mean?" Grovyle revealed some of his background.

"Yes, you are pretty athletic. Not the smartest but stronger than most of the contestants here." Bisharp replied.

"Yeah, but I can be smart too if I try. I think I can do anything if I put my mind into it. Like winning this show. Make great friends. I'm looking for the overall experience." Grovyle talked more about himself.

"You have a lot of self-confidence. That is a double-edge sword." Bisharp warned.

"You need to be confident and think that you are in the right sometimes. You know? Compliment yourself, have faith in yourself. That is why I perform pretty well in challenges. Sure, I use a few tricks but I feel like there is nothing wrong with that. All fun and games, there are Pokemon out there that are more villainous than both me and you. We are cool, nothing is wrong with our alliance. It isn't evil, just strategic." Grovyle accidentally slipped a piece of information. Bisharp glared at Grovyle, signaling his mistake. Grovyle left quickly. Bisharp was left fishing all alone.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Confidence, confidence. It is hard to be confident when you have a lot of pressure on you. I will take Grovyle's advice into consideration."

 **Grovyle:** "I can't control my mouth sometimes. However, I still feel pretty safe. No one really hates me in my team."

* * *

Archeops paced back and forth in her cabin. Drifblim and Snorunt were also in the cabin. They looked at their leader with worry.

"What are you thinking about, Archeops? I'm willing to help so you can share it with me." Drifblim offered her help.

"I will also try to help if possible." Snorunt said with her usual shyness. Although, it significantly improved since her first day.

"I appreciate that. It is just that I'm a bit frustrated at our third consecutive defeat. I'm starting to doubt my leadership." Archeops showed her frustration.

"Well, last challenge favored the other team. Don't be harsh on yourself. Perhaps, things can be better today. I doubt that our professional host will put two athletic challenges in a row." Drifblim said optimistically.

"Professional host? This is weird coming from you." Archeops seemed surprised.

"Well, I don't really hate Skarmory. I have a few complaints but he is a decent host. Not bad for a newbie in this type of show." Drifblim evaluated.

"Yeah, other hosts are meaner." Snorunt agreed.

"I guess so. Both of you are right. I feel much better about our odds now." Archeops smiled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "The leadership position is a very demanding spot. All of your members will blame you for their defeat and they will praise you for their success. I'm in a very peculiar spot compare to her. Sure, I'm in her alliance and that does guarantee my safety for some time. While I'm not a threat, I did showcase my intelligence to other contestants. Therefore, I need to get that out of their mind. How? Criticizing Skarmory of course. That is the first thing that will pop up in their mind when they think of me. A funny fan that makes fun of the host."

 **Snorunt:** "Drifblim is pretty nice. I don't feel lonely anymore with her on my side."

 **Archeops:** "I don't need to doubt myself. Everything isn't my fault. Just like I did nothing wrong for Jumpluff to be so vindictive against me. She acted as if I insult her or call her annoying lately."

* * *

Machoke tried to lift the heavy dumbbell but he failed. He finally dropped it down to the ground and gave up. His body was a sweating mess. Machoke panted as he drank some water from a bottle.

The door to the gym opened and Darmanitan headed inside. He looked very concerned about Machoke.

"Homie, are you alright? Overworking yourself again?" Darmanitan asked as he hurriedly checked up on Machoke.

"Yeah, I'm such a failure since birth." Machoke insulted himself in a harsh tone.

"Since birth? Nobody is a failure since birth. You must have some sort of talent." Darmanitan cheered him up.

"Except me, the underweight baby. I'm born with the lowest Attack stat recorded in the history of all Machop. My other stats are also average at best. I'm as good as a disabled Pokemon. My parents never have faith in me. I tried to prove myself but I failed all the time. I'm neither smart, handsome or strong. I got nothing!" Machoke furiously scratched his head as he insulted himself further. In addition, his eyes were teary and filled with disappointment. Darmanitan understood the situation a bit more now. He placed his hand on Machoke's shoulder.

"Homie, I understand. You got the effort but your method is wrong. Skipping ahead to the final task isn't smart. Just like when you enter school, they don't teach you the most difficult subject first. They teach you the easiest subject first so that you can get the right footing on the ground. I understand why you rush to the toughest task and create so many techniques. You want to prove yourself right?" Darmanitan lectured Machoke, he nodded in reply.

"Then, I will enlighten you. I want you to meditate and concentrate so that you see your true self and what you are truly capable of." Darmanitan advised Machoke to practice zen meditation. Unlike Lucario, Machoke took the meditation seriously.

"Zen…" Both of them repeated the same word over and over.

One second turned into one minute.

One minute turned into one hour.

The party was about to start.

Machoke opened his eyes slowly. He observed himself a bit.

"Does anything change? I don't feel any stronger." Machoke asked Darmanitan, making him opened his eyes.

"Yes, you meditated for an hour. It shows that you are patient and calm. You have a lot of control over yourself. As always, your effort is excellent. You should be proud of yourself." Darmanitan pointed out all the positives. Machoke smiled as he realized it.

"Awesome!" Machoke jumped up and clapped his hands together joyfully.

Lucario entered to check the gym. He was a bit confused to see Machoke acting so zealous.

"Are you that excited for the party?" Lucario asked. Both of them turned their attention to the athlete.

"Yeah…" Machoke answered nervously. Darmanitan seemed worried about the situation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "I'm not sure if I should tell Lucario yet. He trusted me with the position of a leader or co-leader I think. No, fourth in command. I don't want to disappoint him. He still believes that I'm pretty strong. I don't want to look weak. Someday, I will gather up the courage."

 **Darmanitan:** "It is his call. If he feels like sharing the information with his team, he will do it. I don't want to cause any problems."

* * *

Nosepass and Rhyhorn stood next to the benches.

"So how am I going to be strong?" Nosepass asked, his left eye looked a lot better since yesterday.

"First, I think you should try to build your confidence. Be a bit braver." Rhyhorn suggested.

"How?" Nosepass asked.

"Why don't you go inside Skarmory Cave? Just the first floor." Rhyhorn suggested.

"S-Skarmory Cave?!" Nosepass trembled in fear.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "Nosepass needs to face his fear unless he wants others to step on him."

 **Nosepass:** "It is dark and scary. Oh no…"

* * *

Skarmory held up his megaphone with his right wing inserted through the handle.

"Attention, contestants! Today, we have a special deal. Apparently, Chef Drapion is tired of ungrateful Pokemon criticizing his food. Therefore, he will cook actual delicious food of your choice. However, he has the right to charge you as much as he wants. Through Skarmory tokens, of course. Head to the mess hall and order right away unless you want to eat his special delicacy." Skarmory announced this special event.

"Stop all unfair business practices! Stop all unfair business practices!" Dedenne protested as she held up a stop sign.

"What is it this time?" Skarmory looked annoyed.

"You can't let Chef Drapion charge anyone however he likes. What if he discriminates or favors some of us? The price can be very unfair." Dedenne complained.

"The owner is always right, remember? Chef Drapion can give discounts to his favorite contestant because it doesn't interfere with the challenge, the elimination and the secret advantage." Skarmory argued.

Dedenne looked unsatisfied as she left with her stop sign.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "Where is fairness in this show? I don't like it. Total Drama needs to change!"

* * *

Lucario entered the mess hall with a large bag of Skarmory tokens. The other contestants were shocked at this. Lucario dropped the bag down in front of Chef Drapion. Some of the coins scattered out of the bag.

"There are one hundred Skarmory tokens in this bag. I want seven plates of pizza with lots and lots of vegetables and fruits as toppings. It must be very healthy to eat. In addition, I want fourteen cups of berry juice as well." Lucario ordered the food for the party.

"Seems fair enough." Chef Drapion counted the tokens. It was one hundred like Lucario said. The purchase was successful.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I got some sponsors and financiers to thank for the Skarmory tokens. Mainly, Meowth."

 **Tyrunt:** "I want all that food. Can't I be in the other team?"

 **Archeops:** "Our morale is low. Now, it is even lower. I need a way to cheer up my team."

 **Grovyle:** Grovyle held a cup of noodle. "It is nice to be rich. Err… I think I'm supposed to say middle income class. Who cares? Close enough to me."

* * *

Lucario wheeled all the items over to the gym once again with the help of Darmanitan and Machoke.

The door opened and the Feckless Flygon members all celebrated.

"Yay, freebies." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.

"I need all that nutrition for the challenge." Miltank said.

"It looks unhealthy and fat." Oddish acted stupid. The other members gave her weird looks.

"Are you talking about yourself?" Shedinja twisted her words in his deadpan manner. The others laughed a bit, which made Oddish mad.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Oddish:** "I'm starting to regret acting stupid. I feel like other Pokemon are making fun of me. At least, I got the million in the bag, right?"

 **Cryogonal:** "Shedinja got a sense of humor. I like that."

* * *

Everyone enjoyed their food and drinks. They all looked satisfied and refreshed. Tyrunt peeked through the window of the gym. He looked jealous. Seemingly, Ledyba noticed this.

"Lucario, can we share with the other team?" Ledyba asked.

"Share? Share? Are you kidding me?! They are our enemies. We need to keep their morale down so that our chances of winning are higher." Lucario scolded Ledyba, the latter look enraged at his behavior. The other Feckless Flygon members spectated from a distance. Some looked like they want to intervene.

"Homie, maybe we can give them the leftovers. They are our fellow contestants. Just throw them a bone." Darmanitan persuaded.

"We already defeated them three times. We can do it again even if we feed them a decent meal. This is just a common decency. Just be a bit generous, Lucario." Houndour persuaded as well.

"Who do you think you are to dictate us? This is just sharing for god's sake!" Cryogonal was more aggressive than the others.

Ledyba tried to calm down. On the other hand, Lucario looked frustrated with his team. As a result, he stormed out of the gym.

Before he exited, he shouted at his teammates. "Do whatever the hell you want!" He then slammed the door. Nobody was in the mood to enjoy the party anymore.

Tyrunt looked scared outside. He was shaking in fear because of Lucario. Houndour saw this and consoled him with a slice of pizza.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Apparently, nobody cares about winning at all in my team! The Crazy Crawdaunt are our enemies. We are supposed to crush them!"

 **Scolipede:** "Ledyba… She stood up against Lucario. I don't think this is an act anymore…"

 **Meowth:** "Even though I'm a businessman, I do attend charity events. When you are an heir of a multibillion company, distributing a few care packages for poor Pokemon isn't a big deal. The million means nothing to me, I got a business empire to run. Rather, I want to win the title of champion instead. A personal achievement."

 **Darmanitan:** "Lucario gave me a headache. I should already expect this to be honest. He never really shows sportsmanship to his competitors. Only to his fans and yeah, he can be ungenerous sometimes.

 **Cryogonal:** "Lucario is such a sore winner and a sore loser. How insufferable."

 **Ledyba:** "Great, I got scolded for trying to be nice. First, Scolipede. Now, Lucario. This world is really messed up."

 **Houndour:** "Poor Tyrunt, he came to the wrong place at the wrong time."

* * *

Skarmory finally announced the challenge. "Contestants, please come to the beach area." Skarmory ordered everyone to follow him.

The Crazy Crawdaunt seem demotivated and hopeless. They walked slowly over to the beach as they dreaded another loss.

"Team! We need to try our best. If we don't, we are going to elimination ceremony again." Archeops tried to cheer her team up.

"I already know that." Nosepass said without any signs of hope. Archeops saw this and came up with a different idea.

"If we win, I will give everyone five Skarmory tokens each." Archeops lured her team with a reward. Everyone widened their eyes.

"Really?! Oh my gosh, free tokens." Jumpluff was excited immediately.

"Looks promising. I expect immediate payment." Skrelp seemed satisfied.

Archeops looked a bit nervous.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "I don't have enough tokens. Will anyone let me borrow?"

* * *

Next to Skarmory was a boat. There were two special guests inside, Eevee and Pancham. Pancham crossed his arms. Furthermore, there was a twig inside his mouth. Eevee wore pink ribbons on both of her ears. She seemed unsatisfied with the accommodation of the boat.

"Contestants, prepare to babysit two of the brattiest twelve years-old that I found." Skarmory explained the challenge.

"A babysitting challenge. Did their parents pay you for this?" Drifblim accused.

"Hahaha… That is very funny. Of course not." Skarmory laughed nervously.

"Let me explain the details. All of you will receive a score based on two things. First, the brat will give you a score out of one hundred. That is up to them. I have no control. Second, their parents gave me a list of the things that you need to accomplish. They can earn you extra points up to ninety at maximum. Before we get ahead of ourselves, I will let the winners pick the brat of their choice." Skarmory finished his explanation as the Feckless Flygon observed the two kids.

"Pick me if you want to have a bad time." Pancham threatened.

"I don't have time to waste all day. I demand you servants to serve me immediately." Eevee degraded the contestants.

Lucario looked back and forth. He still didn't recover from how the party went down just yet.

"Any ideas?" Lucario asked his team, his voice was quieter and colder than usual. His eyes pierced through his team.

"How about the Eevee? She seems more fashionable." Aromatisse commented.

"Hey!" Pancham shouted from the boat.

The Feckless Flygon chose Eevee as both of the kids seemed equally bratty.

The Crazy Crawdaunt got Pancham. The reception was mixed.

Skarmory handed them the list and the challenge began.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Pancham seems cool. Better than that whiny princess over there."

 **Nosepass:** "Pancham reminds me of Larvitar. Help!"

* * *

Lucario started to read the list. "We have five tasks to complete for extra points. First, cook food for ten points. Second, make Eevee laugh and smile for ten points. Third, make Eevee say wonderful things about each of you for twenty points. Fourth, perform a play of her choice for thirty points. Finally, make our wonderful Eevee look fabulous for twenty points. Is that clear?" Lucario asked. Suddenly, a voice from the boat interrupted him. Lucario groaned at this.

"I demand a red carpet! Fill the red carpet with flowers as well. I will not walk on this filthy ground." Eevee complained impudently.

"Excuse me princess, we aren't your slaves. We are babysitters. Respect your elders." Miltank pointed out.

"Five points deducted." Eevee smirked. Miltank looked angry.

"Eevee, there is no red carpet. Are there any possible alternatives?" Duosion tried to reason with her.

"Carry me then." Eevee ordered as she folded her paws and lifted her neck. Nobody wanted to step up to the task. Houndour sighed.

"I will do it. I got experience with carrying Tyrunt." Houndour volunteered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "There are two types of rich Pokemon. The first type is filled with spoiled, pampered and unemployed rejects. The second type is for the successful and talented that can multiply their net worth."

 **Aromatisse:** "Perfect, I will make sure that Eevee look fabulous. Free twenty points."

* * *

On the other hand, Pancham walked on his own over to the camp. He ignored his babysitters as they were discussing about the extra tasks. Noticeably, Grovyle followed him.

"Hey, where are you going, kid?" Grovyle said as he ran over to block Pancham.

"I don't need any of you losers to babysit me. I'm a grown-up man." Pancham refused to be treated as a kid.

"Then, can you survive on your own?" Grovyle questioned.

"Yeah, I don't care about your stupid challenge. I will give you zero points at the end of the day." Pancham didn't give a damn about any of his babysitters. Grovyle allowed Pancham to pass with a grin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Any minute now, he will scream for help. And… Good Guy Grovyle will save the day. Pancham will thank me and we will earn one hundred points. This is my foolproof plan. It always works. Fake a dangerous situation and solve it. Man, I'm such a genius."

* * *

"I will repeat the tasks. First, teach Pancham basic mathematics for twenty points. Second, make sure Pancham takes a bath for thirty points. Third, remove the twig from his mouth for forty points. That is all." Archeops listed all of the extra tasks. "Now, we should divide each of our responsibilities." Archeops was about to do so until Heracross hurriedly nudged her.

"What?" Archeops asked.

"Grovyle and Pancham are both gone!" Heracross showed that both of them were nowhere to be found.

"How the hell did this happen? He was here a minute ago!" Archeops wondered as she franticly looked around.

"We are screwed. Quickly find him!" Jumpluff panicked. Everyone started to spread out.

"Calm down everyone. We need to stay calm to find Pancham." Archeops tried to calm her team down. However, she failed. The Crazy Crawdaunt all scrambled to find Pancham.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "Thanks Jumpluff, for panicking. If this costs us the challenge... Wait, that means I don't need to pay. A win-win situation for me."

 **Bisharp:** "I think I noticed Grovyle following Pancham. Perhaps, he has a plan."

* * *

Houndour sweated a little from carrying Eevee. His sweat accidentally touched her fur.

"Eww… Disgusting! What a pitiful male. I'm light as a feather and you dare sweat on my beautiful body?" Eevee insulted Houndour and smacked his head as a punishment. Houndour took it without a word for the sake of the challenge.

"How dare you?!" However, Duosion didn't tolerate her actions.

"I can do whatever I want. I have more power than any of you bottom-class servants. Ten points deducted." Eevee penalized.

Houndour gave Duosion a reassuring look as he continued to carry Eevee. Duosion sighed as she didn't argue further.

Ledyba looked with sympathy at Houndour. She flew next to him.

"Do you want me to carry her instead?" Ledyba whispered.

"It's okay." Houndour assured.

"If you wish…" Ledyba said worriedly. Scolipede spectated this from a distance.

They finally reached the camp. Lucario turned around and faced his teammates.

"I want to keep this simple. We will divide into five groups. Each group will take care of each specific task. First, cooking. Any volunteers?" Lucario looked around for any potential cooks.

"How about, we give her the pizza instead?" Duosion suggested as nobody seemed confident in their cooking skills.

"Smart idea." Lucario agreed.

"Pizza? That is a low-class food. I demand you to give me a proper feast." Eevee complained. The Feckless Flygon looked exhausted with Eevee.

Duosion whispered something into Lucario's ears. Both of them smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I'm starting to regret picking her."

 **Lucario:** "The task didn't specify that we must feed her good food... I have a secret plan that I will tell everyone."

 **Machoke:** "Lucario told me to find Chef Drapion. I wonder why?" Machoke scratched his head.

* * *

Grovyle dug up a pitfall. Afterwards, he covered it with leaves. Pancham got closer and closer. Grovyle quickly hid behind a tree. Carelessly, Pancham walked into the pitfall.

"Ouch!" Pancham yelled in pain as he rubbed his bottom. He was stuck in the pitfall.

"I don't need those losers." Pancham tried to climb up but he slid down to the same spot every time.

Ten minutes passed. "Help! I'm hungry." Pancham shouted for help as his stomach roared. Grovyle waited for the boy to be more desperate.

Suddenly, Grovyle got an idea.

"Sshh" Grovyle hissed like an Ekans. This trick worked as Pancham looked terrified.

"I just want to be independent. I didn't mean to bully my babysitters. It is just that they treated me like a kid, mum. You don't need to send me here as a punishment." Pancham started to sob. Grovyle continued to hiss.

"I learn my lesson now! I will do my homework. I will take a bath. I will do anything. Please, get me out of this scary island. Wah…" Pancham cried.

"Get out of here, you stupid Ekans!" Grovyle shouted as he punched a tree to create sound effects of a fight. Then, he jumped down into the pitfall. Pancham wiped his tears away and sighed.

"Don't cry, Good Guy Grovyle is here to save you." Grovyle consoled.

"I didn't cry. Something just got in my eyes." Pancham made an excuse.

"We all cry sometimes, Pancham. See, this is why you need a babysitter. Having one doesn't mean that you aren't tough or you are a baby. Your parents can't be with you all the time. You need someone to take care of you. I hope that you will become an obedient son from now on. Let's go. Get on my back." Grovyle carried Pancham on his back as he jumped out of the pitfall.

"Thank you." Pancham whispered quietly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I know that it isn't cool giving the kid a scare. However, you need to do the wrong things for the right reasons sometimes. I turned Pancham into a better Pokemon. I know that I did the right thing. I bet that I look really cool on television. Pancham will understand once he watches the episode. Other than that, I pretty much guarantee our victory."

* * *

Chef Drapion walked over to the Feckless Flygon.

"You better have a good reason for calling me over here." Chef Drapion grumbled.

"Eevee, this is our six-stars chef, Drapion. He can cook the tastiest food within three minutes. Right, chef?" Lucario flattered and exaggerated. Chef Drapion was surprised but he smiled at the flattery nonetheless.

"Obviously, I'm the best chef in this island." Chef Drapion bragged. Eevee had a look of interest.

"Now, this is what I'm looking for. A ser-chef worthy of cooking my food." Eevee said with satisfaction.

"I recommend you to order his special delicacy." Shedinja drawled. The plan proceeded smoothly.

"Great recommendation, servant. One order of this special delicacy." Eevee ordered.

"It will be done in two minutes." Chef Drapion informed as he left to the kitchen.

"Perfect, faster than I thought. Great customer service." Eevee complimented.

"It is free of charge as well, milady." Meowth reinforced.

"Exceptional." Eevee commented as Houndour carried her to a chair in the mess hall. She sat on it as Ledyba placed the spoon and plate.

"It might taste a bit weird at first but many critics gave it a perfect rating." Duosion assured.

"Understandable." Eevee looked excited to taste the food. The Feckless Flygon nearly couldn't control their laughter.

Chef Drapion arrived with the plate of purple sludge.

"The presentation is in the style of simplicity." Cryogonal said. Eevee nodded.

"I can taste the food for you to prove that it is delicious." Scolipede offered to taste the food and Eevee accepted it. Scolipede used a different spoon to eat a mouthful of sludge. As he was a poison type, the sludge wasn't a big deal to him.

"Delicious." Scolipede exaggerated as he faked a smile.

All of their words and actions created an illusion in Eevee's eyes. The plate of sludge looked like a six-stars dish. Eevee ate it and she felt strange.

"I need water. Make it snappy!" Eevee demanded as Lucario handed her a glass of water. She drank the entire cup and sighed with relief.

"The dish certainly is unique. From my experience, I will give it a ten out of ten." Eevee rated the dish foolishly. The Feckless Flygon members laughed quietly except for…

Oddish looked with disbelief at all of this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Oddish:** "It was all an act. I don't believe that anyone can be this stupid without acting. I will uncover her mask. There can only be one Pokemon in this island that act stupid."

* * *

"Are you in the restrooms, Pancham?" Tyrunt asked from outside.

"Are you in our cabins?" Nosepass searched around the cabins.

"Where the hell are you?!" Heracross searched around the gym area.

"He is here!" Grovyle shouted from the intersection. Pancham was there next to him.

"Oh my goodness. Where had you been, Pancham?" Jumpluff asked with relief.

"I'm sorry for heading off on my own." Pancham apologized. He was too traumatized from the experience to revert back to his former self.

"Did you say… sorry? That is very mature of you." Dedenne complimented.

"Really?" Pancham asked with disbelief. Dedenne nodded in reply.

Archeops saw Pancham and flew down. She smiled kindly at him before she looked at Grovyle suspiciously.

"Where are you the entire time?" Archeops asked.

"Does it matter? He's here now." Grovyle dodged the question. Archeops allowed that to pass as they started to complete the extra tasks.

Pancham obediently took a bath and studied mathematics with Skrelp. He even took his twig off. The Crazy Crawdaunt already gained a huge lead of ninety points.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "If Grovyle noticed Pancham missing, he should have told us. This is very suspicious."

 **Grovyle:** "I hope no one doubts me. I need to keep up my reputation and image."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon decided to perform the play next. Eevee handed them a script as she continued to sit on Houndour's back. His face had a red slap mark on his right cheek but he didn't complain. Duosion looked at him from a distance.

"Poor Houndour…" Duosion sympathized. Meowth placed his hand on her back to console her.

"I got the location for our show. It is the auditorium in front of the haunted area. I cover the rent cost for it. We will proceed as planned, are you sure that you can handle this?" Meowth asked. Duosion nodded, she looked determined.

"Good, head over to the backstage for our rehearsal." Meowth brought her over to the auditorium.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** 'That brat will pay… This will teach her a lesson that she will never forget."

* * *

Lucario summarized the script and roles to his teammates for the second time so that they understand clearly.

"This ridiculous play is called 'Master and Servants'. It is a very sadistic tale of a group of servants that are abused by their master for no good reason. Worst of all, the servants smile through it, they accept their cruel fate. We will keep everything the same except for the ending. As we have already discussed beforehand, Meowth will play the role of the master and the rest of us will be a servant. Except for Duosion, Meowstic, Cryogonal and Houndour. Obviously, Eevee sit on Houndour as if he is a chair. Meowstic is the narrator. Cryogonal will take care of the special effects. Duosion, you already know the role that you will be playing. We will start the rehearsal now." Lucario led his team through the challenge. Despite the party incident, he knew that everything has its time and place.

Oddish walked over to Lucario as he experimented the special effects with Cryogonal. Lucario noticed Oddish and turned his attention to her.

"What is it?" Lucario asked.

"I think Eevee will not fall for it. She is seriously acting dumb." Oddish told him about her concern.

"Like you?" Lucario's words shocked Oddish. She was really dumbfounded this time.

"Everybody knows it, Oddish." Cryogonal revealed that everyone knew it all along.

"D-duh, I don't understand anything." Oddish tried to keep her act as she walked around klutzily. Lucario and Cryogonal shook their head.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Eevee isn't acting. I know that for sure. Oddish, if you persist on with that act, I will eliminate you."

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt celebrated their success with a game of football. Pancham passed the ball to Grovyle. Elekid tried to steal it but failed. Grovyle then passed the ball to Heracross, who was near the goal. The goalie was Tyrunt, who was peer pressured to join the game by Elekid.

"I wish I never play." Tyrunt said fearfully as Heracross kicked the ball toward him at full speed. Accidentally, it collided with his stomach.

"Ouch!" Tyrunt yelled in pain as he dropped down to the ground. The others rushed to him.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean it." Heracross checked up on him.

Tyrunt groaned in pain as he rolled on the ground.

"This guy is pretty weak." Pancham insulted him. Elekid heard this and defended his friend.

"He isn't weak. You should look at yourself first before saying that." Elekid scolded him.

"Calm down. I'm just stating a fact. The insult was unintentional. You are clearing saying that because you are his friend." Pancham said, trying to be more mature. This infuriated Elekid.

"Where did you learn to speak like this?' Elekid questioned.

"Teacher Skrelp. She is extremely intelligent. She also taught me so many new things. I'm pretty much her fan now." Pancham supported Skrelp.

Grovyle got between both Elekid and Pancham before anything worse could happen.

"Stop being a baby." Heracross added insult to injury upon poor Tyrunt.

"It hurts." Tyrunt continued to roll on the ground. Tears started to fall from his eyes. Archeops saw this and flew over to check him.

"Heracross, I will deal with this. Are you alright, Tyrunt? Do you need help? I can carry you to the infirmary." Archeops offered to help.

"That will be great." Tyrunt accepted the help.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "Archeops is actually nice despite what Jumpluff told me. She is better than that inconsiderate Heracross."

 **Archeops:** "I need to take care of my team, no matter who it is. It is my responsibility as the leader."

 **Skrelp:** "Pancham is actually a fast learner if he is willing to learn. He can memorize things quickly. Basically, I taught him things like complex vocabulary and much more as optional courses."

 **Nosepass:** "I'm happy that Tyrunt look weak like me. I don't feel lonely anymore."

* * *

Houndour carried Eevee to the auditorium over the mountain area, eventually passing the second intersection. He finally arrived in the haunted area. The trees were wilted and dead. There was a fog in the distance as the ground was black colored naturally. Eevee looked scared of the surroundings.

"Enter now, Slowpoke!" Eevee shouted as she smacked Houndour in the face again.

"For the team." Houndour whispered under his breath. Houndour entered the auditorium with his last remaining strength. He then collapsed.

"Stupid servant. Fine, I will walk on my own." Eevee had enough with Houndour. She walked over and sat on the front row seat. There was a bag of popcorn next to her. It was prepared by Meowth, ordered through Chef Drapion.

"I want someone to feed me or else I will penalize all of you by fifty points." Eevee threatened. Houndour dragged his lifeless body over to her. Darmanitan saw this from the backstage and rushed in to help. He carried Houndour over next to Eevee.

Houndour eyes were half-closed as he hand-fed Eevee the popcorn.

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the one and only show. The show of master and servants alike. I present all of you to our likable cast of characters. Let's start, shall we?" Meowstic finished the opening as she moved to the backstage. She narrated the story through a microphone in the backstage.

"Once upon a time, there were one master and many servants in a magical kingdom filled with magic." Meowstic read the script except for the last part that she added herself. Eevee couldn't tell the difference. However, Lucario still gave Meowstic a glare from backstage. She stopped messing around after this.

"The master was named Meowth. He was rich and powerful. His wealth could even make Pokemon kill each other. A wonderful privilege for the powerful. Obviously, he had many servants to serve him." Meowstic narrated the first part as Meowth walked in front of the stage with jewelry around his body. They were all fake props. Specifically, he wore a diamond necklace, a golden crown, a ruby ring and a shoe made of emerald. He was as majestic as a king.

The first servant entered, it was Machoke. He wore ragged clothes.

"Master, I'm late for one millisecond. I deserve to be severely punished. However, I have a family to feed. Please spare this poor, old fool." Machoke begged for mercy.

"You are blocking my sunlight. Look, contemptible fool." Meowth pointed to a fake sun on top of the stage. Machoke hurriedly got out of the way. He shuffled his feet in nervousness.

"For your unforgivable act. I will lock you in a dungeon. Servants!" Meowth passed his judgement. Machoke trembled.

"I guess I deserve it." Machoke cried fake tears as Scolipede and Darmanitan dragged him away. Eevee laughed and smiled as Houndour fed her popcorn.

The next servant entered, it was Ledyba. She held a normal cup of water.

"Master, I got the rarest of the rarest mineral water for you." Ledyba offered Meowth the drink. Meowth sipped it then spat it out against Ledyba.

"It is not rare enough! Find me a better drink." Meowth said cruelly as he threw the cup at Ledyba without any consideration toward her efforts and feelings.

"I will definitely find you a better drink…" Ledyba said apprehensively as she left.

Miltank entered next. Like everyone else, she wore ragged clothes.

"Master, I have worked tirelessly for years upon years. I wish to retire and live a happy life with my family. I can no longer build statues of your magnificent self anymore." Miltank said in her old voice.

"Who says you can retire! Get back to work!" Meowth snapped as he stomped on the ground. Miltank fled immediately.

Aromatisse entered next. She looked anxious as she approached Meowth.

"Master, Miltank collapsed while she was carrying a statue. I think she is dead. What are we going to do?" Aromatisse panicked as she ran around the stage.

"Show my condolences to her family. I will not compensate in any other way." Meowth said heartlessly. Aromatisse nodded and fled the stage. Eevee nodded in approval as well. Houndour stared at her with strong contempt.

Shedinja floated slowly to Meowth.

"Master, what can I do for you?" Shedinja drawled.

"I want you to serve my dinner."

"Okay." Shedinja said simply as he floated to the backstage.

One minute passed and Meowth tapped his feet impatiently. Shedinja didn't finish yet.

"Servants, send Shedinja to the dungeon." Meowth ordered. There was a sound effect of a jail door getting locked, courtesy of Cryogonal.

Lucario walked to the stage next.

"Muscle man, carry me." Meowth demanded. Lucario carried him. Suddenly, Meowth slapped him in the face. Eevee laughed with satisfaction.

"Be more careful, you nearly touch my jewelry." Meowth warned. Lucario carried Meowth for a while. He looked very annoyed at his master but he remained silent. Meowth finally allowed Lucario to leave.

Oddish entered last. She stared suspiciously at Eevee for a moment before she walked over to Meowth.

"Master, it is time to go to bed." Oddish guided Meowth to his grandmaster bedroom. Unexpectedly, the lights were all turned off. There was a red, glowing light in the middle of the stage instead. Eevee looked horrified.

"Servant?" Eevee looked around. Houndour was gone. The sole light in the middle of the stage was turned on. Eevee saw the glowing red right more clearly now. To her, it looked like a red demon with horns. This was due to the red blanket and a few special effects. In reality, it was Duosion floating in midair.

"What are you?" Eevee spoke with fear.

"I'm your worst nightmare. The devil that will bring you to hell." Duosion spoke, it was not her natural voice. Her voice was modified by a program controlled by Cryogonal. The voice sounded devilish.

"Why? What did I do wrong?" Eevee was oblivious to her mistakes.

"What did you do wrong? Do you even realize your insufferable mistakes? You are a senseless brat! You are heartless against your so called 'servants' and other Pokemon in general. Therefore, you shall be stripped of everything." Duosion threatened her.

"No, please don't. That's not true. I take care of my servants well. Right, Houndour?" Eevee was desperate at this point. She continued to deny the whole situation.

"Silence! Your words are filthier than a Trubbish. See this 'servant' over here? He is dead." Duosion floated sideways to reveal Houndour faking his death. A tomato sauce was used as blood.

"I… I kill him?" Eevee asked in disbelief.

"Yes, you never feed him or take care of him. You are so vindictive and cruel. A simple mistake means that you have the right to hit him?" Duosion continued to attack Eevee.

"I'm sorry." Eevee started to cry. This was the biggest scare of her life.

"Being sorry won't bring him back to life. You shall suffer from the same fate as him. Your punishment will be a role reversal. In your next life, you will be born as a servant and Houndour will be born as your master." Duosion released the verdict.

"Please don't. I will do anything. Wah!" Eevee cried and cried. Duosion lifted her up with Psychic. Eevee cried even louder.

"I will give you a second chance because I feel merciful today. You must say nice things about all of your servants." Duosion tricked Eevee into completing the mission for them.

"I will! I definitely will! Lucario and Miltank both of you are very strong. Machoke and Darmanitan also look strong. Ledyba seems nice. Aromatisse looks beautiful. Shedinja, Oddish and Cryogonal are talented in their own ways. Scolipede is a great food critic. Meowth will probably have a successful future. Meowstic is a great narrator. Duosion is smart and… Houndour, you are the best servant I ever had. You never complain despite what I did to you. I wish that everything will… will…" Eevee was about to finish until a certain grass type decided to commit a deadly mistake.

"Stop acting stupid! This is all a staged act. The devil is Duosion and Houndour isn't dead." Lucario covered Oddish mouth before she could cause any more damage.

Eevee realized just then that she was humiliated, manipulated and ridiculed.

"*beep*!" Eevee swore as she reverted back to her former self. She was so close to changing into a better Pokemon like Pancham.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Oddish, you *beep*! Because of you Eevee, the *beep* will give us a zero. *beep*!

 **Oddish:** "Oh no…"

 **Cryogonal:** "All of that for nothing. I guess she is really stupid."

 **Darmanitan:** "Now, Lucario is going to throw a temper tantrum. Oddish, why?"

 **Duosion:** "My plan ended in vain because of Oddish."

 **Houndour:** "I endure all of that for nothing?"

* * *

Skarmory collected all the results. He was about to present the score to both teams.

"With a score of 70 to 190, the Crazy Crawdaunt win." Skarmory revealed that the Crazy Crawdaunt received a perfect score. They all cheered happily, while the Feckless Flygon looked down on the ground.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "How is Archeops going to pay? This is interesting."

 **Grovyle:** "You better pay Archeops. I didn't do all of that for nothing. If you can't…"

 **Tyrunt:** "I don't really care about the tokens anymore. Archeops did it for the team. We should just appreciate that.

* * *

"Everything good must come to an end like your win streak. This is normal. Well, receive a Leppa Berry and you stay. Simple enough as it is." Skarmory started the bonfire ceremony.

"Duosion and Houndour." The couple got their berries first.

"Machoke, Darmanitan and Miltank."

"Scolipede"

"Meowth"

"Ledyba"

"Shedinja"

"Cryogonal"

"Aromatisse"

"Meowstic"

"Lucario, your competitiveness often rubs others in the wrong way. On the other hand, Oddish, you acted stupid and messed up in the challenge very, very badly. The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory built up the suspense as usual.

…

…

…

"Oddish"

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

My strategy failed. I'm very mad about that. I look ridiculous on television and I lost my chance at the million. Perhaps, I should find a new strategy next time. Maybe, I will act smart. I want Aromatisse to win. I guess it is because she is the only one that spent time with me. I don't want Lucario to win. He is such a ruthless jerk sometimes.

* * *

Oddish departed on her Lapras. Aromatisse waved at her.

"Take care." Aromatisse felt sympathy for her so she came to see her off.

"Be smart." Oddish said her parting words.

Skarmory landed on the dock after Aromatisse left. He ended his episode in a similar fashion.

"Wow, this episode. It is amazing. My personal favorite so far. The personality and the development. It is very intense until the very end. That plot twist of Oddish ruining everything. I already saw it coming by a mile. I will put some foreshadowing edits on that. Anyways, the infirmary streak continues. This is ridiculous. Chef Drapion is starting to get annoyed by this. What will happen next time? What will be the challenge? Find out in the next intense episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Elimination Votes**

Lucario: Oddish

Duosion: Oddish

Houndour: Oddish

Meowth: Oddish

Darmanitan: Oddish

Miltank: Oddish

Cryogonal: Oddish

Machoke: Oddish

Ledyba: Oddish

Meowstic: Oddish

Oddish: Lucario

Scolipede: Oddish

Shedinja: Oddish

Aromatisse: Oddish

Oddish: 13 (eliminated)

Lucario: 1

* * *

This episode is slightly shorter but quality over quantity, right? The next episode will feature a different area. Is it the desert or the snow area? I will leave all of you to guess. The challenge will be based on the environment.

Oddish is a pretty funny character. She wasn't meant to make it far. Will she return? Probably not. Have a nice day and review if you want.


	7. Chapter 7

**Reply to Review**

 **Worma-Sir**

Lucario and Archeops both have their flaws and strengths. Neither of them is perfect. They aren't purely evil or good. The same can be said for Grovyle. True, Lucario is a sore loser but he really cares about his team. True, Archeops can be selfish but she can also be selfless. Nice, I make you like a Pokemon you don't. This actually happens to me once with Bronzong. How long will Jumpluff survive? Does she have what it takes to win? What does it takes to win my season? Thinking about these things might help to predict future events. However, I have more curve balls and twists planned.

* * *

 **Episode 7: Freeze Me Once, Shame On You. Freeze Me Twice, I Will Get My Revenge.**

Skarmory sipped hot cappuccino as he breathed in fresh air of the early morning. He then turned to the camera to start the opening.

"Another day, another challenge, another elimination. I like my job. Anyways, last time, Houndour and Duosion braved through the legendary Skarmory Cave. They faced their eternal adversary, Ursaring. This diligent intern is infamous for his traps and tricks. With his extra pay on the line, he sent garbage rolling into the duo. Let's say, it ended in a humiliating outcome. On the other hand, Archeops promised her team countless Skarmory tokens if they win the challenge. Which they did. Speaking of the challenge, the contestants babysat some brats or rather became their slaves. Grovyle pulled through the challenge for his team, what a great guy. In the end, Oddish got eliminated for her grave mistake. What will happen this time? Will Archeops be able to pay? Will someone refill my cappuccino? Find out in this electrifying episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

Nosepass traveled in the forest with Rhyhorn. They seemingly headed toward Skarmory Cave. Noticeably, Nosepass was behind Rhyhorn the entire journey. In addition, Nosepass nervously glanced through his surroundings. Unknown to him, a leaf fell on his head.

"Help! Something is biting my head!" Nosepass shouted for help. Seeming spooked, he ran away in fear. This caused the leaf to fell down his head. Rhyhorn looked back at the fellow rock type with a confused expression.

"Nothing threatening is on your head." Rhyhorn pointed out.

Nosepass looked back to see a puny leaf on a ground. He then blushed in embarrassment.

"I thought it was a bug Pokemon. They are just creepy and dangerous." Nosepass clarified.

"Rock types have a type advantage against bug types." Rhyhorn reminded.

"Yeah, but I can't fight. I will lose anyways." Nosepass said, feeling shameful and weak. His eyes turned sideways, dodging Rhyhorn's gaze.

"…" Rhyhorn said nothing.

Nosepass slowly turned his eyes to Rhyhorn. He looked very deep in thought as if he was in a trance.

"A-are you alright?" Nosepass asked with worry.

"It's nothing. Let's continue." Rhyhorn replied as he led Nosepass to Skarmory Cave. Nosepass realized that he had no choice. Therefore, he followed Rhyhorn obediently.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Rhyhorn is never the type to talk. He is usually quiet and reserved. It makes him mysterious. Usually, I don't hang around with someone like him but… I think I can trust him."

* * *

The Treasure Trio took a day off from exploring Skarmory Cave. They had enough Skarmory tokens to buy items from Skarmory Shop. Meowth left to meet his 'customer'. Meanwhile, Houndour and Duosion talked to each other, somewhere in the forest area. Accurately, a grassy clearing with a giant tree in the middle. Both of them sat under the tree, enjoying a cool shade. The wind blew against them calmly, creating a certain atmosphere.

"We live pretty close to each other." Duosion stated. Apparently, they asked each other about where they live. However, Skarmory didn't air that part of the conversation.

"That's great. We can see each other after the show ends. As friends." Houndour paused slightly before he said 'friends'. His muscles looked tense.

"Yeah, friends." Duosion said, quieter than usual. She also fiddled with her stubby arms.

"It is nice and relaxing to sit here and talk but my muscles are sore and stiff now. It just feels unnatural. Usually, we explore the cave. Suddenly, the pace changes and we sit here." Houndour hinted that he felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave.

"I feel the same. We should probably leave." Duosion agreed as they separated awkwardly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "Sitting alone with her suddenly feels weird. I don't know how to… explain it properly. I'm not the most experienced with girls. Sure, I have a few friends that are girls but this is… I don't know how to describe it."

 **Duosion:** "My heart is torn in half. A part of me wants to confess and say something. I feel more and more attracted to him lately. Noticeably, I spent most of my time with him. Still… The other half feels very uncomfortable and dreadful. What if our relationship isn't successful? Many examples and cases in reality television shows suggest this. Statistically, it won't work."

* * *

Nosepass moved sluggishly behind Rhyhorn in Skarmory Cave. He was so slow that it took a whole minute for him to move five steps.

"I'm s-scared." Nosepass cowered behind Rhyhorn.

"I'm here with you." Rhyhorn turned back to assure him.

They made their progress slowly inside the cave. Eventually, Nosepass found a Fighting Gem. He reached over to collect it. However, he accidentally stepped on a pressure plate. It released a screech of a Zubat.

"Ah!" Nosepass screamed as he fled the cave as fast as he possibly could. Rhyhorn ran over to see Nosepass shaking outside of the cave.

"It is a trick. Not a big deal. Sometimes, fear plays with our mind. Danger isn't always there. Fear and danger are two different things." Rhyhorn advised.

"I don't want to do this anymore." Nosepass refused to enter the cave again.

"This is your choice. However, do you want Skarmory tokens?" Rhyhorn asked. Nosepass nodded at this.

"Get the Fighting Gem then exit." Rhyhorn motioned for Nosepass to enter the cave. Nosepass composed himself as he entered the cave.

This time, Nosepass panicked less and managed to get the Fighting Gem. Afterwards, they exited the cave like Nosepass wanted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I don't want to enter the cave again. It is finally over with." Nosepass sighed with relief.

 **Rhyhorn:** "I want to help Nosepass..." Rhyhorn opened his mouth to speak more but he decided against it and exited the confessional.

* * *

Meowth was in the auditorium, sitting on the front row seat. To his left, Machoke stood tall. To his right, Darmanitan stretched his arms. They were like bodyguards of a prosperous businessman. A deal was about to go down as there was a huge bag of Skarmory tokens behind Meowth on the second row seat. Archeops was on the stage, she breathed in deeply before she started talking.

"First and foremost, I would like to thank you Meowth for wasting your precious time with me. May I ask why you have these two with you?" Archeops felt uneasy upon seeing Machoke and Darmanitan. It was a great intimidating factor.

"I use my Bulky Bodyguard Technique to protect my friend from potential harm. Who knows if you are going to steal the Skarmory tokens?" Machoke answered. Archeops gulped a bit.

"Chill out, we aren't here to mug or harm you. Just don't think of anything reckless." Darmanitan assured. He sat on his seat comfortably unlike Machoke.

"Alright, I will continue. As you probably already know, I want to borrow some Skarmory tokens. Around fifty to be exact. I promise that I will repay you guys back." Archeops requested, she held her claws together in anticipation. Her eyes pleaded for Meowth to accept the deal.

Machoke used his fingers to count the amount while Darmanitan looked at Meowth, expecting an answer. Meowth coughed a few times before he started to criticize Archeops for her presentation.

"A loan of fifty Skarmory tokens is a huge deal. You can't expect me to give it to you so easily. I doubt that you are creditworthy enough. For one, I don't know how long you will stay in this island. Will you be eliminated before you repay me?" Meowth looked doubtful.

"I will, I'm in a great spot in my team." Archeops assured.

"I can't take your words for it. How about, when will you repay?" Meowth asked.

"Five days? I will give ten Skarmory tokens back per day." Archeops tried to be realistic.

"It is no different than begging if you can't give me a reason why I will benefit from it. We are on different teams, Archeops. Lucario will be very furious if I donate Skarmory tokens to you. You need to pay the interest rates. From the look of your face, you didn't expect this. Don't you?" Meowth finished his evaluation of the deal. His feedback disheartened Archeops.

"Interest rates? How… much?" Archeops looked hesitant and concerned.

"Fifty percent. You must give me twenty-five Skarmory tokens to cover your interest." Meowth solidified his offer. Archeops sweated a bit.

"Can it be a little lower?" Archeops pleaded.

"No." Meowth denied.

"Then, no thanks." Archeops left empty handed. She looked down on the ground before she lifted her head to eye the bag. She shook her head as she flew away depressingly.

Darmanitan carried the bag of tokens for Meowth as the three exited.

"For your protection, I will give you one token each." Meowth offered to pay them.

"It's no big deal, homie. I can do this little favor for my friend." Darmanitan refused to accept it.

"Yeah, no big deal. I get to look cool as a bodyguard. Check out my Bulky Bodyguard Technique." Machoke tried to lift a nearby rock. He grunted with effort and lifted it up before dropping it instantly. Both of them chuckled at his attempt as Machoke rubbed his head.

"I'm grateful to have loyal friends like you two…" Meowth said charmingly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** Archeops seethed a bit inside the confessional. She then calmed down a bit and began to talk. "I can't believe this! Meowth is so stingy. What am I going to do now?"

 **Machoke:** "I look pretty strong right? I mean without my strength, I'm nothing. I can't find a job with muscles like these. I'm a Machoke, others expect me to be a labor worker. Otherwise, what am I going to be?"

 **Meowth:** "There is one thing that I like more than loyal customers. Blind customers. Hahaha. Even if I sell an expensive, low quality product, they will buy it regardless with my brand name. Speaking of that, this is my business card." Meowth was about to show it until there was a static on the screen.

 **Skarmory:** "We don't advocate shameless advertising."

* * *

Tyrunt ate scrumptious meatballs in the mess hall joyfully. Apparently, he ordered it from Chef Drapion yesterday. He picked a meatball up, licked his lips and threw it inside his mouth. Skrelp looked with disgust from a distant corner in the mess hall. In front of her was a plate of sludge, a spoon, a fork and a napkin.

"What an unconventional way of eating." Skrelp scoffed.

"Hey, I'm just enjoying myself. Enjoy using spoon and fork to eat your plate of sludge." Tyrunt retorted as he wiped his mouth with his bib. Skrelp observed the meat sauce dripping down from his mouth and his bib with revolt. She quickly ate and left. Tyrunt felt much better being in a mess hall alone rather than being with Skrelp.

Suddenly, the door opened. Tyrunt was shocked to see Elekid entering with a remote in his hand. Next to him was a Porygon.

"My buddy, Tyrunt. Look at my new invention. The future is now, thanks to science. This robot Pokemon can be ordered around with my remote control. It has many functions like measuring weight and heart rate. Although, it can't move or talk on its own. I need to control it with my remote." Elekid looked enthusiastic and exhilarated with his new invention like a kid that got a new toy for Christmas. He rushed over to Tyrunt immediately.

"Want to try it out?" Elekid asked. Tyrunt looked stunned. He needed time to adjust himself.

"How did you invent this?" Tyrunt asked with awe. He also observed the Porygon carefully. It looked like any other Porygon except for the fact that it has an antenna on its head.

"I'm an inventor, remember? It is in my bloodline. Try it out." Elekid shoved the remote control into Tyrunt's hands.

There was a circular red button, a yellow button, a green button (all arranging horizontally) and a joystick.

"This is like playing video games!" Tyrunt exclaimed as he moved the joystick precisely, navigating the Porygon around the tables for fun.

"Yeah, although this is still the prototype stage. It can't do much like attacking. However, try out the buttons. The red button checks your heartbeat. The yellow button checks your weight. However, don't press the green button. I don't think it is safe just yet." Elekid warned.

"I will keep that in mind." Tyrunt responded even though he didn't seem to pay much attention to Elekid. He was obsessed with his new toy.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Elekid:** "When I perfect my skills, I will start selling these robots. I can probably earn a living from this."

 **Tyrunt:** "Man, Elekid is smart. He sure can do cool stuff like this. All I can do is play video games competitively. However, that doesn't matter. I should find a job that I love and that is to be a professional gamer."

* * *

Grovyle sat on the benches with Dedenne and Drifblim. He opened his arms wide as he crossed his legs. This gesture annoyed Dedenne a bit but she didn't say anything. Seemingly, they all enjoyed talking to each other.

"I'm a friend with this guy, he is a Vigoroth. He used to be a Slakoth. Pretty much, he was very lazy. Many Pokemon didn't want to be friends with him. It was because he would always miss the school bus and be late to parties and stuff. However, I stuck by his side until the very end because I'm a very loyal person with integrity and benevolence. Now, it pays off to be a good guy. As a Vigoroth, he is a very cool, athletic and charming Pokemon. Most of the girls go to date with him. Most of the guys want to be friends with him. I proudly say that I'm his friend beforehand." Grovyle told the two girls about his story.

"Wow, that was very nice of you, Grovyle. There should be more Pokemon like you in this world." Dedenne complimented as Grovyle nodded a bit profusely.

"I agree. You aren't one of those bandwagoners." Drifblim said as she observed Grovyle.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I think I might exaggerated the story a bit. Sure, I'm his friend and all but I didn't do that much stuff with him. I have cooler friends at that time and I spent more time with the cool kids. However, I did talk and sit next to him during lunchtime occasionally. A little bit of exaggeration should be fine."

 **Dedenne:** "Guys like Grovyle make me regain faith in Pokemanity and this world."

 **Drifblim:** "I think Grovyle thinks very highly of himself like Skrelp. He believes that he is a good guy with morals, loyalty and integrity. However, I can see that he also has a bad side."

* * *

Shedinja slept in the cabin peacefully for hours and hours. The only other Pokemon in the cabin was Scolipede. The bug stared at Shedinja for a moment before he decided to cut it off as it made him look like a stalker.

"What are your true colors, Shedinja?" Scolipede asked himself.

"No, there is nothing wrong with you. I shouldn't doubt you." Scolipede felt conflicted.

Ledyba coincidentally passed by and looked at Scolipede through the window worriedly. Afterwards, she knocked on the door. Scolipede opened it and he looked unamused.

"What?" He asked simply, his voice was a bit cold.

"What are you doing alone inside the cabin?" Ledyba asked.

"Being with Shedinja." Scolipede stated the obvious.

"Aren't you tired of being alienated and paranoid? The more you act like this, the more others will be distant to you." Ledyba tried to help Scolipede to open up to others. Scolipede looked annoyed due to Ledyba's constant pestering. He wanted her to just leave.

"Please leave. You will never understand someone like me." Scolipede wanted to release all of his emotions that were built up in the past few days. However, he was scared to do so.

"Please tell me, I understand. I can help." Ledyba insisted. Scolipede lost it as he snapped.

"This is none of your business! You don't know anything about me! It hurts to see you play with my emotions. I doubted and doubted you again. However, you kept proving me wrong. It creates a dilemma inside me. I feel so goddamn conflicted because of you. You make me want to trust you and others. Regardless, you don't know what trust destroyed inside me. Stop trying, please. I beg of you. Leave." Scolipede had a very pleading look in his eyes as he sobbed. Ledyba saw his tears and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I want to share my story with her but I can't. Deep inside me, I still doubt her. What if she uses it against me?"

 **Ledyba:** "I want to help him because I know how painful it is to distrust…"

* * *

Tyrunt controlled the Porygon outside of the mess hall. He was having fun, crashing the Porygon around.

"Be careful." Elekid warned as Tyrunt moved the joystick forward. The Porygon rammed into the door of the mess hall.

"This is fun!" Tyrunt said with a bright smile.

"Fun for you but not for me." Elekid mumbled. Tyrunt continued to play as a crowd started to appear.

The Porygon inevitably turned into a subject of interest for many. Skrelp, who was nearby, casted a disapproving glare against the two momentarily before she left. Meowth asked for the price of the Porygon. However, Elekid refused to sell it. Some contestants like Bisharp and Lucario viewed the Porygon as none of their business. Scolipede spectated it from a far distance. Aromatisse had no interest in machinery. For the majority, they swarmed around the Porygon.

"Gosh, can you push the buttons for me? I want to see it." Jumpluff said with excitement and curiosity.

"Yeah, show me your techniques." Machoke wanted to see its functions as well.

"Of course. Let's see." Tyrunt considered which button to push. He pressed the yellow button randomly. Elekid had a look of concern on his face. The Porygon started to speak.

"Miltank, average weight is 75.5 kilograms. Actual weight is 80 kilograms." Porygon randomly selected a contestant to analyze with its monotone, robotic voice.

Miltank's face was red as she stomped toward them. The crowd started to distance themselves from Elekid and Tyrunt. The gamer gulped immediately.

"Run!" Elekid shouted as he fled first. Tyrunt tried to run away shortly after. However, his poor legs couldn't carry him that far. Elekid already successfully hid in the boy restrooms. Tyrunt, on the other hand…

"I will teach you a lesson that you will remember for the rest of your life!" Miltank threatened as Tyrunt kept running.

"Help!" Tyrunt shouted desperately.

A shadow started to consume Tyrunt. He dreaded the worst. Miraculously, Archeops came to his rescue and grabbed him with her talons. She flew away with him quickly after.

"Damn you, Crazy Crawdaunt." Miltank shook her fist as they escaped.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "Hopefully, this means five less Skarmory tokens. I have such a huge debt. Therefore, I need to pay my team by other means."

 **Tyrunt:** "Archeops is my heroine." Tyrunt looked unusually happy.

 **Elekid:** "Tyrunt, why did you press that button? You should have pressed the red button to check others' heart rate. Weight is a very sensitive subject, you know?"

 **Heracross:** "Miltank requested me to either eliminate Tyrunt or Elekid if we lose tonight. Well, why not? Both of them are neither that useful."

* * *

Archeops landed and placed Tyrunt down on the ground. They were in front of Skarmory Cave.

"Thank you, thank you…" Tyrunt repeated the same word a few times.

"You don't need to thank me that much. We are in the same team, remember?" Archeops reminded.

"Still, thank you." Tyrunt said it again.

"Also, there is one thing that I want to request." Archeops hesitated as she didn't know how Tyrunt will react.

"Anything for my savior." Tyrunt ogled.

"I don't think… I can pay you what I promised. Can you forget about the tokens?" Archeops said slowly with an ashamed expression.

"Absolutely. I don't care about the tokens anyways. I understand that you did it for the team." Tyrunt gladly complied with her request.

"Great." Archeops looked relieved.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "As of right now, I have ten Skarmory tokens. I need to pay eleven contestants. Where can I find forty-five Skarmory tokens? Argh, this is such a burden. At least, I'm happy that Tyrunt is obedient. This makes me want to keep him longer."

* * *

Elekid slowly sneaked out of the restroom and hid in his cabin instead. Grovyle was inside, he looked very dissatisfied.

"What's wrong?" Elekid checked.

"I still didn't get my tokens." Grovyle answered as he lay on his bed.

"Yeah, me too." Elekid empathized with Grovyle.

In the Crawdaunt girls' cabin, Skrelp looked very annoyed as well. She released her rage to Drifblim.

"I don't care if she has liquidity issues or monetary debt. I expect immediate payment!" Skrelp's voice was pretty loud.

"Don't worry, you are just the smartest. Archeops can't afford to lose a precious member like you." Drifblim flattered and stroked Skrelp's ego.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I feel like I can be the glue of this alliance. I can stick them together or split them apart."

* * *

Archeops slowly approached the campsite. She tried to avoid her fellow members as she glanced around cautiously. Unfortunately, Dedenne saw her.

"Archeops, you need to keep your promise." Dedenne reminded.

"Dedenne, what if I pay you one Skarmory token instead?" Archeops tried to negotiate.

"Here she comes!" Grovyle interrupted as he opened the door of his cabin. Everyone soon followed him out. After a while, every single Crazy Crawdaunt member stood in front of their indebted leader. Tyrunt had a sympathetic look for Archeops.

"I'm sorry but I don't have enough tokens. Will any of you let me go easy?" Archeops clamped her claws as she looked at her teammates. The pressure in their eyes made the situation worse.

"Hey, go easy on her. She did it for the team. She tried to motivate us!" Tyrunt spoke up to defend her.

"By tricking us." Grovyle added.

"Grovyle, you want to be a good guy. This is your chance." Tyrunt tried to persuade him. Grovyle's eyes darted around a bit.

"Alright, I will be merciful." Grovyle wrote off her debt.

"I guess I can be a bit lenient." Dedenne agreed.

"Well, if you say so, Tyrunt." Elekid agreed as well.

"Just let her go easy. I never expect her to be able to pay anyways. Money is tough to find. Desperate times call for desperate measures. This is life, be satisfied with what you have." Heracross sided with Archeops.

The Crazy Crawdaunt members gossiped, mumbled and discussed about what to do with their debtor. Most of the contestants forgave Archeops except for a few…

"You owe me one." Jumpluff half willing spared Archeops.

"I expect more from you, Archeops. It is impetuous to promise what you can't deliver. There will be no second chance if this occurs again." Skrelp was less forgiving than most contestants.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "I disappoint my team, my alliance. It hurts my pride."

 **Elekid:** "Tyrunt is getting too close to Archeops. I don't know how I feel about this."

 **Heracross:** "I knew a long time ago that Archeops can't pay. I'm in an alliance with her, remember? She has like what, ten tokens? Honestly, I can understand why she did it. Therefore, I'm not going to hold grudges, beat her up or anything. However, it certainly makes her a lot more unreliable in my eyes. I might jump ship after the merge hits."

 **Bisharp:** "Grovyle kept attracting attention to himself. I'm not exactly pleased with this."

 **Grovyle:** "See, I'm a good guy. I spared poor Archeops. I'm so proud of myself." Grovyle put his hands on his waist.

 **Jumpluff:** "Honestly, I think she deserves it. She is just a horrible leader."

 **Tyrunt:** "I need to help Archeops. She helped me. She is such a great leader."

* * *

Elekid retrieved his Porygon. There were dents and bumps here and there because of Miltank.

"My poor child…" Elekid rubbed and consoled his invention. Tyrunt heard this as he was nearby.

"Getting too emotionally invested in your invention?" Tyrunt revealed his concerns. Elekid looked a bit upset with Tyrunt. However, he tried to fake a smile.

"Tyrunt, why did you press the yellow button?" Elekid remained calm.

"Err. I pressed it randomly." Tyrunt admitted.

"I see…" Elekid nodded with closed eyes. Tyrunt wasn't sure what this body language meant.

Elekid tested the red button to see if his Porygon can still function properly.

"Tyrunt, heart rate is around one hundred something. Bzzt… Scan again… Heart rate is higher than normal resting rate…" Porygon suddenly stopped working.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I need to fix it because of you." Elekid expressed his disdain.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I can help." Tyrunt looked apologetic.

"It is fine. I will do it by myself. However, why is your heart rate higher than usual?" Elekid asked.

"Maybe because I'm nervous when defending Archeops?" Tyrunt answered a bit tentatively.

"Why did you defend Archeops? What about our strategy of staying under the radar? Surely, you remember that." Elekid questioned his friend.

"I'm just trying to be nice." Tyrunt answered, there were shades of pink on his cheeks.

Elekid widened his eyes, stepping back a little with disbelief. "Do you by any chance… have a crush on her?" Elekid accused.

Tyrunt was stunned for a second before he shook his hands and face profusely. "No, that isn't that case!" Tyrunt denied it.

"Whatever is the case, you need to make up your mind. How important I'm to you compare to her? She is our enemy. We need to take her down. I hope you make the right decision." Elekid pressured before he walked away with his Porygon by his side. Tyrunt looked conflicted, vacillating between both options.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Elekid:** "To be honest, I'm infuriated at Tyrunt. I'm always by his side as his friend for the entire time in this island. When Pancham insulted him, I defended him. I persuaded, no begged Houndour to take Tyrunt with him. How did Tyrunt react? The viewers might not exactly know this because of the edits but… Tyrunt threw tantrums, snapped and complained about the island several times. He kicked and struggled against us when we brought him over to the cave. He didn't listen to my instructions about Porygon… It is just that I feel like he is being inconsiderate and insensitive toward me. Perhaps, the only true friend I have is Porygon."

 **Tyrunt:** "Elekid is my best friend but Archeops… She saved me and…"

* * *

Lucario arrived at Skarmory Shop, Skarmory sold ice cream today.

"Another unhealthy dessert." Lucario complained as he frowned.

"It is only one token for a scoop. You get to eat the cone as well. I'm being generous." Skarmory looked tired of the complaints.

Lucario left as Cryogonal happily rushed over to the shop.

"I want six scoops of ice cream." Cryogonal ordered more than usual.

"I expect as much from an ice type." Skarmory rolled his eyes as he clapped his wings.

Chef Drapion walked out of the mess hall with half-closed eyes. He started to scoop the ice cream, which was vanilla favored to Cryogonal. Snorunt ran over and ordered as well.

"I want four scoops. How much does it cost?" Snorunt asked.

"Four tokens." Skarmory answered as he collected ten tokens in total.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Ice cream is my favorite dessert. I prefer cold and frozen food for me to eat in this show."

 **Snorunt:** "I want to share this with Helioptile. Don't worry, my friend. I will have my revenge real soon…"

* * *

Tyrunt couldn't find Elekid in the mess hall that day.

"Where is Elekid?" Tyrunt asked Jumpluff, Dedenne and Grovyle. None of them knew about his location.

Elekid was in the forest all alone with his ice cream. It started to melt but he didn't care. What mattered the most was his Porygon. He twisted a wrench and put in finishing touches. In the end, his Porygon looked as new as before.

"Tyrunt is probably worried about me." Elekid realized just then that he was late for lunch and returned to the mess hall.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Elekid:** "I guess I'm being bit too emotional with Tyrunt. He is still my friend. He offered to help me fix Porygon after all."

* * *

"Is he still mad because I destroyed his Porygon?" Tyrunt asked himself as he played with his food (Chef Drapion's special delicacy).

The door opened and Elekid entered. Tyrunt was lightened up instantly.

"I'm sorry that I caused all that trouble." Tyrunt apologized hurriedly.

"It is fine. I took that a bit too far." Elekid apologized as well. The two reconciled with each other successfully. Skrelp observed from a far distance, she didn't seem to be pleased.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I speculate that both of them are in an alliance. Therefore, the most logical option for me is to eliminate one of them. I prefer to eliminate Elekid as he proved his intelligence through the creation of Porygon.

* * *

Skarmory lifted up his megaphone for the announcement of the challenge once again.

"Contestants! It is going to be a bit cold out there with our next challenge. Follow me to the snow area!" Skarmory ordered.

Contestants like Cryogonal and Snorunt were thrilled. The others? Not so much.

The snow area was more lively than most expected. To the right, there was a 'Delibird Workshop' building painted red with a shiny star on top as well as Christmas ornaments decorated around it. To the left, there was an intimidating cave called the Ice Skarmory Cave. A gigantic, luxurious mansion was also nearby. Finally, there was a path to a snowy mountain straight through the middle. Although, it was closed off by traffic cones. Probably will be used for a later challenge. Regardless, the majority of the area was empty.

Skarmory turned around to explain the challenge. "We will play a game called freeze tag. Instead of tagging your opponent, you will use specialized guns that can freeze even ice types!" Skarmory showed them a box filled with freezing guns. Cryogonal and Snorunt felt uncomfortable knowing that they can be frozen solid. Nosepass trembled as Aromatisse sneaked inside Delibird Workshop to get a fabulous scarf. Lucario tried to get a comfortable grip with the gun before dropping it down to hear Skarmory's further explanation.

"Here is the twist, only one team at a time will attack." Skarmory revealed. Seemingly, the contestants were interested except for a few like Shedinja.

"Here is how it works. You have a limited amount of ammunition. By that, I mean very limited. You only have one ammo so use it wisely. Your attacking turn ends when all of your teammates use their ammo. Alternatively, there is a secret time limit in case the fight is too prolonged. For the defending team, all you can do is run and hide. No abusing your ghost and psychic abilities to redirect the ammo or anything. I will be watching. However, you can float and hold the gun as you prefer. As well as use whatever you find in the areas. In addition, I will give each team three Aspear Berries. Pretty much, they will serve as your extra lives. Eat it to defrost. At the end of each round, all the frozen contestants will be out of the challenge for good. Therefore, defrost your teammates as fast as you can. Any questions before I decide the attacking team for the first round?" Skarmory asked.

"What happens in case of a friendly fire?" Drifblim asked, she remembered Lucario's tactic from the berry challenge.

"You can't defrost as the attacking team so good luck." Skarmory smirked as there were no more questions.

"The Crazy Crawdaunt will start first since they won the last challenge." Skarmory gave the Crazy Crawdaunt an advantage. They all looked confident and satisfied until…

"However, to make it a bit fairer, I will give the Feckless Flygon an extra Aspear Berry." Skarmory tried to equalize the challenge. The Crazy Crawdaunt groaned at this. However, Dedenne actually nodded in agreement with the small equalizer.

"I appreciate that." Lucario seemed content.

"Head out and discuss your strategy." Skarmory instructed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "I feel like at home, especially during Christmas with the workshop. I'm in my element this challenge."

 **Aromatisse:** "I like this fabulous scarf. It is painted well." Aromatisse gave the viewers a close-up look at a Delibird-designed scarf.

 **Lucario:** "It is time to obliterate the Crazy Crawdaunt. Oh, if we lose again. My team is going to get it this time. I luckily manage to control my temper today but that might not be the case tomorrow."

 **Skrelp:** "Christmas is extremely overrated. It is a festival for delusional children to ask for unrealistic presents and be disappointed later on when they realized that Santa Delibird is a cheap fraud. My naivety was crushed ten years ago when Santa Delibird didn't even deliver a cheap 100 P book."

 **Jumpluff:** "Oh my gosh! The Delibird Workshop is amazing. I like Christmas because I got so many presents. I have a long list of things that I want from Santa Delibird this year."

 **Grovyle:** "Back at home, there is no snow. This place is strange. I feel like a foreigner here. I don't even celebrate Christmas. Where I live, we got a festival that celebrate ancient royal family or whatever it is."

 **Darmanitan:** "Homie, this is the real definition of chill out. Since I'm a fire type, getting froze isn't a big deal. Keep calm and I'm sure I can cool down some hot heads on the other team."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon were in the workshop. Up close, there were two floors. The first floor consisted of a gift shop, a storage room filled with toys and a mini café. The second floor exhibited all the machinery for making toys and presents like a sewing machine.

Darmanitan checked on Lucario a bit inside the café before the discussion.

"Are you chill now, homie?" Darmanitan asked.

"Rest assured, I have dealt with worse situations. I won't let our last defeat get in our way." Lucario assured. He then rallied all of his teammates to the gift shop. There was a Bronzong bell attached to the door. Every time a contestant entered, it chimed.

"First, we should discuss about who should hold the Aspear Berry. It should be someone that can avoid getting froze because it appears that you can't move at all after the ammo hit you. It also should be a fast member that can use it to defrost a frozen member. I volunteer myself for this one. Anyone else wants to have one?" Lucario discussed things out with his teammates.

"I'm pretty fast." Houndour stepped up to the task.

"Me too." Darmanitan took the responsibility as well.

"I feel like I got an advantage as an ice type." Cryogonal got the last one.

"Next, our strategy. Since we are the defending team, we must eliminate them through friendly fire. If you aren't confident, don't do it." Lucario advised. The team dispersed shortly after.

Shedinja was the only one left, he looked around the gift shop before he left. He saw an empty box and a safety goggle. Cryogonal was confused about what Shedinja was doing and checked up on him.

"What are you doing? The challenge is about to start." Cryogonal told Shedinja to hurry up.

"This goggle makes me look smart." Shedinja drawled as he exited. Cryogonal looked even more confused.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Why is he wearing a safety goggle?"

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt were in the mansion. It was a luxurious mansion with three floors. The first floor consisted of a dining room, a restroom, a living room, a storage room and a skating rink. In the living room, there was a grand staircase connecting to the second floor. The second floor had five bedrooms. The third floor had a balcony and a workplace.

The Crazy Crawdaunt members were in the living room.

"So our strategy will be getting rid of Lucario immediately. Ask for backup if you see him, alright?" Archeops presented their strategy to her teammates. They all agreed. The three Pokemon that received Aspear Berry were Heracross, Archeops and Grovyle.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I will be a real hero if I freeze Lucario. Everyone will think that I'm cool."

* * *

Skarmory blew a whistle as the first round started. The Feckless Flygon got a one-minute head start to hide.

The head start was over and the search began.

Nosepass and Rhyhorn stuck together, with Nosepass on his back. They entered the workshop. Nosepass shook nervously as he held the gun loosely. Rhyhorn gave him his gun as well as he couldn't press the trigger properly. Some toys in the gift shop collapsed. This scared poor Nosepass as he shot the ball of snow straight to the door of the gift shop. It exploded in a pretty big radius and froze the door. Nosepass looked at himself with shame.

"Shoot when I tell you." Rhyhorn instructed and Nosepass nodded. Rhyhorn tackled the door opened and looked around. The shelf where toys collapsed seemed suspicious to him. He slowly walked to it. Behind the shelf, was Shedinja. Rhyhorn finally reached the end of the shelf to see a box turned upside down.

"Lucario is here!" Grovyle shouted loudly from somewhere. Rhyhorn left before he could check it.

* * *

Ledyba hid in the drawer inside the café. Meowstic wore a costume of a staff. It was a brown attire with a blue cap. She acted as if she was a staff member.

"Psst." Ledyba whispered from the drawer near the blending machine. Meowtic opened it with a questioning look.

"What are you doing? Hide." Ledyba whispered. She looked uncomfortable as she squeezed herself into the drawer.

"They will never know that I'm Meowstic." Meowstic assured. Suddenly, the door opened as Meowstic closed the drawer. Jumpluff entered and she acted oblivious.

"Hey staff, can you blend me a cup of smoothie?" Jumpluff ordered. Meowstic had a grin on her face.

"Right away." She tried to change her voice. However, as she was about to bend down and get a cup, Jumpluff shot her. Meowstic was frozen solid.

"I'm just kidding." Jumpluff said as she left. Ledyba was safe for now.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "I can see someone like Oddish falling for it. Did she think that our team is stupid?"

* * *

Machoke hid inside the cave. There was a dead end so he couldn't go in any deeper. As a result, he hid behind a rock near the dead end of the cave.

Drifblim entered and looked around. It was dark but she was used to it. Machoke readjusted his sitting position and made some noises.

Drifblim headed in deeper and deeper. Machoke sweated more and more.

"Lucario is here!" Grovyle shouted loudly from somewhere. Machoke sighed with relief at this. He got up and turned around… to get shot by Drifblim.

"Too early." Drifblim shook her head as she criticized Machoke.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "Come on, I expect her to leave and go for Lucario. I'm still useless in challenges."

* * *

Snorunt entered the storage room of the workshop. She stepped forward slowly as she looked around at the toys.

"This one looks like me." Snorunt commented on a plush of herself. She missed someone hiding behind a box of toys

During this time, Meowth sneaked outside slowly. He opened the door, it creaked and alerted Snorunt of his presence. Snorunt saw Meowth and shot a blast of snow at him. Meowth closed the door fast enough, making it collided with the door instead.

"Time to run." Meowth said as he ran away quickly. Jumpluff saw him as she exited the café. However, she couldn't do anything without an ammo.

"Lucario is here!"

"Meowth is in the workshop." Jumpluff alerted as well. Meowth ran over to the exhibit on the second floor. Dedenne was there and shot him. Luckily, it narrowly missed and hit Jumpluff who was following Meowth instead.

"No, I shot my friend." Dedenne face palmed as Rhyhorn and Nosepass chased after Meowth. The cat reached a dead end in the exhibit.

"Go after the gold, not silver. Get Lucario." Meowth tried to persuade them. However, Rhyhorn signaled Nosepass to fire. Meowth was frozen solid.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "Very, very cold. Brrr…" As a flying and grass type, ice was quadrupled effective.

* * *

Cryogonal, who hid in the Christmas tree outside of the workshop considered saving Meowth. This was until… she saw Lucario getting ganged up by Archeops, Grovyle, Heracross, Bisharp and Skrelp.

Meanwhile, in the mansion… Houndour and Duosion were in the skating rink together. It was an open space with nowhere to hide. However, that was not their plan.

"We need to waste their ammo. If we can skate around and avoid a few shots, our team will get an advantage." Duosion told Houndour, who nodded in reply.

Bisharp entered. This time, he looked more serious than ever.

"I won one shooting tournament. My pride as a sharpshooter is on the line." Bisharp bragged.

"Show us first, sharpshooter." Houndour challenged as he started to skate around while Duosion floated. With an Aspear Berry, the two felt confortable. Bisharp observed and observed. He noticed one moment where both of them were near other. Bisharp chose that specific moment and froze them both. Bisharp blew his gun with a victorious smile.

"Lucario is here!" Bisharp quickly left to find Lucario.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Finally, I get to prove my competence. A burden has been lifted from my shoulder."

* * *

Archeops looked around the first bedroom. It was a very bland and ordinary bedroom with a table and a chair. As well as a bed and a television. Archeops checked under the bed, there was no one. Archeops exited and entered the next one.

The second bedroom was smaller with a laptop on a table. A bookshelf on the side. A Poketendo 64 console, a television and a bed. Archeops couldn't find a single contestant and left. As she opened the door, she accidentally collided with Tyrunt. He rubbed his head.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry." Archeops apologized.

"I'm alright. You did nothing wrong, it is my fault." Tyrunt blamed himself. Archeops didn't understand why Tyrunt was so nice to her.

"Lucario is here!"

"You should go. I will stay here in case another Feckless Flygon member hides here." Tyrunt decided not to pursue Lucario.

"Alright." Archeops nodded as she left.

"Wait… Is that a Poketendo 64?!" Tyrunt exclaimed happily.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Archeops:** "I don't understand Tyrunt sometimes."

* * *

Elekid searched the dining room. He looked under the dining table, opened a few cupboards and drawers. No one was there. Elekid searched through the restroom instead. Again, no one was there. He finally reached the storage room. He opened the door and a bucket of water fell on his head.

"What is this?" Elekid was surprised. Miltank was in the storage room, which was filled with janitor equipment. She hurriedly threw Elekid's gun away and fled.

"Lucario is here!"

* * *

Skrelp tried to open the third bedroom but it was barricaded by a bed.

"I can guarantee that someone is in here. Someone that is physically capable enough to barricade the door." Skrelp analyzed. She was right, Scolipede was inside.

She left to the fourth bedroom first. It was empty except for boxes of equipment and items as if someone just moved in. Darmanitan hid under a pile of boxes. Skrelp saw this and shot him. However, Darmanitan kicked the boxes at her first. Skrelp ended up freezing the boxes instead. Darmanitan fled away quickly.

"Lucario is here!"

"Darmanitan isn't worth it." Skrelp pursued the bigger target instead.

* * *

Heracross entered the last bedroom. It was pretty pink, filled with dolls and plush. Aromatisse was currently doing her make-up in the room.

"Wait." Aromatisse wasn't well prepared. Unfortunately, Heracross froze her immediately.

"Are you serious? Doing your make-up in a challenge?" Heracross thought that it was ridiculous.

"Where is Lucario anyways?" Heracross asked, getting the answer immediately.

"Lucario is here!"

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "That was rude. I didn't even finish doing my make-up yet."

* * *

Grovyle skipped through everything and headed to the third floor. This was because he expected Lucario to hide on the highest floor. First, he ran to the balcony.

Grovyle gripped the balcony as he thrusted his head forward and looked through the areas surrounding the mansion. He then quickly left to the workplace. The door was grand and gigantic unlike the other common doors. Grovyle tried to open it but it was locked. Grovyle walked backward and ran to accelerate his speed before he jumped and kicked the door open.

"I look cool. Right, Lucario?" Grovyle was full of himself. This gave Lucario an opportunity to escape. The professional athlete showed how it was done by running up and jumping on Grovyle's head.

"Ouch!" Grovyle yelled in pain as his head was stomped.

"Lucario is here!" Grovyle screamed deafeningly with all of his energy as he began chasing Lucario.

Lucario rushed to the balcony first. He did the unexpected. He jumped off the balcony! The professional athlete was well trained and he landed safely. Grovyle tried to mimic his success and jumped off as well only to plant his face under the snow.

"My face hurts." Grovyle's voice was barely audible under the ground. He popped his head out of the ground and ran after Lucario after a moment of recovery. At this point, Archeops, Heracross, Skrelp and Bisharp exited the mansion.

"Get him!" Archeops shouted as she tried to aim with her gun.

Lucario tried to position himself so that it hit Skrelp instead. Archeops fired impulsively and it went as planned.

"Archeops, you contemptible-" Skrelp froze before she could finish.

"Sorry." Archeops apologized.

"Give me the gun." Bisharp demanded from Grovyle.

"I can do this." Grovyle looked stubborn.

"I'm a sharpshooter, Grovyle." Bisharp said more seriously this time. Grovyle looked hesitant but he gave the gun half willingly to Bisharp nonetheless.

"Block him." Bisharp ordered as Heracross tried to intercept Lucario. However, Lucario jumped over her. Bisharp composed himself with a few deep breaths as he started to aim.

Grovyle tried to throw snowballs at Lucario. Every shot missed so far. It was very difficult to aim at Lucario as he would suddenly change his direction every now and then.

Archeops flew in front of Lucario to grab him. The athlete slid under her instead this time.

It was Drifblim who was a bit more competent than others. Lucario was fast approaching the cave. He never expected Drifblim to trip him up. Bisharp used this opportunity to shoot him.

"*beep*" Lucario swore as he was defeated.

"Hooray!" Grovyle cheered with the rest of the team. They defeated the Feckless Flygon's strongest member.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "My parents will be very proud of me for beating a professional athlete. I have fully regained my confidence."

* * *

Bisharp used Elekid's gun to guard Lucario. Everyone else except Heracross guarded Lucario as well. They didn't have ammunition but they were all eyes and ears. Bisharp was the equivalent of the ultimate guardian that kept the aura beast away from the Crazy Crawdaunt. He temporarily gained the position of a leader.

Darmanitan hid inside the cave, Lucario was very close to him but Bisharp was in his way. The fire type was patient as he played the waiting game.

Heracross used Tyrunt's gun to hunt down the weaklings or at least, she assumed that they were weaklings. Heracross entered the gift shop. The bell chimed once again. Heracross searched until she saw a brown bug with a halo behind a shelf. The safety goggle was nowhere to be found. The beetle smirked immediately.

"This is for beating me in the berry challenge." Heracross wanted revenge as she pressed the trigger. She froze Shedinja. However, upon closer inspection, it was a plush of a Shedinja. Heracross didn't check carefully enough.

"Fool me once, shame on you." Heracross said angrily as she stomped on the ground. She was outsmarted by Shedinja.

Shedinja was long gone, the bell chimed only when Heracross entered and exited.

* * *

From a distance, Miltank threw a rock toward Bisharp. It hit his head. She then immediately hid in her pitfall.

"Check that pitfall." Bisharp looked irritated as he ordered his team to check it. Rhyhorn, Nosepass, Snorunt and Dedenne headed toward it. There were now less people guarding Lucario.

Another rock was flung at Bisharp from a Christmas tree. Cryogonal was the one who threw it.

"I will go and check." Archeops volunteered.

"Houndour and Lucario have two Aspear Berries in total. This means they only have two left." Bisharp revised what happened so far.

Another rock was thrown at him from inside the cave. Bisharp gritted his teeth as he ordered Grovyle to check it.

"What is this mental game, Feckless Flygon?" Bisharp started to lose his control.

"Ah!" Suddenly, Grovyle screamed as he was tossed at Tyrunt and Elekid, knocking both of them out. The defense forces protecting Lucario were weakened severely.

Bisharp realized a specific rule regarding the end of a round. If a round ends, all frozen contestants will be eliminated. This is the last ammo. Bisharp was about to press the trigger until Darmanitan knocked it out of his way. Bisharp and Darmanitan were both in a standstill. Seemingly, they wrestled with each other.

"Everyone, waste the last ammo so Lucario will be eliminated!" Bisharp shouted to everyone on his team.

The four fell down the pitfall with Miltank blocking them.

Cryogonal pulled Archeops away from the gun with her snow chains.

Drifblim tried to get it but was stopped by Shedinja and Ledyba.

Scolipede rolled on the ground with Heracross. The beetle eventually overwhelmed Scolipede with pure strength and rushed over to the gun. She pressed it and the round ended.

"Yes!" Heracross cheered happily. However, none of her teammates cheered with her.

The Crazy Crawdaunt made a huge mistake. They didn't guard the other frozen contestants. Houndour, who was defrosted, sneaked over to Lucario while everyone else was occupied and fed him his Aspear Berry.

"Next round, we will have our revenge." Lucario bumped his fist together. The Crazy Crawdaunt looked very demotivated, especially Heracross.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Let me explain the whole story of what really happened. Since Darmanitan was in the cave, we were left with one berry. However, Shedinja proposed the idea that we defrost Houndour. This is smart because Houndour had another berry. The Crazy Crawdaunt would also never expect Houndour to be revived because they thought we are all going for Lucario. It was a great distraction. I didn't know that Shedinja could come up with these tricks."

 **Heracross:** "I will get my revenge someday. Shedinja, you hear me?" A rivalry was born between Shedinja and Heracross.

 **Bisharp:** "You don't need to brag about your strategy, Feckless Flygon. I'm tired of Cryogonal praising her own team."

* * *

The next round could be described with two words, Lucario's Domination. The professional athlete suggested a very creative idea. Taking the entire team out in one shot. Therefore, they can't use their berries. Pretty much, Lucario dragged a Crazy Crawdaunt member over to the Christmas tree and tied him or her up. As of right now, Bisharp was the last one remaining.

"Why are the good guys always getting tied up?" Grovyle complained.

"Great, we are all tied up like losers." Heracross groaned with discomfort. The rope was tied extremely tightly.

"Remember the time limit?" Archeops tried to be optimistic.

"Only five minutes passed." Drifblim stated. Elekid nudged her as she was the closest to him.

"I got a last resort, everyone." Elekid whispered and passed the message around.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Elekid:** "I pressed the green button before the challenge. Auto-control mode activate."

* * *

Bisharp hid in the workplace. He barricaded the door and made his last stand there.

"I believe in myself. I believe…" Bisharp repeated the same words over and over to keep the little confidence he had left.

Bang! Lucario slammed the door.

Bisharp grabbed a chair as he was ready to fend for himself until he found something weird. Underneath the chair on the ground was a brown button camouflaging well with the floor. Bisharp pressed it out of desperation, the ground underneath him disappeared and he was dropped down to the third bedroom. Luckily, he landed on the bed.

"Skarmory sure knows how to spice things up." Bisharp was glad that the host hid such small secrets. Bisharp barricaded the third bedroom once again.

Lucario broke the door open with the help of Miltank.

"No one is here. How is this possible?" Lucario was dumbfounded by the sudden disappearance of Bisharp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I don't understand. I heard him talking inside there."

* * *

"Are you sure that he is in here?" Miltank asked.

"Just keep searching." Lucario looked a bit frustrated.

Porygon eventually reached the Christmas tree.

"Free us." Elekid ordered.

"Syntax error. Error." Sparks started to fly off Porygon.

"Is this our last resort, a malfunctioning robot? I have seen stuff in a garage sale worth more than this piece of junk." Heracross insulted the Porygon.

Lights came off from the Porygon and it exploded in front of the Crazy Crawdaunt members. The blasted didn't harm any of the members but it covered them with black dust and smoke.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Thanks Elekid, for making the situation worse."

 **Elekid:** "I didn't know that this will happen. It is our last hope, team. I hope they don't eliminate me for this minor accident."

* * *

Lucario found out that the door to the third bedroom was barricaded. He kicked it open with Miltank and Darmanitan. Bisharp gave up as he was dragged and tied up with the others. Lucario shot all of them with a single blast and eliminated all of them.

"Game over! The Feckless Flygon win. What an amazing challenge I witnessed." Skarmory announced the results with satisfaction.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I know who I'm going to eliminate.

 **Nosepass:** "I'm just going to vote for Heracross, she is kind of scary."

 **Jumpluff:** "I want to vote Skrelp off, she is really mean and cold like the entire snow area."

 **Grovyle:** "Mr. Robot Maker, you messed up. Nah, it isn't personal. Heracross told me to vote for you and I will vote you out to maintain a positive connection with her."

* * *

As the Crazy Crawdaunt thought about who to eliminate, the Feckless Flygon congratulated Shedinja for his major contribution in the challenge. The ghost bug remained emotionless.

"Great job, you have proven to be an essential part of this team." Lucario complimented.

"Whatever." Shedinja didn't care in the slightest as he went off on his own to the forest.

"Why the hell is he doing this?" Cryogonal couldn't comprehend Shedinja.

"I guess he doesn't like social interactions. Not a big deal, right?" Houndour tried to come up with a reason as to why he went off on his own.

The Feckless Flygon members allowed Shedinja to do whatever he wants. However, Cryogonal followed him.

"We are just praising you, what's wrong?" Cryogonal asked.

"I don't care." Shedinja drawled.

"You don't care about winning challenges at all and even this game?" Cryogonal asked further.

"I don't care. This show is boring." Shedinja's tone remained monotonous.

"Why did you sign up then?" Cryogonal asked again.

"You will never understand. Fine, if you are that curious and frustrated about my actions. I will explain in a very simple manner. I'm here to infuriate a relative." Shedinja said before he left. Cryogonal looked even more baffled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "To infuriate a relative? Why? Relatives are important and precious. I don't even have a relative…"

* * *

Skrelp planned the elimination with Heracross, Drifblim and Archeops secretly.

"We have secured votes with Bisharp and Grovyle. Regardless, the six of us aren't the majority. We need one more vote. I strongly suggest that we lure Tyrunt to vote with us." Skrelp told her alliance members.

"Tyrunt, why? He is Elekid's best friend." Archeops was puzzled by this.

"Because throughout my many observations, it appears that he has a crush on you, Archeops." Skrelp revealed a shocking piece of news.

"Impossible…" Archeops didn't want to believe it.

"Reflect upon your memories. He did act strange with you a few times. I saw him staring at you briefly in the mess hall. He defended you when you are indebted. All of these actions indicate that he has a romantic interest with you. I'm not telling you to actually be in a romantic relationship with him. Just use him." Skrelp explained.

"Use him? That is very immoral." Archeops seemed very hesitant.

"Is it anymore immoral than not paying Skarmory tokens?" Skrelp cornered Archeops.

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I'm already in this dark path. I can't walk back now." Archeops threw her morals away.

Heracross clenched her fists and glowered at Skrelp. Drifblim placed her right arm on Heracross' left shoulder to calm her down. Skrelp was very satisfied, she smirked victoriously. Archeops was no longer the alliance leader, it was her.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I think I solidified my influence in this alliance. This game is mine!"

 **Drifblim:** "Cocky and overconfident as always. It is so exhilarating to play with a villain. I predict a change in leadership for our team. My guess will be Bisharp taking over."

 **Heracross:** "Archeops created this alliance. Who the hell are you, Skrelp?!"

 **Archeops:** "I don't deserve to be a leader after what I'm about to do. I guess I will pass this role to Bisharp tomorrow."

* * *

Archeops met up with Tyrunt in the forest area. She looked very depressed but she tried to mask it.

"Why did you ask me to privately meet you here?" Tyrunt asked, he seemed content with meeting her.

"I'm sorry but you will probably be eliminated tonight, Tyrunt." Archeops lied.

"What?! Oh, I understand." Tyrunt looked down on the ground.

"However, you mean so much to me, Tyrunt. I tried to persuade the others to keep you but..." Archeops paused, she didn't want to do it. However, her debt was like a blackmail to her.

"Elekid is the only member they will vote for other than you." Archeops tried to manipulate Tyrunt. She placed her hands on his shoulders.

"I want you to stay, Tyrunt. Think about this carefully." Archeops tried to make her voice sound sweet. Tyrunt trembled as Archeops left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "Elekid… y-you are my best friend. At first, I didn't want to stay in this island b-but…" Tyrunt couldn't speak properly.

 **Archeops:** "I'm a disgrace. I will never recover after what I did. I will do anything to keep myself in this game. It is the only thing I have left."

* * *

Tyrunt talked to Elekid before he was about to vote. The gamer never looked directly at the inventor.

"We will eliminate Skrelp tonight. Don't worry, our mistakes are minor at best." Elekid assured.

"What if it isn't minor? I'm scared, Elekid. One of us will probably go home. We only got like four votes." Tyrunt stared at his claws.

"Don't worry. We are friends. No matter what, I will stick with you." Elekid patted his back as the elimination ceremony near the bonfire was about to start.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "With these claws, I betrayed my best friend. I'm such a horrible Pokemon!" Tyrunt started crying.

* * *

"We now begin the elimination ceremony. One of you will be eliminated and the rest shall remain. These Leppa Berries symbolize life in this game. I will now read the votes." Skarmory started the elimination ceremony differently this time, even though he didn't actually read the votes. Drifblim gave him a criticizing glare.

"Bisharp, Grovyle." Bisharp smiled once his name was called first.

"Drifblim"

"Rhyhorn"

"Nosepass" Nosepass felt like it was unusual for his name to be called this early.

"Dedenne"

"Snorunt"

"Jumpluff"

"Archeops" Archeops didn't eat the berry.

"Tyrunt." Tyrunt didn't catch the berry. Elekid picked it up for him. Tyrunt sobbed a bit, which made his teammates confused. More accurately, most of his teammates.

"Heracross"

"Skrelp, you aren't that useful in physical challenges and you are a mental threat. Elekid, you are also a mental threat. Someone who can invent stuff for real. Skrelp represents theory while Elekid represents the practical." Skarmory used unusual lines.

"Did you ask Chef Drapion to come up with your lines?" Drifblim mocked Skarmory.

"That's very funny. Anyways, Elekid…" Skarmory built up the suspense. Elekid dreaded the worst.

…

…

…

…

"You are eliminated." Tyrunt crushed the Leppa Berry, it was all his fault.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Tyrunt is right but well I can't do much. I don't understand why they take the explosion so personally. I didn't perform that bad in the challenge. I let Miltank escaped but I didn't cause any friendly fires. They probably see me as a threat. Oh well, Tyrunt. You acted very weird today. I don't know if your head is in the game or not but I will cheer for you, buddy. I don't want Skrelp to win because she can be insolent. I also don't want Archeops to win but.. since you have a crush on her, I will let that pass.

* * *

Elekid walked over to the dock. Tyrunt was there, he had a look of guilt

"It's okay. You still have other friends, buddy. It's okay." Elekid consoled him.

"It-It's not that…" Tyrunt hesitated.

"What is it then?" Elekid asked.

"I voted for you in desperation to save myself." Tyrunt admitted. Elekid gasped.

"How could you?" Elekid walked away in disbelief.

"I'm sorry. I was manipulated." Tyrunt came up with an excuse.

"Then I guess our friendship isn't strong enough." Elekid didn't look at Tyrunt as he departed. Tyrunt broke down into tears. He kept on crying and crying. Skarmory couldn't end the episode off with him crying like that. Fortunately, Grovyle arrived.

"What are you doing, Tyrunt? Man, are you alright?" Grovyle asked worriedly.

"I betrayed my best friend." Tyrunt revealed as he wiped his tears off. Grovyle's eyes widened instantly.

"We all make mistakes. Good Guy Grovyle will correct your ways." Grovyle carried Tyrunt back to the cabin.

Skarmory landed to end the episode.

"Wow, just wow. What a roller coaster ride. I don't know what to say now. The infirmary streak ends and… It all went down like that. Find out what happens next in Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory ended the episode faster than usual.

* * *

 **Votes**

Skrelp: Elekid

Archeops: Elekid

Heracross: Elekid

Drifblim: Elekid

Elekid: Skrelp

Jumpluff: Skrelp

Dedenne: Skrelp

Bisharp: Elekid

Grovyle: Elekid

Snorunt: Skrelp

Tyrunt: Elekid

Nosepass: Heracross

Rhyhorn: Heracross

Elekid: 7 (eliminated)

Skrelp: 4

Heracross: 2

* * *

Conflicts escalate as certain things were revealed. What will happen? Will Elekid returns? I have much more in stored for this season. Anyone see this coming? This elimination actually makes me sad. Tyrunt's vote isn't the decisive vote yet he will blame himself for everything.

The next challenge will be very unoriginal but it will have a twist like always.


	8. Chapter 8

**Reply to Review**

 **Worma-Sir**

Nosepass and Rhyhorn is an interesting pair isn't it? You will see… Comparing Giovanni to Meowth? You might be right. Scolipede doubts nearly everyone. He will get some right and some wrong. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You don't need to think that Archeops is nice because of the author. You can have your own interpretations of the characters. Yeah, I will reduce the lingo. I'm just used to writing business essays. Grovyle is quite a complex character yet he can be seen as simple 'Good Guy Grovyle'. Thanks for the compliment about Elekid. I tried my best to write character properly. Some can be tough and some can be easy. Elekid is around the middle for me. Skrelp is created to be hated. Not even love to hate. Yet, she can still have fans. I will let you enjoy the chapter now, bye.

* * *

 **Episode 8: Fear Me Not**

The screen was turned on. At first, everything was all foggy and hazy. Little by little, the camera zoomed in deeper into the fog. There was a figure inside, flapping its wings to clear up the fog. Suddenly, a sound of a certain host could be heard.

"Boo!" Skarmory tried to scare the viewers. Instead of the usual dock, Skarmory stood in front of a haunted mansion. Noticeably, he wore a black cape.

"That's pathetic and cringe-worthy. I can cook food scarier than you." Chef Drapion mocked behind the camera.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. With your six-stars cooking skills." Skarmory retorted sarcastically while nodding his head. Chef Drapion frowned at this.

"Anyways, last time, contestants were frozen solid as they shot each other down in our frigidly cold challenge…" Chef Drapion accidentally stopped recording and the opening was cut short.

They needed to redo the opening again. It was nighttime as Skarmory returned with half-closed eyelids to the front of the mansion. He no longer had his cape.

"Thanks Chef Drapion, for pressing the button intentionally." Skarmory accused Chef Drapion of sabotage.

"Hey, it wasn't intentional. I don't even know how this stupid camera works. I told you to hire real cameramen. Nevertheless, you already got a lot of footage to work with anyways." Chef Drapion defended himself.

"That isn't the point. We look unprofessional on international television. Now, the ratings are going to drop." Skarmory indicated.

"More like ratings are going to increase. It makes things more… interesting." Chef Drapion argued.

"Yeah, totally, absolutely." Skarmory remarked sarcastically. "Last time, Elekid got eliminated. Opening is over." Skarmory ended it just like that.

* * *

Houndour paced back and forth in the forest. He looked bothered by something. After a moment, he heard someone chanting the word "zen" behind some trees.

"It must be Darmanitan." Houndour guessed. The canine walked curiously toward Darmanitan, assuming he's right.

Through the trees, Houndour saw Darmanitan meditating as expected.

"Dude, you are meditating in the early morning?" Houndour asked. He didn't expect him to woke up so soon.

"Yeah, just arrived here several seconds ago. I need to keep up my zen training to build up my inner peace and tranquility." Darmanitan explained.

"Cool, can I meditate as well?" Houndour asked.

"Of course." Darmanitan accepted in a friendly manner.

The two sat on the ground, their eyes closed, their legs crossed, chanting the same word (zen) over and over again. Eventually, Houndour ran out of patience and opened his eyes after five minutes. Darmanitan opened his as well to check on him.

"This doesn't help that much." Houndour seemed disappointed. His eyes looked skeptical about the effectiveness of this meditation.

"Depends, homie. Zen meditation requires a lot of patience and effort. So far, Machoke is the only homie around here that can do it." Darmanitan informed. He didn't look offended by Houndour's opinions though.

"I see. I just want to clear my mind about… something." Houndour told, he struggled to explain it properly.

"About what, homie? Maybe, your boy here can help." Darmanitan offered to help.

"I just feel weird around Duosion lately. Sometimes, I feel my heart beating fast and my body heating up. I don't know if it is love or not but I'm not exactly comfortable with it. If… it is really love, it complicates things." Houndour tried to convey his feelings with the best of his ability. Darmanitan listened carefully as he nodded.

"Homie, I'm by no means a love expert but I can give you a friendly tip. If you aren't sure about this relationship, then take it slow. No need to be a hot head, see if things work out between you two and make a decision later." Darmanitan advised. However, Houndour still looked bothered.

"I will think about it. Thanks for the help anyways, dude." Houndour thanked Darmanitan sincerely for the help.

"No biggie, homie. I'm always here to help." Darmanitan was content with helping Houndour. The fire monkey eventually went back to his meditation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm glad that the homie asked for my help. One of the most important principle of zen is knowing when to ask for help because you can't do everything by yourself. I hope that Machoke will understand that someday."

 **Houndour:** "I still can't make up my mind about this relationship… I have a few options. Either we remain as friends or we take it one step further. Either way, there will be a change that I need to cope with. I'm not exactly sure about us being a couple. Don't get me wrong, Duosion is nice and all but… it just comes with complications. For one, I don't know what the viewers will think of us. We are being watched by millions of Pokemon. If something goes wrong… I don't want to think about it. I need to take my time like Darmanitan said."

* * *

In the Flygon girls' cabin… Duosion stared at the ceiling, trying to find a solution about something. Her eyes rarely blinked as if they were stuck in a daze. Ledyba noticed this and looked a bit worried.

"Duosion, are you alright?" Ledyba asked. "You can tell me if something is bothering you."

"Oh… I'm just thinking about something. Maybe, you can help. However, please keep it confidential." Duosion accepted her help as long as it is confidential.

"Don't worry, I will never tell a soul. However, we should probably talk somewhere else." Ledyba pointed out the other sleeping female contestants. Meowstic drooled in her sleep as she hugged her pillow. Miltank snored as she hung one arm down the bed. Aromatisse slept beautifully without any bad habits. Cryogonal woke up already, she was outside somewhere.

"I agree. You can choose the location." Duosion allowed Ledyba to choose.

"How about the benches?" Ledyba chose, trying to be considerate. The benches weren't that far from their cabin, it was next to the mess hall and peaceful. An ideal location, indeed.

"It is your choice." Duosion was fine with it as they floated/flew to the lonely benches outside of the cabin. It was still early in the morning so no one could be seen. Most likely, they all slept like Snorlax.

"Start when you are ready." Ledyba was prepared to listen. Her eyes were very attentive as well as her ears.

"Well, I'm having some issues with a… relationship." Duosion said vaguely.

"Can you please explain a bit more so I can understand? What kind of relationship? Is it love or is it friendship or whatever it is?" Ledyba asked for clarification.

"It is about… love." Duosion revealed shyly, which was very unlike her. Her face reddened a little.

"Aww… No need to be embarrassed. I don't judge. I assume that it is between you and Houndour, right? What can be the problem? You two are a cute couple!" Ledyba squealed, her heart fluttered at the thought of them being together.

"Here is the problem, I'm not exactly confident with this relationship. What if something goes horribly wrong? What if he doesn't reciprocate my feelings? Statistically, the number of failed relationship in these shows are higher than the numbers of successful ones. What if…" Duosion listed her worries rapidly. However, Ledyba interrupted her with an arm on the shoulder.

"Don't overthink it. Logic and statistics can't dictate a successful relationship. Just answer these simple questions. Do you like him?" Ledyba asked. Duosion nodded. "Are you willing to commit to this relationship both inside and outside the show?" Duosion nodded again.

"There, you are set and stone. Don't worry. Houndour is a very nice boy. When I offered to carry Eevee for him, he refused to throw a burden on a friend. I think he is also interested in you." Ledyba assured.

"Really?" Duosion didn't think that Houndour has any interest in her. It came off as a bit of a surprise.

"Yep." Ledyba reassured.

"I really appreciate your help. I don't understand why Scolipede would doubt someone so generous and kind hearted like you." Duosion mentioned Scolipede. This made Ledyba look a bit depressed.

"Oh, I apologize if I bring back any painful memories." Duosion apologized, she feared that she might have hurt her feelings.

"It is nothing. How about this? I will help you to practice confessing in front of him." Ledyba changed the topic. Duosion didn't mind it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I feel more nervous confessing to him than doing my final exams. Does anyone feel the same?"

 **Ledyba:** "I just feel partially guilty for making things worse with Scolipede. He is probably suffering really badly right now."

* * *

Tyrunt cried silently in his cabin, covering his face with a white pillow. Although, the pillow started to change color due to the tears. He blamed himself for everything. For being such a terrible friend. For being such a crybaby. For being such a disobedient and hot-tempered son. All of his mistakes haunted him.

"I'm such a disgrace. All I can do is cry, whine and throw tantrums." Tyrunt insulted himself. Grovyle looked at him with sympathy.

"Want to talk, man? Do you need a shoulder to cry on?" Grovyle tried to help.

"No, thanks." Tyrunt wasn't ready to talk to anyone. Grovyle sighed at this. Nosepass also looked at Tyrunt with empathy. Bisharp and Rhyhorn were outside the cabin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I can empathize with Tyrunt in a lot of ways. We are both pathetic and weak. We will probably be voted out next." Nosepass spoke in a hopeless tone.

 **Grovyle:** "I don't understand the guy. What's the big deal? This is just a game."

 **Tyrunt:** Tyrunt sucked his left claw as he rocked back and forth in the confessional. "Elekid, I'm sorry. Archeops didn't even check or console me. She doesn't truly care about me at all. I realize it now." Tyrunt sobbed.

* * *

In the Crawdaunt girls' cabin, Skrelp smiled with relish as she read her book peacefully. Everything went according to her plan. Elekid got eliminated. Tyrunt was now weak and frail. Lastly, Archeops fell under her control. She lowered her book a bit to see Archeops looking crestfallen on her bed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "Perfect. Archeops' morale diminished to zero. Ostensibly, her Defeatist ability is starting to infect her as well. The Defeatist ability is unique to her species. It halves her Attack and Special Attack when she receives a lot of damage. It is debatable whether mental anguish counts. However, it is certain and undeniable that she probably won't recover from this downfall. I plan to utilize her weakness to my advantage. I want her as my shield to the merge. For what purpose? Lucario will surely try to take out a big threat. Therefore, I need someone close to me that is a bigger threat. As of right now, I need to make the next move."

* * *

Jumpluff was in the mess hall with Dedenne. Both of them didn't feel like eating their horrible food. Neither of them looked optimistic or hopeful.

"Another elimination went wrong. How? I thought that we have enough votes." Dedenne tried to find a flaw in their plan yesterday.

"I know right? Me, you, Tyrunt, Elekid, Snorunt and Grovyle. These Pokemon sum up to six votes already. My friends at home are probably screaming the answer to me right now. They will be like… No! Jumpluff, you are such a silly airhead. This is what actually happened and then I will be laughed at. How humiliating." Jumpluff came up with her hypothetical scenario.

"Perhaps, you should reassess the credibility and trustworthiness of your friends." Skrelp advised as she entered the mess hall.

"Shoo. Get out. You are not welcomed here." Jumpluff tried to make Skrelp leave to no avail.

"Since when you own the mess hall? This place is opened to public access." Skrelp scoffed at her pathetic attempt.

"That's true, Jumpluff." Dedenne admitted. This shocked Jumpluff and made Skrelp laugh.

"Hey, you are supposed to be on my side!" Jumpluff scolded Dedenne.

"How laughable. Anyways, since your little commotion amuses me, I will give you a handicap. Check Tyrunt." Skrelp hinted before she left.

"Check Tyrunt?" Dedenne said, clearly looking confused.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "They will soon turn against each other. I'm such a mastermind at this game."

 **Dedenne:** "Tyrunt acted weird lately. Grovyle told me that he kept crying in the cabins. Something is definitely wrong."

* * *

Ursaring sat under the giant tree in the middle of a grassy clearing. Coincidentally, it was the same one that Duosion and Houndour sat under last time. In front of him was a picnic basket. He opened it and grabbed a sandwich.

"Perhaps, I should share my sandwich with the contestants. Knuckle sandwich that is." Ursaring laughed at his own joke. He chewed his sandwich until Rhyhorn approached him.

"You again? When will you stop bothering me?" Ursaring said with food in his mouth.

"I need that advantage." Rhyhorn kept his words simple as he charged at Ursaring. The bear lifted out a freezing gun from the last challenge and froze him before he could react fast enough.

"You will thaw out in the next hour or so. Not like that I care." Ursaring informed as he picked up his picnic basket and changed location.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring:** "Can't an intern enjoy his breakfast without being interrupted nowadays?"

* * *

Machoke carried Miltank on his back as an exercise. The milk Pokemon convinced him that it will be 'easy'. However, it was the antithesis of easy. Machoke sweated and panted heavily.

"Come on. I'm as light as a feather." Miltank exaggerated.

"Sorry." Machoke gave up as he dropped Miltank down after the first ten seconds. He then collapsed.

"Are you trying to say that I'm fat?" Miltank looked offended by his demeanor. She lifted her right fist up.

"No, no! I'm weak. You are light as a feather." Machoke talked his way out of trouble.

"Yeah, muscle boy. You need to train harder. As of right now, you are very weak." Miltank criticized.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "How did I get myself into this mess? Geez."

 **Miltank:** "After what happened yesterday, I need to prove that I'm light."

* * *

All alone, Snorunt stared at the waves crashing against the sand of the beach area. The sound was soothing.

"You don't socialize much. Is everything alright?" Drifblim asked as she appeared next to her.

"Yeah." Snorunt replied simply. She didn't say much but something was clearly in her mind. The snow hat Pokemon viewed the waves crashing over and over again.

"If you need anything, feel free to ask." Drifblim said before she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Snorunt:** "When I think about the numbers and how the elimination ended… I can't help but doubt Drifblim. Seven votes eliminated him. I'm in the minority against a powerful alliance. Elekid is a nice guy and I prefer him to stay over Skrelp."

 **Drifblim:** "Snorunt is a smart player. She doesn't go around telling others things. She keeps all the information to herself. Scary, indeed."

* * *

Shedinja looked lethargic as he just woke up. He observed the cabin. Everyone was already long gone.

"Early birds get the bagel and nocturnal creatures get the Wurmple." Shedinja drawled. "Not like it matters."

He then left the cabin and floated slowly to the mountain area. Eventually, he reached it. The slope was steep but there were stairs. Not like it mattered for the ghost bug. He simply floated over the mountain.

Shedinja didn't really show any emotions. He was apathetic yet it could be somewhat decipherable that he wanted to stay in the game to some degree. Or else, he would quit all the challenges and be lazy all the time.

He reached the peak of the mountain and saw Cryogonal in the distance. She was building a snowman in the snow area.

"Meh." Shedinja said carelessly as he turned back and headed to the camp area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Staying in the snow area reminds me of home. Building snowmen and opening Christmas presents. Only if I really have a… true home in the first place. I never see my parents even once. I was stuck in the orphanage for ages. The caretaker there told me that my father had a 'fun time' with a Ditto and didn't want me. I absolutely despise him. In the orphanage, I kind of acted like Shedinja to be rebellious. I was apathetic, lethargic and emotionless until I was adopted by a kind girl that wanted a sister. My life changed since then. I wonder what kind of life Shedinja had. Perhaps, this is why I'm so curious about him. It is nice to get this out of my chest. However, I don't think I can tell my team just yet. Although, Scolipede gave me suspicious looks."

* * *

Tyrunt sobbed in his bed for ages. He didn't even eat anything. His stomach growled but he didn't care one bit.

"Tyrunt, why are you acting so miserable and heartbroken?" Dedenne asked from outside. Tyrunt didn't reply at first. However, his guilt pressured him.

"What is going on with you? Please tell me. I might be able to help." Dedenne encouraged Tyrunt to tell her.

"I… voted for Elekid." Tyrunt hesitated at first but he eventually admitted it. Dedenne gasped instantly.

"But he is your friend! I can't believe this!" Dedenne enragedly stomped off.

"I can't believe it either." Tyrunt groaned with mental anguish as he continued to cry in his bed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "I can't believe that Tyrunt is a dirty, lying backstabber. I will shame him in my blog alongside the others like Skrelp."

 **Tyrunt:** "I don't really care about the game anymore. Vote me off so what? I don't want to stay in this *beep* island anymore." Tyrunt's eyes were teary and sore.

* * *

Nosepass entered Crawdaunt boys' cabin to check on Tyrunt. He slowly approached his bed.

"Go away." Tyrunt tried to get rid of Nosepass by waving his hands. He accidentally got his claws too close to Nosepass.

"Don't hurt me!" Nosepass screamed in fear from seeing Tyrunt's claws and sharp teeth. He tried to run. Upon seeing what he did, Tyrunt felt guilty.

"I'm sorry." Tyrunt apologized limply. The gamer ran out of strength from all the crying.

"You aren't going to… hurt me?" Nosepass asked apprehensively.

"Hurt you? Hahaha… I can't even." Tyrunt laughed hysterically. He placed his hands on his belly as he laughed like a madman. After ten seconds, Tyrunt's voice turned into a muffled laughter.

"Are you alright?" Nosepass asked, fearful of the consequences of talking to Tyrunt in this… state of mind.

Tyrunt started to cry. "No, I'm not. I betrayed my best friend. I'm a monster. I'm a monster! Screw this *beep* game. I should already know that something like this will happen. My emotions were toyed with by a girl that I had a crush on. Stupid me, I should just sabotage the team in the first challenge and get eliminated." Tyrunt answered Nosepass' question.

"I see… I'm sorry to hear about that." Nosepass said sympathetically.

"Sorry? Really?" Tyrunt was astonished by this. He asked Nosepass to make sure that he heard it correctly.

"Yeah. What's wrong with it?" Nosepass looked puzzled.

"You don't hate me?" Tyrunt asked desperately, Nosepass' words filled something that Tyrunt felt he lost.

"Hate? Errr... what you did is wrong but I understand how it feels to be pathetic and worthless. I can relate to you about that. I'm used to the feeling of failure and incompetence. It becomes natural to me now. I always mess up. Everything that I do is wrong and I hate myself for it. Therefore, I can sympathize and empathize with you. You aren't the only one that is meaningless." Nosepass answered with lack of confidence. Yet, he managed to convey his message. Nosepass lay down on the ground.

"Nosepass, you aren't that bad, you know? Better than me at the very least. You aren't a bad Pokemon." Tyrunt lay down on the ground next to Nosepass.

"No, I'm even worse than you. I voted for a Pokemon that I actually like, out of fear." Nosepass persuaded.

"No, I'm worse. I'm inconsiderate toward my best friend." Tyrunt argued.

"No, I'm worse than you. Literally, I'm scared of everything." Nosepass countered.

"Why are we arguing about who is worse?" Tyrunt asked as he chuckled a bit.

"Yeah." Nosepass agreed as they shared a laugh.

"Having you on my side nearly persuades me to stay in this game, you know?" Tyrunt admitted.

"You are going to quit?" Nosepass looked a bit shocked. He stood up and stared at Tyrunt immediately, trying to see if he was kidding.

"Yeah. My stay here is pointless." Tyrunt seemed sincere about really quitting.

"But what will the viewers think of you? What about your parents? Despite many times when Larvitar bullied me, I clung on to the hope that someday I will be strong and awesome. Will you really surrender and hold the white flag just like that?" Nosepass discouraged Tyrunt from quitting.

Tyrunt thought about Nosepass' words carefully. He stood up, his eyes were still teary. Tyrunt tried to wipe the tears away gradually. Little by little, Tyrunt looked more determined.

"I can't face Elekid ever again if I quit. I need to… redeem myself!" Tyrunt mustered all of his courage and energy.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Wow, I got a new friend today. Never knew that I could do something like that." Nosepass smiled proudly.

 **Tyrunt:** "The first thing that I need to do is apologize to everyone. Hopefully, they forgive me."

* * *

Bisharp sat on the dock with his fishing rod. He swung it to the sea and waited patiently. While he was waiting, he turned his head around, enjoying the view until he saw Jumpluff and Dedenne near the bonfire. They both looked depressed and hopeless. Bisharp left his fishing rod and tried to get a bit closer to them.

They didn't notice his presence as he walked toward them. Bisharp heard the word "Tyrunt" and immediately turned back. His face showed that he knew what they were talking about. However, he didn't want to get too deeply involved with them. Still, he turned and looked at their miserable faces one last time before he went back to fishing once again. His face turned miserable as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "A few days ago, I once said that I will catch the big fish but… If my parents are here right now, they will tell me to be strategic and take the easy route. They will force me to stick with Skrelp and her alliance. Even if that takes me to the merge at the very least… it is not how I want to play this game."

* * *

Bisharp remained still on the dock. His eyes looked solemn as it focused on the fishing rod. There was little to no wind.

"Hey! Fishing again?" Jumpluff greeted, trying to keep a cheerful smile. Bisharp was a bit surprised. However, he kept his cool as he turned around.

"Indeed. May I ask why you are here?" Bisharp said formally.

"No need to be so formal. We are friends… right?" Jumpluff was a bit hesitant to tell him the reason that she was there.

"Friends? For the duration of this game, yes. However, if you are referring to post-game events… Unfortunately, no." Bisharp stated, his lips seemed forced.

"W-why? I consider you as a friend. Am I annoying?" She said worriedly as she looked down on the ground. Jumpluff suddenly remembered Skrelp's words about her annoying attitude.

"No, this applies to everyone here." Bisharp corrected. Jumpluff was shocked.

"Why? I don't understand." Jumpluff asked, seemingly confused. Bisharp moved the fishing rod away during this time.

Bisharp patted the wooden board of the dock as he moved sideways, signaling Jumpluff to sit on the edge of the dock with him. She sat down as Bisharp answered.

"My parents prefer me to associate myself with a specific group of Pokemon. A group of talented, skilled geniuses. Therefore, they will strongly oppose if I have any kind of friends other than the one they select." Bisharp told her as he swung his legs a bit. His movements were a bit awkward though. It was as if he wasn't used to it.

"Are your parents really that demanding? I can't believe it." Jumpluff said with disbelief. Her background was quite the complete opposite. "If it is up to me, I will let you do whatever you want. Maybe, I can persuade your parents." Jumpluff's words made Bisharp laughed a bit.

"What? I really mean _it_. I want to show you the beauty of having a lot of great, real, genuine _friends_." Jumpluff emphasized.

"Maybe, you can do it… Regardless, I don't wish to continue telling anything anymore. I hope you understand." Bisharp got to his feet as he was about to leave.

"Wait." Jumpluff interrupted. Bisharp turned his attention to her for one last time. "I should tell you why I'm here as well. I want your… vote." Jumpluff was a bit embarrassed to request for something like this. However, she looked really desperate.

"I understand that you are in the minority but… I can't afford to be their enemy." Bisharp refused. Jumpluff sighed in disappointment. Bisharp expected her to snap at him.

"I understand. Like you said, you have more to lose in this game than me." Jumpluff didn't mind it. She tried to be considerate toward him.

"You aren't angry or mad at me?" Bisharp was baffled by her response.

"Obviously! A true friend will not abandon you just because of something this petty." Jumpluff assured. Bisharp looked deep in thought.

"Okeydokey, I will leave now!" Jumpluff exclaimed, she didn't want to guilt-trip him anymore. Therefore, she tried to be optimistic as she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "A true friend? What is a true friend? Is someone like Grovyle, a true friend? All of my friends are just merely acquaintances."

 **Jumpluff:** "I don't want to be that kind of contestant… Winning is great and all but what can I do with that much money, anyways? I will probably go on a shopping spree and that's it. Poof, all gone."

* * *

Currently, Jumpluff reached the bonfire. She saw Dedenne, Tyrunt, Nosepass and Grovyle together in the campsite. Something must be going on. She was about to head there until someone interrupted her.

"Desperate, aren't you? I saw you begging for votes." Skrelp mocked. She sat on a wooden log with her book on her fins. Jumpluff didn't reply. She continued to float to the camp.

"If you are really cornered, I have a solution for you. Vote for your so called 'friends' and I will spare you. Does this entice you?" Skrelp offered.

"At I least I value my friends unlike you." Jumpluff retorted as she left.

"Fine." Skrelp stopped caring as she continued reading her book.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I'm in the majority. Who cares about her insignificant vote?"

 **Jumpluff:** "I just don't even… Screw her."

* * *

Tyrunt's heart rate increased as he approached Dedenne and Grovyle near the path to the bonfire, albeit very sluggishly. The two were talking to each other. He walked alongside Nosepass as his only company. The Nose Pokemon was once distant to him but, now he was the only one he could truly trust.

"I'm scared." Tyrunt told Nosepass. The gamer grabbed his left hand for comfort.

"I'm scared as well." Nosepass expressed his worries.

Grovyle suddenly saw Tyrunt and Nosepass. He nudged Dedenne, her face darkened immediately once she saw Tyrunt.

"Traitor, you will pay for your crimes." Dedenne threatened. Tyrunt gulped.

"I'm sorry. I got manipulated." Tyrunt tried to explain.

"I don't want any excuses." Dedenne refused to listen.

"Be nice. I messed up the elimination as well. I voted for Heracross." Nosepass tried to share the blame.

"Nosepass, that doesn't matter. Because both you and Rhyhorn voted for Heracross, the number of votes needed for a majority turned to six. Grovyle, me, Tyrunt, Elekid, Snorunt and Jumpluff should be the majority." Dedenne explained.

"Yeah, I voted with you guys because I'm a very loyal person with integrity." Grovyle lied. "Unlike Bisharp and Drifblim who were swing votes and ended up with Archeops' alliance." Grovyle threw Bisharp under the bus.

"Hey, Bisharp isn't that bad." Jumpluff joined the conversation at this very moment.

"Jumpluff, Grovyle has a point." Dedenne supported the gecko. Grovyle nodded at this.

"He has a reason…" Jumpluff tried to defend him. Bisharp walked back toward the camp. He heard their conversation a bit. However, he missed Grovyle's part. The five contestants turned to look at him. Bisharp quickly left because it was none of his business.

"Anyways, Tyrunt. You are still a traitor! How could you backstab a friend like that?" Dedenne scolded. Grovyle nodded hypocritically.

Tyrunt apologized to the best of his ability. "I'm sorry! I had a crush on Archeops and she manipulated me into voting for my best friend. She didn't even like me back! I messed up and messed up so much that I don't know what I can do to redeem myself." Tears started to flow from Tyrunt's eyes. The others looked at him with some sympathy. Nosepass patted his back.

"We should give him a chance." Grovyle spoke genuinely.

"Fine, one last chance." Dedenne submitted to Tyrunt's sympathetic state. However, she didn't look at him straight to his face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "That isn't betraying. It is called distancing myself from him. Didn't Bisharp say that he wanted me to be distant from him so nobody knows that we are in an alliance? I'm doing him a favor here."

 **Bisharp:** "Did Jumpluff… defend me?"

 **Dedenne:** "I still can't fully forgive Tyrunt for what he did. I will keep my eyes on him for now. However, I know that I can trust Grovyle. Yesterday, he said that he will vote for Skrelp and he probably kept his words."

 **Nosepass:** "That was intense. Why can't this show be more Nosepass friendly? There should be a new rating called Nosepass friendly for wimps like me."

 **Jumpluff:** "I don't think I should blab about Bisharp's parents. It is just too personal. This might sound weird coming from me. Usually, I'm bad at keeping secrets. If I have access to the internet, I will gossip about so many things."

 **Tyrunt:** Tyrunt sobbed a bit in the confessional. He then stopped. "I need to redeem myself. No more crying."

* * *

It was lunchtime, Skarmory sold hamburgers today. Lucario looked at the menu with disgust.

"There aren't enough vegetables! Put some more lettuce leaves and berries in it." Lucario complained.

"Being a host is tough. Contestants are so whiny nowadays." Skarmory complained as well. Lucario eventually got what he wanted by paying extra for vegetables.

Tyrunt was about to buy something until he saw Archeops about to do the same. Tyrunt left without a word. This guilt-tripped Archeops even more.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "My health is very important. I need healthy food with a lot of nutrients."

 **Archeops:** "I…" Archeops didn't say anything else.

* * *

After a refreshing lunchtime, the challenge was about to begin. Skarmory called all the contestants over to the haunted mansion. The contestants all traveled with uneasiness in the haunted area. Tombstones were among dead trees. Skeletons of various Pokemon were on full display, hanging from branches. The ground was dark and murky. Worst of all, the irritating mist.

"I can't see anything." Nosepass clung onto Rhyhorn for support.

"We must be close." Rhyhorn stated as he saw a figure in the distance flapping its wings. Nosepass trembled as he saw this. The figure was about to scare the contestants until…

"Skarmory, I know that you are there." Drifblim ruined the surprise. Skarmory defogged the mist with an annoyed expression on his face. The host was in front of a haunted mansion.

"Thanks for ruining my surprise." Skarmory said sarcastically, he then covered his body with a black cape.

"Contestants, welcome to Skarmory Mansion. A place where the dead screams with terror." Skarmory tried to build the atmosphere.

"Another place with a generic name. Your name makes this place as scary as a kindergarten." Drifblim mocked. The other contestants laughed a bit.

"I feel like a martyr sometimes for being nice in this goddamn job. I can be mean if I want, you know?" Skarmory threatened.

"Yet, you can't. Maybe, because you care about us." Drifblim assumed. Skarmory rolled his eyes but he didn't say anything.

"Anyways, there will be two parts to this challenge. First, find a white envelope in the first floor of this mansion. Don't open it until I say so. You have one minute, begin now!" Skarmory started the challenge by surprise and quickly flew out of the way.

The contestants all rushed into the mansion. Lucario was in the lead. Heracross and Miltank weren't far behind. Grovyle tried to push Darmanitan out of the way. Tyrunt distanced himself from Archeops. Speaking of her, she tried to tell Bisharp about passing down the leadership to him. However, he was too busy struggling to get inside. Drifblim lifted Machoke back to the end of the chaotic line.

"What?! I can fly." Machoke imagined himself flying. Drifblim giggled as she dropped him down. Machoke realized how wrong he was.

"I thought that I'm the first flying Machoke." Machoke said in a disappointed tone.

Skrelp, Snorunt, Nosepass and Aromatisse didn't bother fighting to get inside. At this point, Lucario and the frontrunners were already inside. As a result, the Pokemon at the back of the line could finally enter. Skarmory smirked as he entered the mansion last. He covered himself with his cape.

The mansion was quite gloomy. The only light source was a chandelier on top of the foyer. A grand, double staircase in the middle connected to the second floor. Between the staircases appeared a table with a vase on top. To the left was the door to the garage. To the right was a door to the kitchen.

Lucario ran up to the vase and smashed it open. There was an envelope inside.

"Got one!" Lucario told his teammates.

Heracross went inside the garage. The room was filled with cobwebs. In the middle of the garage was a black car. A skeleton of a Pikachu held the steering wheel. The room was poorly lit with only a candle on a table as a light source next to the car. Tools like wrenches were scattered across the room.

Heracross ran around frantically and recklessly. Consequently, she slipped on a wrench, making her face slammed against the window of the car.

"Ouch!" Heracross yelled as she punched the window out of frustration. She saw an envelope under the skeleton of a Pikachu and took it.

"One envelope for me!" Heracross announced. Grovyle just entered the garage and tried to search for another one.

On the other hand, Rhyhorn hurriedly rushed to the kitchen. However, Miltank blocked the door.

"We are wasting both of our time." Rhyhorn reasoned. Miltank hesitated before she decided to enter.

The kitchen was pretty small. There was a wooden table in the middle with four chairs surrounding it. Empty plates stacked on the table. To the right were cupboards and drawers as well as a fridge. To the left was the prepping table and a cooking station.

Miltank rushed to the plates on the table. She lifted them up, nothing was under them. Rhyhorn opened the fridge with his horn and saw an envelope.

"Damn it!" Miltank was frustrated as she looked through the drawers. There was a dozen of cup noodles but no envelope.

Drifblim floated inside the kitchen shortly after. She looked under the table. There was an envelope attached under it. Miltank groaned at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "I entered first. This isn't fair."

* * *

Shedinja floated slowly, observing around the foyer while others were entering the rooms left and right.

"This place looks more alive than me." Shedinja commented as he luckily saw a slight edge of white under the carpet on the foyer. He checked it to see an envelope.

"Yay." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.

Ledyba was in the foyer as well. She looked up at the chandelier. There was an envelope.

"Another one for our team!" Ledyba announced, feeling upbeat.

"Time's up!' Skarmory ended the first part of the challenge.

"Finally." Nosepass said with relief. He trembled in fear. The interior of the mansion freaked him out. He didn't care about the envelopes. In contrast, the contestants with envelopes were all eager to open it.

"First, you miss one envelope." Skarmory threw his cape away. It was revealed that a white envelope was attached inside.

"Sneaky." Drifblim commented.

"I will take that as a compliment." Skarmory seemed proud of his accomplishment

"Second, open your envelopes." Skarmory instructed. The contestants ripped the envelope out. There was a green card with the word 'exemption' inside.

"The contestants that found the envelope will be exempted from the second part of the challenge and receive one point for their team. Trust me, you want to be exempted." Skarmory looked around at each contestant. Some looked nervous while some were scared out of their mind like Nosepass.

"Follow me to the second floor." Skarmory ordered as they ascended the double grand staircase. The Feckless Flygon grouped together and took the right staircase. The Crazy Crawdaunt took the left staircase. Skarmory flew up on his own. He turned to the right and opened up a door. They found the plain white room in the second challenge. However, there was something else this time. In the middle of the once empty room, was a steel helmet on top of a chair. There was a logo of a Bronzong on it as well as a lightbulb and a few antennae on top. The contestants observed the helmet with curiosity. Meowth looked as if he knew who created this helmet.

"I will now explain the second part of the challenge. It is the unoriginal fear challenge." Skarmory revealed. Fear was evident on the faces of contestants without an envelope.

"Thanks to our top sponsor, Bronzong Enterprises, we are supplied with a fear helmet. This helmet will scan your mind for your deepest fear and project it in your head. Its size can also be adjusted. Afterwards, you will be warped to the dream world where you need to face your fear. You can't take real physical damage inside. However, you will still feel pain due to your nervous system. If you wish to quit, say 'I give up' and I will remove the helmet. Lastly, because I'm very nice, an Alakazam intern will be the only one to see your biggest fear other than me. Don't worry if your secrets are going to be revealed to other contestants. Until the episode is aired, of course. Who wants to start first?" Skarmory finished as he asked a question that no one wanted to answer.

"Team! We need to face our fears!" Lucario tried to push his teammates to face their fears.

"You got an exemption, you can say it easily." Scolipede said as he tried to distance himself from the helmet. Some of the others started to step back as well. Lucario sighed at his teammates' cowardice.

"Skarmory, can I give my exemption?" Lucario was willing to sacrifice his exemption. Scolipede felt a bit… touched by this.

"Nope, it is more interesting this way." Skarmory denied.

"I want to get this over with." Miltank offered to go first.

"Great." Skarmory commented. He then guided Miltank to the chair. It was an unstable wooden stool. She sat on it and the chair collapsed immediately.

"Don't say anything or else you are dead." Miltank glared at the other contestants.

In the end, she sat on the ground instead with the helmet on. The helmet forced Miltank to close her eyes as it started the illusion inside her head. Apparently, Miltank lost all control of herself in the real world. She showed no reaction. Perhaps, this was why Skarmory need to take the helmet off by himself. Noticeably, he wore an earpiece that allowed him to communicate with Alakazam. When a contestant gives up or the fear is over, he will tell the host.

Miltank was warped into a farm. It was peaceful with a breeze. Fences surrounded Tauros and Miltank alike as well as Rapidash. There was a barn, a silo, you name it. Typical farm windmills and haystacks. In front of Miltank was a weighing scale. Miltank realized her fear and she looked frustrated.

"Stupid fear. I'm not overweight. It is just that I have a lot of muscle mass." Miltank complained as she folded her arms. She stepped on the weighing scale and it broke. The number rose up to nine hundred and ninety-nine kilograms. Miltank kicked the broken weighing scale away.

"Ridiculous." Miltank grumbled as suddenly the farm shrank or rather she expanded.

"Why is the farm shrinking?" Miltank felt confused instead of scared. As a result, her fear was over.

Skarmory removed the helmet.

"Are you alright?" Machoke asked.

"Does it hurt?" Nosepass asked fearfully.

"No, it is quite easy." Miltank didn't think that it was hard.

"Any volunteers?" Skarmory asked again.

"If no one wants to do it… I will get this over with… for Elekid." Tyrunt said, he looked more determined than ever. The other contestants were surprised to see him volunteered. 'Braver' contestants like Archeops and Grovyle looked down on the ground in shame.

Tyrunt lifted the helmet and wore it. He was warped to the bonfire site. Tyrunt looked confused.

"I'm scared of pain. Where is… pain?" Tyrunt asked as someone nudged his back. Tyrunt turned around, his face was pale once he saw Elekid. The eliminated contestant punched Tyrunt's left eye with his right fist immediately. Tyrunt flinched as he stumbled and fell down to the ground.

"You monster, you deserve worse than death." Elekid spat at Tyrunt.

"I'm sorry." This was all Tyrunt could say. He held his left eye in pain.

Elekid lifted Tyrunt up and punched him in the nose this time. His nose started to bleed.

"I'm sorry." Tyrunt repeated the same word. Elekid didn't care. Instead, he delivered an excruciatingly painful kick to the crotch. Tyrunt cried and whimpered in agony. Elekid dropped him down on the ground and took something out behind a tree. It was a metal pole.

"Any last words?" Elekid asked as he slammed the metal pole down on the ground as a demonstration.

"My biggest fear isn't pain. It is losing you." As Tyrunt said this, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact. However, there was no impact to be felt. The fear was over.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I feel like a new Pokemon. A reborn Pokemon with a newfound strength. It is time to play my A-game and beat some noobs."

* * *

Skarmory removed the helmet and Tyrunt instantly checked his body. All the wounds and pain were gone. He hugged himself as he moved away to Nosepass. The Nose Pokemon looked extremely anxious. Other contestants looked scared as well. No one was in a shape to volunteer.

"I will randomize the order now since all of you are such cowards." Skarmory had enough with his contestants. He ordered Alakazam to randomize the order. The first one was…

"Machoke" Skarmory called him. Machoke slowly walked over to the helmet.

"May the Inner Courage Technique be with me." Machoke prepared himself for his fear.

Machoke's fear was simple. He was warped to a circus with Mr. Mime in the middle of the stage. The audience clapped and cheered for the psychic type.

"Stupid Mr. Mime. Don't freak me out." Machoke retreated backward slowly.

Mr. Mime walked slowly to Machoke before he lifted out a bazooka and fired confetti at him. "Hahahaha…" Mr. Mime started to laugh like a psychopath.

"Ah!" Machoke screamed with fear as he ran around in circles. "I give up." Machoke couldn't take it anymore.

The helmet was lifted. "No point for you." Skarmory told the others that Machoke failed. Machoke sat on the ground with his hands on his face. Darmanitan went over to console him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "As a kid, I hate Mr. Mime. They squirted water at me, made fun of my body shape and I just hate them."

* * *

"Next, Snorunt." Skarmory called, using his memory.

Snorunt didn't want to move at first. However, she eventually gathered her courage.

"I hope it is easy." Snorunt hoped for the best.

Snorunt was in an empty, dark hallway. At the end of the hallway, was Helioptile. She was tied up. Snorunt ran up to her hurriedly.

"This is a trap." Helioptile warned. Suddenly, a Tyranitar appeared in front of her. Snorunt was stunned momentarily.

"Remember me? I used to be a Larvitar. Now, I will get my revenge." Tyranitar slammed his fist together. Snorunt gulped as she slowly stepped backward.

"Don't come any closer." Snorunt wished for Tyranitar to disappear but he was still here. Tyranitar grinned evilly.

"Just give up." Helioptile looked at her with pleading eyes.

Tyranitar started to ram at Snorunt. He was getting closer to her.

"I give up." Snorunt submitted to her fear.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Snorunt:** "I'm so disappointed in myself. I thought that I'm now more competitive and stronger…"

* * *

"No point for you as well. Tied with four to four points for each team." Skarmory updated the score.

"Up next, Meowth." Skarmory called out the next Pokemon. The businessman looked calmer than others yet a glint of fear could be seen in his eyes. Meowth put the helmet on and his fear started to emerge.

The opulent cat sat on a chair inside a gigantic building. In front of him was a table filled with accounting records. He wore a luxurious, brand new watch and a business suit. In his hand was a cup of rich tea. Everything was perfect until…

"Boss! Grim news. Our company is bankrupted!" A Nidoking in a suit opened the door and alerted him. Meowth dropped the cup of tea down. It shattered on the ground.

"Impossible! Last month, our sales reached the projected target. There isn't a single problem within our liquidity or cash flow." Meowth refused to believe it. This resulted in an end to his fear.

"A point for you, five to four with Flygon in the lead." Skarmory updated the score. Meowth sighed with relief as he went back to his team. He looked a lot better than Machoke.

"Grovyle, your turn." Grovyle walked slower than usual to the helmet once Skarmory called his name.

"Wish for my luck, guys." Grovyle wanted encouragement from his team.

"Go, Good Guy Grovyle." Dedenne encouraged.

"Teach the big bad fear a lesson!" Jumpluff encouraged as well.

"Never submit to your fear. Find a way to beat it." Tyrunt advised as the only one on his team that conquered the fear so far.

Grovyle smiled as he placed the helmet on and his fear started to show itself.

In his dream world, he was in prison.

"I'm a good guy, I'm not supposed to be here." Grovyle banged his jail cell.

"Guards, get me out of here." Grovyle begged.

The Klefki guard looked very annoyed and disturbed.

"Why should I let a murderer out? You backstabbed all of your friends. Enjoy prison food for the rest of your pitiful life." Klefki told Grovyle about his crime.

Grovyle collapsed down on the ground immediately. He shook his head.

"This isn't true. This isn't true. I give up." Grovyle submitted to his fear.

"Still five to four." Skarmory revealed that Grovyle failed. His team looked disappointed. They had high expectations for Grovyle.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I don't want to eat prison food for the rest of my life. You can't blame me."

* * *

"Up next, Darmanitan." Skarmory announced.

The fire type looked pretty calm. This was due to his zen training.

"Zen, zen, zen…" Darmanitan chanted to improve his confidence. He sat in a meditative pose and put the helmet on.

Darmanitan was in a forest. Everything was peaceful and undisturbed. Until, a leaf fell on his head. This little nuisance flared up his temper. Suddenly, his body moved on its own.

"No, I can control myself." Darmanitan tried to control his body but he failed. He shot a Fire Blast and burned down countless trees.

"I can't violate the principles of zen. I can't fail my homies." Darmanitan shot another Fire Blast at the trees.

"This isn't true. I'm well trained. Zen, zen, zen…" Darmanitan chanted as he was surrounded by a ring of fire. The fire roared with anger. Fortunately, he successfully calmed himself down as his body stopped moving. Eventually, the fire died down. The helmet was removed.

"Six to four. Darmanitan did it." Skarmory revealed. Darmanitan walked back to his team. He was met with cheers and looks of respect.

"Dedenne, your turn." Dedenne heard the words that she didn't want to hear from Skarmory.

"I need to get it over with." Dedenne tried to gather her courage by breathing in deeply. The Crazy Crawdaunt needed a point badly. She wore the helmet a bit hesitantly.

In her dream world, she was watching television on a couch. The program that she turned on was about the election for the next president. Dedenne stared at her television screen with anticipation. Her eyes nearly got too close to it.

"Will it be Senator Miguel Mudkip or will it be Businessman Bill Bibarel? Please let it be Senator Miguel Mudkip. Equal rights for everyone." Dedenne wished.

A Goodra reporter was shown in front of a rally. Dedenne was shocked to see a Garchomp instead.

"Apparently, Crown Prince Hashu, the descendant of the Garchomp royal family that reigned over our land since one thousand years ago gains popularity among many demographics. He entered the election yesterday like a torrential storm. Many experts and analysts predict that we will go back to the old monarchy system. This is your reporter, Goodman Goodra." Dedenne turned off her television immediately.

"No way! Anyone but that notorious crown prince. We can't destroy our democracy and replace it with monarchy." Dedenne was in denial. The television turned itself open. Dedenne gasped as she heard Crown Prince Hashu's speech.

"Our land is tainted by those corrupted politicians. To revert back to our old glory, we must return power back to the royal family. Repeat after me. Return power back to the royal family!" Crown Prince Hashu shouted.

"Return power back to the royal family!" The crowd obeyed his rule. There were millions of Pokemon attending the event. Dedenne tried to shut her television but she failed.

"Return power back to the royal family!" The crowd continued, their eyes swirled.

Dedenne gritted her teeth, she had enough of this. Furiously, she threw her remote at the screen and her fear ended.

"The Crazy Crawdaunt are catching up. Five to six." Skarmory updated. Dedenne shivered a bit after her fear ended. The little mouse clutched her head as if she felt a headache. She stumbled across the room. Kindly, Grovyle supported her, allowing her to walk back properly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "If you don't know anything about history, which I hope not, I suggest you to check some history records and you will understand my fear. I recommend the Desire Era."

* * *

"Jumpluff, your turn." Skarmory called out another Crazy Crawdaunt member.

"Oh goodness!" Jumpluff groaned. She floated unwillingly to the helmet and put it on with her cotton puff arms.

In the dream world, she was in a place resembling a classroom. Posters were on the walls. Tables and desks with various sizes were prepared for each specific student. In front of her was a white board, a Chatot stood next to it. Seemingly, he was the teacher. Many students focused their eyes on him. There was a bunch of complicated mathematics equations on the board. However, that wasn't Jumpluff's fear. She knew it. The bell rang and the class ended.

"Yay! Class is over! We now have free time!" Jumpluff exclaimed. No one seemed happy like her.

"We? More like 'you'!" A female Sunkern corrected rudely.

"Yeah, you are annoying. None of us are friends with you!" A male Paras sneered at her.

"But, but…" Jumpluff looked anxious.

"Let's leave." A female Gabite suggested. The other students left Jumpluff isolated in the classroom. Even her Chatot teacher didn't seem to care about her.

Jumpluff sobbed a bit all alone. After a moment, she eventually stopped and left the classroom. It was lunchtime and she was still stuck in this hallucination. Jumpluff decided to go to the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria, each student grabbed their plate of food and sat in their respective groups. Jumpluff tried to approach a lively table filled with students. However, the students all fled whenever she came close to them.

"Wait, come back." Jumpluff pleaded but no one cared.

She sat all alone, eating her stiff plate of 'school special delicacy'. The food resembled Chef Drapion's cooking, worsening the situation. Time passed by slowly. The only thing that Jumpluff heard was the sound of the clock. Tick-tock, tick-tock. She was bored out of her mind so she tried to eavesdrop a conversation between a Hawlucha and a Hitmonlee. However, they noticed her eavesdropping and the reaction wasn't pretty.

"*beep* you, stalking swine." Hawlucha swore as he threw his plate of special delicacy at her. It collided against her face and all the student laughed at her. Jumpluff wiped the food off her face and fled the cafeteria, crying along the way.

"I give-" Jumpluff hesitated to say it. She didn't want to fail the challenge. Seeing as there was nothing better to do, she went to the restroom and washed her face. Fortunately, her fear ended just then.

"Six to six." The scores were tied up.

Even though the helmet was lifted off and the fear ended, Jumpluff couldn't help but to sob a bit nonetheless. Tyrunt, Dedenne, Grovyle and Snorunt consoled her because they knew how painful and tough this challenge could be. Bisharp looked at her from a distance, he felt sorry for her as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "I don't want to go through that again. It is just an illusion but it felt so… real."

* * *

"Houndour, it is time." Houndour faced his fear many times before but the reactions of those that done it before him weren't very reassuring.

Houndour walked over to Skarmory and put the helmet on. He expected to be in a dark cave and it was a dark cave like he expected.

The cave was very familiar to Skarmory Cave in many ways. The spiky rocks from the ceiling and the ladder at the end of each floor. However, there was something new. A horde of Crobat was in front of him.

"Boys, attack!" The Crobat leader ordered.

"Ah!" Houndour screamed as he ran to the exit. However, the entrance collapsed, trapping him in the cave. Several Crobats charged their Wing Attack and repeatedly slammed Houndour.

"Ouch." Houndour yelped

He was defenseless as the Crobat attacked over and over again. His body started to bleed. He then realized something, he can fight back!

"Enough!" Houndour breathed a Flamethrower at the Crobat horde.

"Eekkk. Fire!" The Crobat all fled like cowards, trying to extinguish the flames on their wings. The fear ended like that.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "That was easier than I thought. I no longer feel scared of them."

* * *

"You did it. Congratulations!" Duosion congratulated.

"Thanks." Houndour felt great for conquering his fear.

"Bisharp, now or never." Skarmory called Bisharp next. Currently, he was leaning on a wall. Hearing this, he sighed as he walked over to the helmet.

The helmet was worn and he was teleported to the dream world. Bisharp landed in a room that was bittersweet for him. There was a shelf with five trophies to the left. That was his. To the right, there were multiple shelves filled with countless trophies and medals. They were owned by his ancestors. He compared the two sides of the room, his shoulder felt heavy.

Worst of all, his father was in front of him. A taller, more masculine Bisharp with sharper eyes than him. He sat on a chair, facing the wall with a glass of water in his hand. A table was next to him. He eventually got up from his chair, sipped the glass of water to calm down and turned around to face his son.

"You lost again? You are such a disgrace to our family. You know the accomplishments of our ancestors, don't you?" Bisharp's father stared critically at him. He looked very disappointed.

"Definitely." Bisharp replied simply. His eyes wanted to dodge the disappointed eyes of his father but he couldn't. That was considered as insolence in his family line.

"Then, why can't you do the same?!" Bisharp's father banged his fists on the table. Some water spilled out from the glass of water. "You ruin the honor of our family. Don't you feel ashamed?"

"I will try harder." Bisharp learned to reply simply and obediently in front of his parents.

"You better! I will not tolerate any more of your incompetence." Bisharp's father splashed the glass of water at him, making his face wet. Bisharp wanted to be angry, clench his fist, snap or something but he couldn't. Not in front of his parents. He was taught to be completely obedient. However, this time…

"May I ask for something in return?" Bisharp requested.

"Something? Something? How dare you? I never ask for something in return in front of your grandparents so how could you…?" Bisharp's father gritted his teeth. His eyes looked like the eyes of a madman. He flung his table at his son and the fear ended.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I should have already known that I will never be able to escape from the curse of my family. The curse of living up to expectations." Bisharp looked very depressed.

* * *

"Seven to seven." Skarmory updated the score once again. He never seemed bored of using the same lines.

"I want to get some fresh air." After the helmet was removed, Bisharp told his teammates. They didn't seem to mind it, neither did Skarmory.

No one stopped him so Bisharp left the room. Jumpluff looked worried so she followed him a bit. Skrelp noticed this.

"Meowstic, it is going to be a magical ride for you." Skarmory joked.

"Yeah, magic." Meowstic didn't seemed to be enthusiastic one bit.

She wore the helmet shakily. After it was placed on her head properly, she lost control of her body as the illusion formed itself inside her head.

Meowstic was on a stage. There was a large audience in front of her. She performed a trick by pulling out a Buneary from a hat. The magician smiled as she awaited applause from the audience.

"You are a filthy fraud!" A Scolipede shouted from the audience. The audience then booed and threw rotten tomatoes at her.

"I give up." Meowstic couldn't take it anymore.

"Meowstic failed." Skarmory told her teammates. Lucario didn't seem pleased.

Meowstic looked terrified until she saw Scolipede. She hissed and distanced herself away from him.

"What's wrong with her?" Scolipede asked no one in particular.

"Skrelp, are you confident?" Skarmory asked.

"I assume that I'm next. To answer your question, fear is all about perception. It is a defensive mechanism induced by a specific stimulus…" Skrelp tried to explain.

"Just stop." However, Skarmory interrupted her first.

Skrelp looked a bit annoyed but she didn't say anything, she just put the helmet on.

In her dream world…

"I give up." Skrelp said it instantly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I will not reveal my fear to the public. That is just irrational and illogical. I can't afford to show my weakness or else the others will exploit it. I will just lie, telling them that my fear is instant death."

* * *

"No point." Skarmory removed the helmet shortly after it was worn by Skrelp. He didn't look impressed neither did her teammates.

"My fear is… instant death." Skrelp fooled her teammates by hyperventilating. Some like Nosepass felt some sort of sympathy for her. However, a few like Rhyhorn casted her suspicious looks. The other team had a conversation about this as well.

"What a liar." Scolipede whispered to Machoke. The fighting type scratched his head.

Meanwhile, Bisharp sat on the ground, outside of the haunted mansion. He held his knees together as he stared at the white mist. Jumpluff watched from a distance.

"Why are you following me?" Bisharp felt her presence.

"I'm… worried about you." Jumpluff told him sincerely.

"Why are you worried? I will soon be your opponent in this game." Bisharp turned around and gazed at her, his eyes were filled with pain.

"Because… I just want to be a friend. My worst fear is being lonely, neglected, isolated. I told you already that I want to show you how it feels to have a real friend." Jumpluff said, she looked very sincere.

"It must be very nice to have a true friend. However, if it means that I have to disobey my parents to have a true friend. I rather not." Bisharp let go of his knees and lay down on the ground. "My life is tough. It really is tough." Bisharp complained. The ground comforted him a bit. Jumpluff looked at him with increasing levels of sympathy.

"Then, why don't you reason with your parents? If you keep on persisting…" Jumpluff advised. Bisharp interrupted her.

"It won't work. No matter what, I will never have the authority over my life. All of my life choices, decisions and paths will be dictated by them. Then, one day, I will become like them." Bisharp looked hopelessly at the sky.

"Then, are you willing to let go of your dreams and everything? And live miserably for the rest of your life? I don't want that to happen to a friend! Personally, I can't live like that! I may not be a perfect student with perfect academic grades but I'm always in control of my fate and destiny. That's because my parents want me to follow my dreams. Even if my life choices aren't perfect and I stumble across an obstacle, I won't regret it one bit." Jumpluff tried to make a point, using her personal experiences and all.

"If I follow my dreams, my parents will disown me for sure. Then, I will have nothing left." Bisharp was still in his hopeless state.

"You at least still have your friends! Me and the other Crazy Crawdaunt members! If your parents are that cruel and strict, I will persuade them myself if you can't. I will spam their social media accounts every day!" Jumpluff offered to help. Bisharp's eyes widened. "I will… I will…" Jumpluff tried to come up with something else.

"So this is a true friend… I don't want to throw all of my personal dreams away in pursuit of maintaining our family curse." Bisharp admitted as he clenched his fist. His eyes looked a bit teary.

"I never want to do it! I want to feel it, the joy of making my own decisions. Who cares about those empty trophies? Who cares?!" Bisharp screamed. He immediately got up and stood confidently.

"Oh my god! You did it, you are free. Freedom, here we come." Jumpluff exclaimed excitedly. The two eventually returned back to the plain, white room.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Thanks to the fear challenge and Jumpluff, I realize it now. I don't want to be a puppet of my parents. I will live my own life, make my own moves. I don't need to feel burdened about losing because if my trophies are what my parents only care about… I will move away. At least then, I will be happy. If I don't want to cross that line in the sand like my parents wanted, I have the right to do so. I don't need to betray Grovyle or become a master manipulator in this game. I will play the game like myself."

 **Jumpluff:** "I'm so glad that I managed to make someone happy. I want to at least do something before I get eliminated. I want my stay here to at least have a small meaning so that I can socialize with my friends about it. I don't want my friends at home to leave me because I look so pathetic in this show. I'm always scared of what others are thinking of me. I'm usually more social but Skrelp, Archeops and a few others just ruin this experience for me."

* * *

The footage was cut directly to Cryogonal's fear. She was in a snowy tundra. There was a severe snowstorm. In front of her was an egg, it was neglected.

"This is my baby self." Cryogonal acknowledged it. "I don't want to relive through this again."

The egg finally hatched. A small Cryogonal came out of the shell. All it could do was cry and cry for help. She was abandoned.

"I'm here." Cryogonal tried to console her childhood self but she couldn't. She was like a ghost in her dream world. She wrapped her snow chains around her younger self yet she failed. The snowflake Pokemon was stuck here, watching the baby cry.

"It might be true that I'm an orphan but I was adopted and I'm eventually happy." Cryogonal was optimistic about the situation and her fear ended.

"Another point for the Feckless Flygon." Skarmory announced that Cryogonal succeeded. She just floated to her teammates, looking a bit melancholy. Despite the point, facing their biggest fear was still traumatizing to many contestants. For example, Tyrunt shivered upon the thought of being beaten up by Elekid even though he conquered his fear.

Bisharp and Jumpluff entered the room at this point.

"What drains your time?" Skrelp asked curiously. Jumpluff didn't answer.

"I observed the intriguing interior of this mansion a bit." Bisharp answered formally. Skrelp accepted that answer. However, her eyes looked a bit doubtful.

Scolipede was up next. He dreaded the worst as he put his helmet on.

In his dream world, he was in school. More accurately, a corridor inside of school. Scolipede was about to cry once he saw his ex-girlfriend in front of him. It was a Leavanny. Next to her was a Muk, he wore a top hat, holding a wand. Scolipede's lip was sealed. He didn't want to say anything in front of them. His eyes were spiteful for a moment.

"Dear Scolipede, do you remember the time when I broke up with you? That was the best moment of my life. I revealed everything about my master plan. I faked being your girlfriend to make my boyfriend Muk jealous. Did all those massages feel nice? Oh, and the chocolates tasted good, am I right? They were just cheap second-hand junk. Yet, you still ate it like a gullible idiot." Leavanny ridiculed. Scolipede cried, his tears flowed down his face.

"My love, why are we talking to this loser? Let me get rid of him. Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam." Muk casted his magic spell with his wand and a Metagross appeared behind a cloud of smoke. It chased Scolipede around.

"Ah!" Scolipede screamed as the Metagross chased him away with Meteor Mash. Muk and Leavanny kissed during this time. Scolipede accidentally saw it, he wanted to puke.

"I… give up." Scolipede submitted to his fear.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I can't believe that she broke up with me for a magician Muk. What a horrible taste in men." Scolipede cried in the confessional.

* * *

After the helmet was lifted, Scolipede cried and left the room. Other contestants were a bit surprised at his sudden outburst. Ledyba was worried and followed him.

"Nosepass, your-" Skarmory stopped once he saw that Nosepass fainted out of fear. Tyrunt tried to shake him awake but it wasn't a success.

"He is probably scared of everything." Skarmory assumed as he moved on. "Nosepass is disqualified." The Crazy Crawdaunt all looked disheartened by this.

"Aromatisse, please be a bit braver than Nosepass." Skarmory didn't have a lot of faith in Aromatisse.

"I will try…" Aromatisse stepped forward to the helmet slowly.

"This isn't going to be fabulous." Aromatisse dreaded as she put the helmet on.

Aromatisse was scared of a facial surgery going wrong. Since, it wasn't interesting, Skarmory cut the footage out. He only left the part where she screamed "I give up!".

"Feckless Flygon, you need to earn another point to secure your victory. Currently, you have eight points. On the other hand, the Crazy Crawdaunt have seven points. Archeops and Duosion are the last ones left. Duosion, you are next." Skarmory informed. Duosion took a few deep breaths.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I'm not exactly sure about my fear. I have a few fears but I'm a bit indecisive when it comes to my biggest fear."

* * *

Before her fear was shown, the footage of Scolipede crying outside the mansion was shown first.

"Why? Why?! I will never trust anyone again." Scolipede cried.

"Is your fear that traumatizing?" Ledyba asked from behind.

"Why must you always poke your head in others' business? For god's sake! If you want to know it that badly, I will tell. My ex-girlfriend tricked me to make her Muk boyfriend jealous. I was used all along. Everything that she did for me were all lies!" Scolipede revealed. Ledyba looked at him with sympathetic eyes, she also felt guilty for asking.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you had been through. It isn't my place to try to enforce trust into you. However, please understand that not all of us are bad. Since you share your story with me, I want to share mine with you as well. Is that alright with you?" Ledyba asked. Scolipede nodded slightly.

"Trust can have a positive effect as well. I try to see others in a more optimistic view. Do you know why? Well, there is this Zorua kid. On the outside, he looks very naughty. He tried to steal other Pokemon stuff and just be mean in general. Everyone hated him at first, including me. However, one day I learned that he did all those bad things to gain attention from his parents. His parents never cared about him so he needed a way to make them notice him even if it was through questionable means. I befriended him and…" Ledyba paused.

"And what? He betrayed you?" Scolipede said pessimistically.

"He told me that he would commit suicide if I wasn't there for him." Ledyba revealed. Scolipede was shocked, he didn't expect an ending like that.

"Think about it, okay?" Ledyba left after she finished her story.

"Thank you." Scolipede was grateful.

"You are welcomed." Ledyba smiled as she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Fine, I will trust a bit."

 **Ledyba:** "I swear I didn't make that up."

* * *

Duosion was in the middle of the camp area, next to the Skarmory Shop. Houndour was next to her, he held two cones of ice creams.

"Want one?" Houndour offered.

"Thank you very much." Duosion accepted it but she seemed confused. Was this her biggest fear? Sudennly, she was met with her answer. Before she was about to enjoy her ice cream…

Houndour attacked her with a Bite.

"What are you doing?" Duosion was shocked. She didn't react fast enough and took the full damage.

"Die!" Houndour continued to bite her.

"This isn't you. You will never do something like this. Will you?" Duosion didn't know what to believe anymore.

"What do you know about me? I just want to use you to get further in this game." Houndour bit deeper into her gelatinous body.

"I give up." Duosion said before she was about to faint.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I want to confess something to Houndour today. Perhaps, it should be tomorrow instead."

* * *

"No point." Skarmory revealed as he lifted the helmet off Duosion. She shook a bit as she floated toward Houndour. She hugged him, this made Houndour blush.

"Hey, what are you doing? Others are watching." Houndour didn't exactly feel comfortable with this.

"Please comfort me." Duosion requested. Houndour hugged her back a bit. He then chuckled nervously as the others were watching.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "Typical lovebirds…"

 **Jumpluff:** "Oh my gosh! A couple."

 **Darmanitan:** "The homie is making some moves."

 **Houndour:** "To be honest, it felt kind of nice."

 **Duosion:** "I just realize what I did. Oh well, too late to change anything now."

 **Lucario:** "I don't care about their relationship. However, if it distracts them, I will eliminate them."

* * *

"Archeops, the final one." Skarmory said, looking a bit tired after a long day.

Archeops felt a lot of pressure as the last one doing the challenge. She looked back at the others, they were having fun since they knew that the challenge was over for them. Meowstic showed some card tricks, Skrelp read her book and Darmanitan talked with Machoke.

"Here goes nothing." Archeops sighed as she wore the helmet.

Archeops was in a mountainous area. Above the sky, beyond her, was a shower of meteors. Archeops tried to gather her confidence but the events of these past few days weighted her down. The meteors roared as they were fast approaching.

"I give up." Archeops said lifelessly. Her head wasn't in the game anymore.

Back at the room, they all anticipated the result. The Crazy Crawdaunt members hoped for a miracle. However, their hopes were shattered.

"The Feckless Flygon win!" Skarmory announced the final result. The Feckless Flygon all cheered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "Archeops, after what you did to Tyrunt, I can't forgive you."

 **Skrelp:** "I need to secure more votes. I still need Archeops as my meat shield."

 **Archeops:** "I just don't feel like competing any longer…"

 **Tyrunt:** "Elekid, I hope this makes up for what I did."

 **Grovyle:** "I will stick with Skrelp and take the safe route."

 **Bisharp:** "Jumpluff told me that her fear is being isolated, neglected and left alone. I will repay her for all she has done for me. I will save her friends."

* * *

Before the elimination, Skrelp approached Bisharp in the forest.

"Remember about our deal? Vote for Tyrunt tonight." Skrelp reminded.

"Yes." Bisharp said simply.

"Tonight, there should be a tiebreaker at the very least." Skrelp predicted. She kept things simple as she trusted that Bisharp will make the right move. Bisharp looked obedient but it was hard to tell what was actually in his mind.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I will play this game with the Pokemon that I want to play with! Even if it means that my odds at winning are lowered."

* * *

"Apparently, someone complained about 'weird lines'." Skarmory stared at Drifblim sullenly. She shrugged it off.

"As a result, I will not talk at all this elimination." Skarmory stopped talking afterwards.

He simply threw the berries without a word. The Crazy Crawdaunt members felt a bit awkward.

First, Heracross. Second, Rhyhorn. Third, Drifblim. The exempted contestants all got their berries.

The following contestants were safe:

Jumpluff

Dedenne

Bisharp

All the contestants that overcame their fear got their berries except for Tyrunt.

Snorunt

Grovyle

Nosepass

Skrelp

The final two were Archeops and Tyrunt. Archeops looked at Tyrunt apologetically. However, Tyrunt just crossed his arms and turned his face away.

Skarmory threw to last berry to…

…

…

…

Tyrunt didn't catch the berry because it bounced off his nose. He picked it up later with a smile though.

"For Elekid." Tyrunt ate it, he looked satisfied alongside the other contestants that voted for Archeops. Skrelp glanced at Bisharp, she didn't seem pleased. Bisharp didn't show any reaction, he remained indifferent. Until… a nudge from Jumpluff made him smile.

"Team, I want to pass the leader role to Bisharp." Archeops delegated her responsibility before she left. Bisharp looked a bit stressed. Skrelp had a smug look on her face after this.

Skarmory pointed to the camp with his wings, signaling all the contestants to leave.

"Salty much?" Drifblim asked. Skarmory sighed as he rolled his eyes.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I have this coming I guess? I'm sorry Tyrunt, I'm truly sorry. I'm also sorry for failing my alliance. My fatal mistake was the Skarmory token deal a couple of days ago. It ruined everything. Other than that, I want my alliance to win and I'm fine with anyone winning honestly. I need time to recuperate from this sickening defeat.

* * *

Heracross was the only to come and see her off. The beetle waved at her former leader.

"Money makes Pokemon blind, doesn't it? Don't be in debt." Heracross advised.

"I definitely learn my lesson." Archeops assured as the Lapras departed.

Skarmory landed on the dock as they all left.

"Well, maybe I took that a bit too far but I felt offended. I came up with those lines and they thought that Chef Drapion created it for me. Forget it. Anyways, what will happen next? Let me give you a hint for the next challenge as a compensation for what I did. The codename is 'talent'. Think carefully. See all of you later in the next fearsome episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Votes**

Archeops: Tyrunt

Heracross: Tyrunt

Drifblim: Tyrunt

Skrelp: Tyrunt

Dedenne: Archeops

Jumpluff: Archeops

Snorunt: Archeops

Tyrunt: Archeops

Nosepass: Archeops

Rhyhorn: Archeops

Grovyle: Tyrunt

Bisharp: Archeops

Archeops: 7 (eliminated)

Tyrunt: 5

* * *

I revealed so many secrets in this episode yet I still have a few left. By far, this episode was the longest. I also put the most effort in this episode. I hope you enjoy it. The next one will be a bit on the shorter side so I will see if I can release it earlier than usual.

Archeops is one of the first few contestants that I created before the others. Fun fact, Lucario is the first contestant to be created. The next is Nosepass, Archeops, Darmanitan, Jumpluff, Bisharp and so forth. The last contestant that I created is Oddish. (That's why she is such a gimmicky character.) Not like revealing these things will spoil anything. I plan the elimination after I created the contestants. Her 'Defeatist' ability inspired her character. She can become a huge threat if the circumstances were right or the exact opposite can happen.

Some fears were hidden. I want to see if you can guess it. I will satisfy your curiosity a bit. Lucario is scared of losing.


	9. Chapter 9

Well, this chapter comes out later than I expected. My apologies, I underestimate how busy I would be. It seems like I will have less and less time working on my story from now on. After chapter 10, the updates will be a lot slower. However, I can guarantee that I will release a chapter within two weeks.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

I'm fine with both long reviews and short reviews. Feel free to do it however you want. For Snorunt, I already foreshadowed this. Her character is similar to Nosepass yet they have a lot of differences. Snorunt is more the type of Pokemon that is anti-social and introverted while Nosepass is a coward that is scared of everything. I'm glad that you like my extra characters. I put some thought into them. Heracross isn't the Pokemon that stand out the most. Yeah, she can be pretty boring. I got some ideas for her but it is all about timing. I don't want to mention her rivalry with Shedinja all the time or else it will feel forced. For Miltank, why didn't I think of that? What a shame. It could have been funnier like you said. Nope, not from Italy. Although I can speak several Italian words. The '-ern' part is hard to solve, isn't it? It isn't modern. It incorporates Furret in some way. No, I didn't reduce Meowth's screen time because of the lingo. It is because I gave him too much spotlight early on. I want to balance it out a bit. Screen time balancing is extremely difficult. Some characters like Rhyhorn will not get a lot of screen time because he is supposed to be in the shadows. Vice versa for characters like Houndour. Finally, like I said, some eliminations will please you and some will make you mad. There can only be one winner after all. Thirty-one contestants will be eliminated.

 **WhiteDiamondNinja8484**

You are overthinking this. Skrelp's fear is unlike anything you assume.

* * *

 **Episode 9: Talent Transfer**

Skarmory tried to juggle three empty cups of coffee with his wings. After a few seconds worth of success, the cups fell down one by one. They all bounced off wooden planks of the dock into the sea. A Magikarp found them and stole all three of the cups. Skarmory groaned at this.

"Chef Drapion, go and buy me a real coffee mug." Skarmory ordered. Chef Drapion mumbled something to himself as he left to fetch a boat. Obviously, the nearest coffee mug store was pretty far away from the island.

Skarmory handled the camera himself, positioning it so that he was the center of attention.

"Welcome back to another talented episode of Total Skarmory Island. Juggling sure is tough but that was my first try, don't judge. Last time, the contestants all cried like crybabies when they confronted the deadly Skarmory Mansion. The six lucky winners of the first challenge were exempted while the rest faced their biggest fear. A few didn't even attempt or try at all, what a shame. The viewers are probably curious to death. In the end, Archeops defeated her own chances of winning. The leadership role now lies on the hands of a certain steel type. In fact, both teams have a steel type leader. With an iron fist on one side and an iron blade on the other side, what will happen? Will Triple G stop using his 'Good Guy Grovyle' nickname and will the Crazy Crawdaunt win after a second consecutive loss? Find out in this exciting episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory finished.

* * *

Houndour stepped outside of his cabin as he stretched and yawned a bit. Today, he woke up a bit later than usual. The sun started to rise in the distance. Houndour stared at it before he noticed a piece of paper in front of his cabin. He picked it up and read it to himself.

"Houndour, meet me in the clearing with the giant tree." The message was pretty straightforward. The handwriting was neat as well.

"Who woke up before me? No, the better question is who would ask me to meet in that clearing? Duosion?" Houndour guessed. Seeing as there was no harm, he started to make his way there.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "I don't know about the handwriting or footprints of all the contestants so it could be anyone. Why am I thinking about this? It is probably Duosion. No need to worry." Houndour looked pretty confident.

* * *

Houndour maneuvered through the forest by running left and right, dodging the trees skillfully. He felt the adrenaline coursing in his body, the light of the morning made him feel energetic.

His eyes noticed the clearing at this point. Just a few more trees away…

"Tag, you are it!" Duosion said after sneakily tagged him behind a tree. Afterwards, she floated away quickly.

"Oh, you want to play it that way? Fine." Houndour replied. He was a bit surprised but he went along with it nonetheless. The canine didn't run at his full speed to give her a chance.

They playfully chased each other to the giant tree in the middle of the clearing. Duosion was very close to the tree. Houndour was a few steps behind her.

At the final moment, Houndour leaped into the air and tagged her.

"You are it." Houndour said, smiling in triumph. Duosion laughed as she landed next to the tree. Upon seeing this, Houndour laughed as well.

"This reminds me of the time we explored the cave." Duosion mentioned. "We used to have many adventures together." She turned to look at Houndour, who rested on the gigantic root of the tree. Seemingly, she expected a reply.

"Yeah, I kind of miss that cave. Despite my fears and all, I had a bit of fun with you and Meowth. Those were the prime days of Treasure Trio. Maybe, we should go back. It will be exciting!" Houndour suggested. Duosion didn't notice any sort of fear.

"I see that you overcame your phobia through the last challenge. That's great." Duosion was glad to see him like this.

There was a slight breeze incoming.

"So… why did you tell me to come here?" Houndour asked, focusing his eyes on her.

"I have a confession… I want to get this out of my mind." Duosion hesitated.

"Say it then. Whatever it is, I'm willing to listen." Houndour assured.

"Do you… like me?" Duosion asked, she wanted his answer first. Her practice with Ledyba didn't seem that useful in reality.

"I like and admire you. You are very brave, braver than me. None of the traps really scared you in Skarmory Cave. You are also helpful, helping me throughout challenges and stuff. More than that, your knowledge is certainly interesting. It is awesome to be around you." Houndour answered. Duosion expected something else, however.

"No, I mean like in a different way." Duosion corrected, floating up, staring intently at him. Houndour stood up as well, he took a bit of time to think of an answer. After an intense couple of seconds, he spoke up.

"Honestly, I'm not sure if I see you in that way…" Duosion looked a bit disappointed to hear this. "However, I'm willing to give it a shot if you want." Duosion lightened up at this.

"Really?" Duosion asked, she wanted reassurance.

"Well, a friend told me not to rush things. This decision will affect the rest of our lives. I want to make sure that I'm making the right decision. What is a better way other than trying it out?" Houndour said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I think I have a romantic interest in you, Houndour." Duosion finally confessed, blushing in the process.

"I have a bit too." Houndour admitted. Both of them were silent for a moment, letting the feeling sink in.

"Why don't we go and celebrate by exploring the snowy area? There is that gift shop and a café as well. That will be awesome for our first date, right? Come on!" Houndour broke the silence and gestured for her to follow him. Duosion smiled as she followed him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Even though I tried my best to hide it, I actually felt panned by his words. His advice about not rushing things… It is just my intuition but I think it was aimed toward me. Houndour was right. I only know him about a week, it is unlikely for a real romantic interest to be developed in this short period of time. Most likely, it is just a short term crush. Foolish me." Duosion sighed. "Love is just so complex."

 **Houndour:** "I think I made the right choice. I came up with this conclusion through my personal experience and Darmanitan's advice. Personally, I have a friend that go through some relationship problems. I learned from his mistakes. I don't want to name names or rat him out so I will end it just like that. This might come out as a surprise from me. Most Pokemon that I encountered thought that I'm the type that acts before he thinks just because I'm impatient. That is actually not the case. I always think before I act, most of the time. I'm impatient because I want to spend every single day like the last day of my life. Time is precious, you know?"

* * *

Snorunt sat on the benches alone, holding a pen and a diary. She wrote something down. Nosepass saw this, his curiosity urging him to ask. He hesitated at first but eventually gave in to his curiosity, hoping that she wouldn't mind him.

"What are you writing about?" Nosepass asked. He mentally prepared himself to run in case things go wrong.

Snorunt scrutinized him before she replied. "You seem harmless. I guess… it is probably fine to tell you. I'm writing my analysis on other contestants." Nosepass was shocked, he was about to flee.

"No, not what you think. I'm not trying to plan an evil scheme and vote someone out. I want to see who allies with who so that I can…" Snorunt hesitated, she didn't look sure about telling Nosepass.

"What?" Nosepass wanted an answer.

"You see, Helioptile's elimination was misjudged. So I want to clear her name and catch the culprit." Snorunt summarized it so that Nosepass could understand.

"I see… How are you capable of doing this?" Nosepass looked a bit baffled.

"I watch detective shows as my hobby." Snorunt revealed. Nosepass' face was pale upon hearing this.

"D-detective show? Blood and murders? Gore and pain? That kind of show isn't Nosepass friendly. I'm scared!" Nosepass fled as he screamed. Snorunt gave him a weird look, sighing and returned her attention to the diary.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "That kind of show will never get the Nosepass seal of approval. It isn't Nosepass friendly enough. I can't believe that Snorunt is one of those freaks that watch those M-rated shows. I thought that she is shy and relatable. I'm scared of her now."

 **Snorunt:** "I think Nosepass needs some professional help. No offense to him but I feel like he was overreacting. Detective shows can be kid-friendly. They help with problem solving and logical thinking. That is why my notes are so detailed. Speaking of my notes, I just wrote about a certain observation. Out of all the Pokemon in our team, Grovyle talked to nearly everyone. I don't know where his loyalty stands. He could be with us or _them_." Snorunt's voice was a bit sinister at the very end.

* * *

Bisharp paced back and forth in the Crawdaunt boys' cabin. Something was clearly in his mind. Suddenly, a noise interrupted him.

"I'm scared!" Nosepass screamed as he ran to the door. He didn't brake fast enough. As a result, he crashed straight through it, leaving a hole on the door. Bisharp's eyes were immediately alarmed.

"What's the matter? What could possibly have frightened you to this severe extent?" Bisharp asked.

Nosepass breathed heavily before he answered. "D-detective shows. Save me." Nosepass revealed, before hiding under his bed sheets.

Bisharp's eyes widened. He opened his mouth but he had nothing to say.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Nosepass sure is an… interesting contestant to put it lightly."

* * *

Grovyle returned back to his cabin. However, his jaw dropped once he saw the damage. Bisharp inspected it closely.

"What the hell happened?" Grovyle asked.

"Nosepass ran through the door for some strange reason." Bisharp explained.

"Sorry." Nosepass apologized quietly inside the cabin.

"How are we going to fix it?" Grovyle asked, scratching his head.

"I think fixing it is more expensive and time consuming than getting a replacement. Can you ask Chef Drapion or one of the interns to check?" Bisharp requested. Grovyle simply nodded. Through his actions and gestures, Grovyle potentially tried to keep a distance from Bisharp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Running straight through the door? Are you deadly serious? What the hell, man?"

 **Tyrunt:** "I just saw the damage and I'm not impressed in the slightest. At the durability of the door, not Nosepass of course. He is one of the only few I can trust. Skarmory probably bought cheap, delicate doors."

* * *

Chef Drapion stepped out of the boat with a silver coffee mug in hand. He tied the boat to the dock with ropes before he left to deliver the item to Skarmory. However, someone was running toward him on his way.

"What do you want?" Chef Drapion asked, his tone wasn't hospitable in the slightest.

"Can you fix the door?" Grovyle said bluntly.

Chef Drapion frowned as he pushed Grovyle out of his way, without a word. Grovyle glared at him with disgust.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Is that too much to ask for? He should be more generous and follow my example. I'm generous, kind, charitable…" The confessional was cut short.

* * *

Chef Drapion finally arrived at the Crawdaunt boys' cabin after he delivered the mug.

"Do I need to babysit all of you losers and that lazy host?" Chef Drapion complained.

"This is a rare occasion." Bisharp assured. Chef Drapion ignored it as he observed the cabin.

"I will get a new replacement just this once. Don't do anything stupid again or I else I will *beep* all of you." Chef Drapion warned threateningly. Nosepass gulped under his bed.

Bisharp felt worn out after dealing with this dispute.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** : "I messed up and others cleaned after my mess. I didn't do anything other than hiding under my bed sheets like a coward. I feel so horrible."

 **Bisharp:** "If this is what it means to be a team leader, I'm not exactly content. The stress and burden of this job reminds me of my parents' high expectations."

* * *

Bisharp sat on a dock, holding a fishing pole in hand. However, he didn't seem to pay a lot of attention to this activity of his.

"Tired?" Grovyle asked as he sat down next to him.

"Exhausted." Bisharp corrected.

"Dealing with all this jazz is tough, huh? Being a good guy is tough, man. I contributed so much to the team yet I feel unwelcomed." Grovyle whined.

"Unwelcomed? I doubt it. All the Crazy Crawdaunt members like you, Grovyle." Bisharp assured.

"No, I'm talking about that chef. He didn't see me right ever since the beginning of the game." Grovyle clarified.

"I'm fairly certain that Chef Drapion acts like that to most of us." Bisharp said, placing a hand on Grovyle's left shoulder. The gecko turned to look at him.

"I want you to be the leader, Grovyle. Everyone in the team or nearly everyone likes you. Also, I don't really care about how each of us plays this game anymore. You can leave my alliance or continue to stick with me. However, I will be less competitive and I can't guarantee you any spot in the finals. What is your decision?" Bisharp conveyed the big news to Grovyle. The gecko placed a hand on his chin and thought carefully.

"Really? You will let go of the leadership position, why? You don't care about all the glory anymore?" Grovyle asked, staring deeply into the eyes of the steel and dark type. The gecko noticed that the competitive fire in his eyes vanished unlike the Bisharp that he admired for his strategic prowess since the start of this show.

Bisharp nodded in reply.

"I said that I'm loyal so I will stick by you until the very end. I will also take the leadership position." Grovyle offered a handshake. Bisharp shook his hand with a smile.

"Thank you, my friend." It was unlike Bisharp to use this kind of language. Grovyle looked absolutely sure of it know, this wasn't the Bisharp that he knew. The gecko smiled as well, but the smile eventually turned into an evil grin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "By being the leader, I'm walking down the same path as Archeops. The path of self-destruction. Despite the power that I can gain, others will continue to have high expectations of me. I want to avoid that. Furthermore, it will increase the target on my back and give someone like Skrelp an opportunity to eliminate me. While I'm not that serious about winning, I will still try my best to advance as far as possible into the game without breaking my morals or values… Because no matter what, I need to maintain the honor of my family as the only child."

 **Grovyle:** "I'm honestly disappointed. I thought that he will be of use to me. I thought that he can be my strategist that do all the dirty work so that I can keep my hand clean as the good guy. I thought that he was smart for coming up with all the strategies. I kept my distance because of him. I voted who to eliminate based on him and now… he abandoned me. He no longer can get me to the very top. Fine, Bisharp. I can find a new ally…"

* * *

Scolipede sat alone in front of his cabin. He glanced around the clearing, observing many groups of Pokemon. Grovyle sat on the benches with Dedenne. Aromatisse polished her nails with Meowstic clinging by her side. The magician tried to play some tricks but Aromatisse wasn't interested. Scolipede sighed. He was tired of observing the other contestants and isolating himself.

"Why are you sitting here, alone by yourself? Surely, you can socialize. You used to have a girlfriend, right?" Ledyba asked.

"I can't really socialize. I used to socialize when I'm with the popular kids but after the break-up, I plummeted down to the bottom of the barrel. Therefore, my skills are rusty. All I can do now is observe and doubt others." Scolipede admitted, his eyes drooped a bit. Ledyba felt sorry for him.

"If you want, I will help you to rise back up to the best of my ability." Ledyba offered to help.

"Fine, a little bit of practice shouldn't hurt." Scolipede accepted.

"Hey! Ledyba, do you want to see my new magic trick?" Meowstic persuaded, clinging on to Ledyba.

"Sorry, I promise to help Scolipede. Maybe, next time." Ledyba politely declined.

"Scolipede..." Meowstic hissed his name as she left, clenching her fists.

"I think she has a personal problem." Scolipede said.

"Well, you ruined her tricks. Be nice to her and she will be nice to you back. She isn't a bad girl by any means." Ledyba suggested.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowstic:** "Scolipede, you friend stealer! I will eliminate you today at all costs!"

 **Scolipede:** "I don't really like magicians. To be honest, I despise them. They remind me of Muk."

 **Ledyba:** "I think both of them should try to reach a middle ground. Neither of them are right for how they acted against each other."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a conversation between Dedenne and Grovyle…

"I don't think I can trust Bisharp as our leader. He seems to be with Archeops and her gang, after all." Dedenne said doubtfully.

"Yeah, he is already ditching his leadership position and throw a burden on an innocent, good guy like me." Grovyle agreed.

"Really? I can't believe this, I will go and scold Bisharp." Dedenne was about to leave but Grovyle held her left arm.

"No, that's too risky. I don't want you to be in danger." Grovyle looked a bit alarmed.

"Aww… You are such a nice and considerate guy, Grovyle." Dedenne believed that Grovyle was looking out for her.

"Of course, I'm always here to help those that are in need." Grovyle felt flattered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "I have my complete faith in Grovyle. He's a good guy. Bisharp, on the other hand… I don't understand why Jumpluff is so attached to him. I need to eliminate that guy sooner or later for her sake. He is probably plotting evil schemes as of right now."

 **Grovyle:** "I gotta keep everyone on my side. So that in the end, they will basically hand me the victory. Good guys make it far in this game and I'm sure that I'm one of them goody two shoes. I mean I have so many good deeds like sharing noodles, changing Pancham into a better person, donate Skarmory tokens and so much more." Grovyle used his fingers to count. "I deserve to win this game, especially after I get my revenge against Bisharp. He backstabbed me, so he deserves everything that is coming for him."

* * *

Skrelp was inside her cabin, reading her book as usual. Drifblim and Heracross were in there as well, sitting on their respective beds.

"Why is Archeops handing the leadership role to Bisharp? I don't understand. I should have asked her yesterday." Heracross looked frustrated and worried.

"Rest assured, she did it with the intention to benefit the alliance." Skrelp assured. Heracross looked confused. Drifblim soon conformed to Heracross' reaction.

"Let me elaborate. Psychologically, it is common for the other contestants to associate Bisharp with Archeops due to the transfer of the leadership role. As a result, Bisharp will receive all the tension and heat from her enemies. On the other hand, we are under the radar for a little while even though we are actually closer to Archeops. Is my explanation clear enough?" Skrelp explained. Heracross and Drifblim both nodded, they looked impressed.

"Splendid." Skrelp returned her attention to her book.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I don't want to listen to Skrelp but I need her for now to survive. Take what you can get. I need to survive day by day until the merge. I don't care who gets the boot as long as it isn't me. The money will change my life. I need to do everything that I can to secure my victory."

 **Drifblim:** "Skrelp likes to show off her knowledge and I will let her do that. Put the target on her and less on me."

 **Skrelp:** "Without a bright counselor such as myself, the alliance would sink into the depths of the ocean. Those brain-dead imbeciles need someone to guide them."

* * *

Houndour and Duosion observed all the toy making machinery in the exhibit together.

"What is this? It looks old." Houndour asked every time he didn't know something.

"Oh, that is an old replica of the stuffing machine. It stuffs cotton into a plush." Duosion explained with the best of her knowledge.

They headed to the café afterwards. An Abomasnow intern was inside.

"My treat." Houndour was about to pay for their cups of hot chocolate.

"Are you sure? I can pay." Duosion offered to pay instead. In the end, they divided the price among themselves.

Houndour and Duosion then built a snowman, toured around the mansion and the cave.

At times, they laughed. Laughing at the goofy smile and misplaced facial features of the snowman.

At times, they embraced each other for warmth and comfort during their adventure inside the cold and freezing Ice Skarmory Cave.

At last, they returned to the campsite once Skarmory declared another challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "I feel like our bonding time there was great and memorable. Couldn't ask for anything else."

 **Duosion:** "I want that moment to linger just a little longer. Sometimes, I want time to move at a slower pace."

* * *

After all the contestants were presented next to his shop, Skarmory made a special announcement. "Tomorrow, there will be an auction for a wide variety of items. Trust me, you will want all of it."

"What are the items?" Meowth asked with interest. He rubbed his hands together in excitement.

"I will keep it as a secret for now. Moving on to the challenge." Skarmory continued. "Each team will send out five of their members to battle it out in a Talent Show. Chef Drapion and I will be the judges. Each of us will give a maximum score of ten points. Head off right away." Skarmory smirked as he finished.

"Is this all? Very unoriginal and cliché." Drifblim insulted the challenge.

"You will see…" From the look of his eyes, he was ready to drop a surprise later.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "What will be the twist this time? Everyone that didn't volunteer to compete gets to compete instead?"

* * *

Next to the cabins for the Feckless Flygon, Lucario led his team as always.

"Team, we should have a wide variety of talents, both physical and mental as well as artistic. I can showcase my strength. That's one physical talent. Any volunteers?" Lucario looked around at his teammates. He averted his eyes from weak members like Meowstic. The magician waved her hand rapidly and profusely. However, she couldn't get the attention she desired.

"My talent includes existing, floating and being invincible to most attacks." Shedinja stated the obvious, his voice was flat.

"Thanks, captain obvious." Lucario replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"At least I'm not captain oblivious." Shedinja retorted.

"Who is captain oblivious?" Machoke questioned as he scratched his head.

"Me! Me! Me!" Meowstic repeated, trying to get attention from Lucario. Machoke nodded, thinking that Meowstic was captain oblivious.

"Anyone?" Lucario ignored her. Meowstic seethed and fumed.

"I can do a lot of stuff blindfolded." Darmanitan volunteered.

"Great, that is both mental and physical." Lucario was content to see another volunteer other than the 'great magician'.

"I can recite an ancient piece of poetry." Duosion volunteered as well.

"I can play the Pokeflute." Ledyba volunteered shortly after.

"Me!" Meowstic screamed. Lucario closed his ears as well as Scolipede. Ledyba looked at the magician with sympathy. Miltank started to get annoyed. Darmanitan didn't seem bothered by the noise one bit.

"I can play a trick with a Skarmory token." Meowth indicated since no one other than Meowstic volunteered.

"Hey! I'm the magician around here! I'm the one who is supposed to play tricks!" Meowstic screamed and rebelled childishly by rolling on the ground, kicking her leg rapidly into the air and cried heavily.

"Shut up! We are trying to discuss things here!" Heracross shouted from the other side of the clearing. The Crazy Crawdaunt members seemed annoyed by their commotion.

"Maybe, we should let her compete." Ledyba suggested. Meowstic nodded.

"And then we will lose." Lucario said, crossing his arms. "Shut the hell up!" He then proceeded to shout at Meowstic.

"Lucario, I think I will step away from this talent business. Meowstic seemed to be more qualified and motivated to take this job. My trick isn't that spectacular or mind-blowing by any means." Meowth gave up his position.

"Are you sure? You can ignore her childish behavior." Lucario seemed hesitant in letting Meowstic compete.

"Absolutely sure. This is the real deal." Meowth assured.

"Fine. Meowstic, you can compete." Lucario said unwillingly. Scolipede didn't look content with this outcome either. In contrast, Meowstic's face lightened up immediately.

"Thank you so much, Meowth!" Meowstic expressed her gratitude.

"Not a big deal." Meowth replied.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "In business, you need to form many connections even with smaller businesses like Meowstic. Perhaps, she can return the favor one day. If not, I have alternatives. On another note, I will show my talent to the viewers exclusively."

Meowth showed a Skarmory token. On one side, there was the face of the host himself. On the other side, there was nothing.

"Heads equal Skarmory. Tails equal the empty side." Meowth informed. He flipped the coin into the air and covered it with his hand.

"Heads." Meowth predicted. He opened his hand and it was heads.

"Again." Meowth repeated to ensure the validity of his trick.

"Tails." Meowth predicted and he was correct again.

Meowth repeated the trick again.

"12.5% chance for me to get this right due to chance. Heads." Meowth opened his hand and Skarmory's face was shown.

"How did I do this? I rubbed the surface of the coin secretly, of course. The side with Skarmory's face will be rougher than the empty side. Is this talent spectacular by any means? No, however, it should worth a decent amount of points."

 **Meowstic:** "I will sabotage the challenge and frame Scolipede. That jerk is going to go home, today!"

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt members were also discussing their strategy near their cabins.

"I have an important announcement. I want Grovyle to be the leader." Bisharp addressed his teammates, holding his hands behind his back.

"Throwing your responsibility away, huh?" Dedenne accused. Bisharp frowned.

"Hey! If he doesn't want to be the leader, he doesn't need to." Jumpluff defended him.

"Calm down, I can be the leader. Please stop arguing." Grovyle didn't want the argument to continue, there was a sign of worry in his eyes.

"Any objections to this?" Bisharp asked for feedback from the less vocal members.

"I'm fine with him being the leader." Tyrunt didn't complain.

"The guy isn't half bad." Heracross agreed.

"A nice change of pace. I like it." Drifblim voted for Grovyle as well.

Rhyhorn just nodded.

"He is alright, I guess." Nosepass decided to go along with everyone else.

Skrelp preferred Bisharp to stay as the leader. However, she was severely outnumbered. She casted glares at her two alliance members before she spoke.

"I will conform with the majority to speed up the process." Skrelp said, clearly looking annoyed.

Grovyle walked up to the front as Bisharp retreated back to the other members. All eyes were on him. "Alright, I will be your new leader now and I will ensure our victory with my cool-headed leadership style." Grovyle spoke his first sentence as the leader of the Crazy Crawdaunt.

"First, we need to have cool and good talents. Anyone wants to step up to the task?" Grovyle looked around for any volunteers.

"I can make ice sculptures." Snorunt told him.

"Great. Anyone else?" Grovyle searched for more volunteers.

"I can stack things up very high." Drifblim volunteered.

"Perhaps, my sharpshooting skills will be useful." Bisharp volunteered as well.

"Perfect, anyone else?" Grovyle seemed pleased with everything so far until…

"Hey! I'm the magician here! I'm the one who is supposed to play tricks!" Meowstic screamed from afar.

"Shut up! We are trying to discuss things here!" Heracross shouted back to the other team.

"Thanks Heracross, as I was saying… anyone else?" Grovyle continued.

"I can interpret a piece of literature in many different ways." Skrelp revealed her talent.

"Boring." Grovyle denied, giving her a disapproving look. Skrelp gave him an annoyed look in return.

"If nobody else volunteers, I will. I can run through rocks." Rhyhorn spoke up after remaining silent for so long.

"Better than Skrelp. Literature, seriously? This is a talent show, not a reading contest." Grovyle mocked.

"Poorly educated…" Skrelp mumbled something unpleasant under her breath.

"For the final spot, I will take it. I can do some plain old juggling." Grovyle volunteered himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "Wait until I send your sorry ass packing, Gruesome Guy Grovyle."

 **Grovyle:** "I can get rid of her sorry face anytime. Why? Because I'm likable. If I tell the others to vote for her, they will vote with me."

 **Snorunt:** "I hope that I will perform well enough."

 **Nosepass:** "I feel happy that I don't need to do anything and that makes me feel even more useless."

* * *

"I got the list of competitors and their talents from each team. The backstage will be filled with props. Except for one thing. Lucario, your talent is taming a Sharpedo. You need to find one on your own." Skarmory told the professional athlete.

"I can do that easily." Lucario spoke confidently. The Crazy Crawdaunt seemed intimidated.

Suddenly, Skarmory said something.

"One last twist…" Skarmory paused to build up suspense. All the contestants focused their attention to him, except for the likes of Shedinja.

"What is a real talent? The ability to do something after you practiced for ages? No, it is something that is usually gifted from birth. Therefore, you should be able to do it in a short period of time. Instead of the contestants in this list competing, they will act as a teacher and transfer their talent to the non-competitor of their choice. You have one hour, train your student and we will start." Skarmory revealed the twist. This complicated the situation for many. Some looked stressed like Lucario. Some panicked like Nosepass and Jumpluff. Worst of all, Meowstic's heart shattered from this twist.

The team leaders rallied their teammates once again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Well, I was technically correct. What an unexpected twist. Gasp!" Drifblim said sarcastically.

 **Grovyle:** "Juggling isn't that tough, better than teaching someone literature or whatever that is."

 **Heracross:** "If I'm selected, I prefer to tackle some rocks. I can do that pretty well as a fighting type. I want my score to be high so that I beat a certain bug. Only if that Pokemon competes, that is."

 **Lucario:** "This twist might ruin everything. Damn it! I rather rely on myself than my unreliable teammates. Not many of them can hold the candle. For sure, Aromatisse can't perform my talent."

 **Duosion:** "Let's see… I prefer to teach Houndour out of everyone personally."

 **Meowstic:** "Where is my audience? Where is my applause? Basically, I'm sweating blood and tears to teach a random Pokemon that will get all the praise… This is unfair! Wait, Scolipede might compete… This is my chance to get my revenge. My tricks will no longer be revealed by that disrespectful bug!" Meowstic suddenly looked evil.

* * *

On the Feckless Flygon side…

"Who can take on a Sharpedo?" Lucario asked. He ignored Pokemon like Aromatisse.

"I can. I will give it a good knock on the head and make it carry me around." Miltank said, looking very confident.

"I feel pity for the Sharpedo that is going to carry Miltank." Machoke sympathized. Miltank heard this and walked over to him.

"Are you calling me fat?" Miltank lifted her right fist up threateningly.

"No! I never mean that. I just feel bad because… you are going beat it up." Machoke reasoned, stepping back slowly.

"He means no harm. Just chillin'." Darmanitan helped Machoke out.

"Better be careful, muscle boy." Miltank huffed. She relaxed her fist and Machoke sighed.

"Geez, there are heavier contestants like Scolipede. I don't understand why she hates weight so much. I want to gain some weight of my own." Machoke mumbled to himself.

"Nice one, captain oblivious." Shedinja drawled.

"Eh?" Machoke scratched his head.

"Homie, want to be my boy? I can teach you new techniques." Darmanitan offered.

"Totally cool with me." Machoke accepted.

"Houndour, want to be my partner?" Duosion asked.

"Absolutely! Do you even need to ask?" Houndour said as if it wasn't obvious enough.

"Who wants to try the Pokeflute?" Ledyba asked, she seemed fine with anyone.

"I want to try. I'm decent when it comes to music." Scolipede volunteered. Meowstic grinned at this.

"Who wants to be my magical apprentice?" Meowstic asked and no one answered.

"I said who wants to be my magical apprentice?!" Meowstic raised her voice.

"No one." Shedinja stated the obvious. Meowstic groaned as she pulled her ears.

"If no one wants to, I guess I can…" Cryogonal seemed hesitant.

"Yay, take one for the team." Shedinja said unenthusiastically. Cryogonal was a bit annoyed by this.

"Maybe, you should do it instead, Shedinja. Maybe, your witty remarks will earn us a few points." Cryogonal persuaded.

"Whatever." Shedinja didn't seem to mind or care. Meowstic saw a glint of opportunity.

"Alright! Head off and train!" Lucario instructed loudly and clearly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowstic:** "I will sabotage the challenge and Scolipede will be eliminated. Hahaha…" Meowstic laughed evilly.

 **Lucario:** "I think it is a well-known fact that Magikarp is more talented than Meowstic at this point. Although, I still don't really regret voting for him. Magikarp is both incompetent and disobedient."

* * *

On the Crazy Crawdaunt side…

"Pick and match, guys. I give you the freedom to do so." Grovyle wasn't that bossy, his teammates seemed to appreciate that.

"I can be a sharpshooter because I play a few shooter games myself." Tyrunt told Bisharp.

"Are you sure? Video games and reality can be vastly different." Bisharp warned.

"Yeah, I know but I think I'm the best choice we got." Tyrunt sounded a bit confident.

"I will help you to improve upon this talent then." Bisharp accepted Tyrunt as his student.

Heracross walked over to Rhyhorn. "I can crush a few rocks easily. You don't need to teach me." She gave him a confident smile.

"Your choice." Rhyhorn said simply.

"I think stacking things will be easy." Dedenne gave her opinion.

"It usually depends on what we are stacking." Drifblim told.

"Personally, it is better than juggling and making ice sculptures." Dedenne desired the stacking talent.

"Your height will be a detriment, be careful." Drifblim cautioned.

"Dedenne, I think I should do this instead. I don't really like cold stuff and juggling is tough." Jumpluff said, looking concerned.

"I'm at a disadvantage as well…" Dedenne looked hesitant.

"There's no need to argue, girls. I got a solution. The winner gets to choose. Heads or tails?" Grovyle flipped a token up into the air and covered it with his hands.

"Gosh, that's a great idea! I will go for heads." Jumpluff chose before Dedenne.

"Tails is fine for me." Dedenne didn't mind it.

Grovyle slowly revealed the token. It was tails.

"Aw. I lost. Well, I lost fair and square at least." Jumpluff said in disappointment. Dedenne got stacking and Jumpluff chose juggling as an alternative choice.

It all came down to the final two, Nosepass and Skrelp.

"Physical challenges aren't my forte." Skrelp reminded.

"I just suck at everything." Nosepass had zero confidence.

"Heads or tails." Grovyle solved the situation with luck once again.

"Heads." Nosepass chose, he prayed for the best.

Skrelp looked a bit doubtful. "I'm not well assured. It is in the realm of possibilities for you to manipulate the coin. This is especially concerning for me considering that we aren't in good terms. Let an arbitrator decide this fairly instead." Skrelp suggested. Grovyle looked offended.

"Hey! Be nice to your team leader." Dedenne defended him.

"It's okay. You make a valid point. Bisharp, do it for her." Grovyle maturely compromised. Skrelp didn't argue any further but she exchanged glares with Dedenne.

"Heads." Bisharp showed the coin. Nosepass sighed in relief.

"Skrelp, you must do it." Grovyle demanded. Skrelp frowned at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I don't like his attitude."

 **Dedenne:** "Skrelp is so unfriendly and cold. I will vote for her if we lose."

 **Grovyle:** "I tried to help and how did Skrelp repay me? With a cold shoulder, I suppose. What a *beep*."

 **Nosepass:** "I want to contribute to the team but it is just so difficult. It sucks to be me."

* * *

Lucario dragged a random Sharpedo out from the sea and threatened it to follow Miltank's orders. The Sharpedo obeyed out of fear.

Duosion helped Houndour to memorize the ancient poem. Houndour took several attempts to get the hang of it.

The blocks used for stacking were rectangular, smooth and straight. Easy for stacking. However, Dedenne's height was still an issue. She used a ladder to elevate herself. The first try, she stacked about twenty blocks before they all crumbled down. The second try, twenty-five blocks. The third try, twenty-eight blocks. Needless to say, she gradually improved.

Heracross practiced independently, Rhyhorn didn't seem to mind. However, he stayed close to observe her progress.

Tyrunt was naturally talented at aiming. However, he had one single problem. Tyrunt struggled to lift the gun, which was pretty heavy.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "I think I'm ready. Are you ready?" Miltank asked the trembling Sharpedo next to her. He nodded in fear before secretly lifting up a sign with the words 'Help me!'.

 **Houndour:** "Duosion was very supportive and encouraging when we practiced. I'm glad to be her partner in this challenge."

 **Dedenne:** "I wish to be taller sometimes. Being a small Pokemon just comes with so many disadvantages."

 **Heracross:** "I don't need Rhyhorn to teach me. Smashing rocks is an easy task. I have suffered through worse."

 **Tyrunt:** "In games, you only need to push a few buttons. I wish real life is just like that. Push a few buttons and everything is done."

* * *

In the beach area…

Grovyle juggled three tennis balls continuously, not even breaking a sweat. Jumpluff watched in awe.

"This is how you do it. Amazing?" Grovyle stopped momentarily and asked Jumpluff.

"Totally! I want to be as good as you but my cotton puffs are probably not the most suitable things for juggling. Is there any kind of special, secret technique?" Jumpluff asked, looking at her arms and Grovyle's.

"Well, to be honest. I don't know how to teach someone to be as good as me. I'm naturally talented. I doubt that anyone can be as good as me." Grovyle pointed to himself.

"Then, we are doomed! How am I going to do the challenge? I don't want to make a fool of myself on stage." Jumpluff panicked.

"Just keep practicing." Grovyle advised. That was all the help Jumpluff got.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Teaching isn't my occupation. It's her problem anyways. What can I do?" Grovyle shrugged.

 **Jumpluff:** Jumpluff juggled two instead of three balls inside the confessional. She struggled as she kept dropping it. "Oh no, I'm screwed!"

* * *

In the forest, there was something hanging on a tree.

Darmanitan put a blindfold on and lifted a baseball bat up. He demonstrated his talent to Machoke by walking calmly and opening his mouth to count the steps. Finally, he reached the Pikachu piñata, swinging with all his might, the piñata was smashed.

"Estimate the number of your steps, stay calm and swing." Darmanitan taught. Machoke tried to copy his walking and swinging action.

"Got it, homie?" Darmanitan asked.

"Yeah, I will use my Power Piñata Smash Technique." Machoke gave him a thumb up before he tried doing it for real. The end result was…

Machoke swung and hit the tree instead. He removed his blindfold to check his performance.

"Damn it." Machoke was disappointed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "That is tough. I did everything that Darmanitan told me to and I still failed. I stayed calm and counted… Wait, did I count?" Machoke scratched his head in oblivion.

 **Darmanitan:** "He was actually pretty close. A few steps off."

* * *

In the snowy area…

Next to Snorunt was an assortment of tools, ranging from saws to chisels. In front of her was a solid ice block. Snorunt was about to demonstrate but Skrelp didn't pay attention. This annoyed the ice type.

"Skrelp, please pay attention." Snorunt said, trying to not raise her voice. Skrelp turned her eyes slowly toward Snorunt in a cold manner. It was as if something wasn't already obvious enough.

"It is easily comprehensible that I lack the physical capabilities and type affinities in this challenge. Even with effort, perseverance and resolve taken into account, the probability of success is close to zero. I suggest replacing me with Nosepass as his rock typing will be advantageous in the carving of ice sculptures." Skrelp analyzed. Her eyes waited for Snorunt to reply coldly.

"I see…" Snorunt followed her suggestions and left to get Nosepass.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Snorunt:** "Skrelp made a valid point. However, she seems to be the type that doesn't try at all when the odds stack against her. She doesn't step out of her comfort zone much. It is a bit hypocritical of me to say this as I don't really step out of my comfort zone either. At least, I try new things more than her."

 **Skrelp:** "Why should I waste my irreversible, precious time when it is inevitable that I will fail? I signed up for this show because I'm 100% confident that my intellectual abilities will carry me to victory."

* * *

Nosepass stayed in his cabin. He sat on his bed and did nothing. He didn't even want to show his face to the other contestants. He felt too ashamed. All he managed to accomplish was wasting his time by staring at the floor.

There was a knock on the door. Nosepass turned his head to the source of the sound.

"Nosepass, can I talk with you?" Snorunt asked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Why am I even here if all I'm going to do is hiding like a coward? I dream of being a smarter, stronger and cooler Pokemon. All I can do is wish and hopefully those qualities will fly over to me. That just sounds pathetic. Maybe, I should compete in the Talent Show…"

* * *

Meowstic didn't bother teaching Shedinja. She spied on Scolipede and Ledyba. Seemingly, the two were having fun playing the Pokeflute.

"Are you trying to teach me how to stalk someone?" Shedinja appeared next to her. Meowstic didn't expect this so she jumped up in surprise.

"Don't scare me like that again!" Meowstic scolded.

"I didn't do anything to scare you. You scared yourself." Shedinja retorted.

"Just don't get near me." Meowstic said before she left. Shedinja didn't care.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowstic:** "I can't believe that Ledyba ditched me for Scolipede. I thought that I'm her friend. Screw the show! I want Shedinja to get zero so we lose."

* * *

The Talent Show finally started in the auditorium. On the stage, Skarmory sat on the judges' table with Chef Drapion. A coffee mug and a schedule could also be seen on the table, for Skarmory of course.

Most of the contestants that didn't compete sat on the front row seats. Although a few like Skrelp preferred to sit at the back. All of the competing contestants were in the backstage. Meowstic sat on the seat that was closest to the backstage door.

"We will now begin our wonderful Talent Show!" Skarmory announced.

"Fabulous." Aromatisse commented as she snacked on diet popcorn. Her body glittered and shined more than usual today. Apparently, she got more time with her make-up by not competing.

"More like untalented show. I want to point and laugh at some losers." Chef Drapion retorted. Skarmory rolled his eyes.

"Our first contestant is a tough cookie. However, will she be tough enough against a Sharpedo? Please welcome Miltank!" Skarmory introduced Miltank and her talent.

Miltank walked out, carrying a Sharpedo. The Sharpedo was obedient and submissive. Noticeably, his eyes were black and there were bandages covering his back. Miltank dropped the Sharpedo on the ground.

"Catch." Miltank threw a ball and Sharpedo crawled over quickly to catch it.

"Open your mouth." Miltank commanded and Sharpedo did it. Miltank placed her head inside his mouth. The Sharpedo didn't dare to bite her. Skarmory looked a bit impressed. Chef Drapion yawned.

"Now, carry me." Miltank ordered. She sat on the Sharpedo and his back made snapping and cracking sounds. The spectators cringed at this. The Sharpedo fainted before he finished the final task.

"Hey! We aren't done yet." Miltank tried to shake the Sharpedo awake but she failed. Giving up, she turned to face the judges.

"That is brutal, literally Sharpedo abuse. Even though the Sharpedo was completely tamed, I can't give you more than a four." Skarmory rated.

"What is with the stigma around Sharpedo being threatening? Find a tougher Pokemon. Three." Chef Drapion was a bit more critical. Miltank groaned as she left.

"Up next, we have a little Pokemon with a big dream. The dream of stacking blocks. Please welcome Dedenne!" Skarmory read the schedule.

Dedenne exited the backstage and politely bowed to the judges. Skarmory smiled at this but Chef Drapion glared at her.

Dedenne opened a box filled with stacking blocks. She stacked the first ten or so without the help of her ladder. After the tenth block, she used the ladder to elevate herself. It was a bit unstable but she kept her balance.

After the fifteenth block, the tower shook slightly.

After the twentieth block, the tower shook a bit more. The Crazy Crawdaunt looked at it with anticipation and hope.

"You can do this! Get thirty at least." Jumpluff cheered. Unknown to her, this added more pressure to Dedenne. The mouse sweated.

After the twenty-fifth block…

The tower collapsed. The Crazy Crawdaunt looked disappointed.

"Twenty-five divided by five equals five. Five points for me." Skarmory gave his score.

"Two. Stacking blocks is easy." Chef Drapion tied the score between the two teams. Dedenne stared at Chef Drapion resentfully.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "Chef Drapion is so biased. Just because he doesn't like me doesn't mean he has the rights to give me an unfair score."

* * *

"Next, the first-person shooter master. The controller grappler. Tyrunt and his sharpshooting skills!" Skarmory presented dramatically.

Tyrunt walked to the stage with a small, black pistol. It was light, making it perfect for him. A target was placed at the other end of the stage. After a moment of deep breaths, Tyrunt shot the bullet out…

It hit the bullseye.

"Eight, not bad." Skarmory commented.

"Seven, could have been better." Chef Drapion looked a bit impressed.

Tyrunt smiled, feeling satisfied about his performance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I luckily found a lighter gun. It looks like my luck stat is pretty high."

* * *

"Next, the impatient canine. The one that explored the legendary Skarmory Cave. In contrast to his adventures, he will recite an ancient, unnamed war poem instead." Skarmory moved on. Duosion looked excited.

Houndour quickly got to the stage. He coughed a few times before he spoke into the microphone in front of him.

"This flourishing land we called home, once filled with flowers…" Houndour tried to create immersion through his tone. The tone was somewhat nostalgic at first.

"Is violated and tainted, due to our superior enemy and..." Houndour paused a bit. Bisharp looked as if he heard this somewhere but couldn't remember it fully. Skrelp listened with interest.

"Ourselves! Our pitiful showcase of cowardice, how odious and disgraceful…" Nosepass heard this from the backstage. He looked at himself with anger clear on his face.

"We chose to hide, accepting their demands with fake smiles…" Houndour looked a bit unconfident but a reassuring smile from Duosion encouraged him.

"Throwing our treasures and tremendous resources, resorting to live cruelly…" Houndour's voice started to turn serious.

"Children join bandit groups; adults bribe the righteous royal army…" This made the audience feel horrible, the poem was very dark.

"Not enough to kill fellow Pokemon, we kill our land…" Houndour recited the poem pretty fluently so far. Both judges gave nods of approval.

"Therefore, we will willingly… fight back and obliterate them all!" Houndour ended deafeningly. He immediately drank a bottle of water after he finished. He looked at the judges and sighed.

"I did my best." Houndour told himself.

"I have heard better. Still, you did great. Nine." Skarmory applaud as well as the Feckless Flygon.

"Eight, I'm being generous." Chef Drapion didn't applause but he looked impressed nonetheless.

Houndour exited the stage and sat next to Duosion. The two hugged each other.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Such a shame that it was unnamed. Historical records suggest that it actually has a name but many Pokemon since long forgot it, including the time it was created. On another topic, Houndour did great. I'm proud of him!"

* * *

"Here comes the man with many techniques… Please welcome Machoke!" Skarmory announced the next contestant. Darmanitan cheered.

Machoke entered the stage with a blindfold on, holding a baseball bat. His objective was to hit the Pikachu piñata. Unfortunately, the fighting type forgot to estimate the number of steps and ended up walking around like a fool. Chef Drapion pointed and laughed at him.

Machoke swung the bat around, he hit nothing so far. Until… he approached the judges.

"Where's the piñata?" Machoke asked, clearly confused. He accidentally smashed the judges' table.

"Hey! Watch out!" Chef Drapion ducked, narrowly dodging the bat. Skarmory flew away at this point. Machoke swung again.

"*beep*!" Chef Drapion swore as Machoke hit his face. Many gasped at the sight. However, Dedenne couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Did I hit the piñata?" Machoke asked, he was completely oblivious.

"Homie… You hit the chef." Darmanitan told. Machoke was shocked, he lifted his blindfold off his head.

"I'm sorry." Machoke apologized, feeling guilty.

"Zero!" Chef Drapion shouted before grabbing the baseball bat and chased Machoke around.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** He was covered in bruises and bandages. "I got a big fat zero from both judges. Damn, I'm getting eliminated for sure."

* * *

After Chef Drapion calmed down, Skarmory continued. "Next, the intimidating beetle with her rock crushing skills. Heracross!"

Heracross stomped over to the stage and ran at full speed. She tackled a few rocks and her talent was over just like that. She looked at the judges with a confident expression, expecting a good score.

"Boring, three." Skarmory gave his score.

"Four for me." This was the first time that Chef Drapion gave a score higher than Skarmory.

Heracross looked dissatisfied.

"Up next, the ghost bug with apathy and magic tricks, Shedinja." Skarmory called out the next contestant.

Shedinja floated slowly to the stage. He had a pack of cards with him. Heracross looked at him mockingly. Shedinja didn't care.

"Today, I will show you how to be a 'great magician'." Shedinja drawled.

"First, because the audience is incredibly stupid, you can get away with anything." Shedinja said sarcastically. "For example, putting scratch marks on the cards." Shedinja continued. Meowstic had a scowl on her face.

"To make sure that the answers are even more obvious to the magician and oblivious for the audience, just write the answer at the back of the cards." Shedinja said unenthusiastically. His lack of enthusiasm failed to engage the audience but it was comedic in a sense.

Shedinja shuffled the cards sluggishly before he handed one card to the judges. The words "Two of hearts" was written on the back.

"It is two of hearts." Shedinja guessed. Skarmory revealed it and it was a two of hearts like expected.

"Show's over. I'm not responsible for any flying tomatoes if anyone wants to try this at home." Shedinja said as he left the stage.

"Pretty funny, four." Skarmory seemed a bit entertained.

"What?! How is this possible? The score should be lower!" Meowstic protested, her teammates gave her a critical look.

"Four as well." Chef Drapion agreed. Heracross looked frustrated.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I got beaten by one point. Are you kidding me?"

 **Meowstic:** "Looks like I need to step up my game in the final round."

* * *

Jumpluff was next. At first, she juggled two balls just fine but after another ball was added…

She messed up terribly and got a four from each judge. Grovyle shook his head in disappointment. Bisharp looked at her with sympathy.

Jumpluff looked as if she wanted to cry. Luckily, Dedenne and Tyrunt consoled her.

"He is weak and worrisome. However, will the stars of underdogs shine upon him? We have Nosepass as the final member for the Crazy Crawdaunt!" Skarmory announced.

Nosepass slowly moved to the stage. He sweated horribly. Next to him was a block of ice. Using his nose, he carved the block painfully slowly. It took ages for him to create a horizontal line. His nose was blue and frozen.

"This… is all I c-can do." Nosepass said nervously to the judges.

"Two for effort." Skarmory said generously.

"One." It didn't appeal Chef Drapion one bit. Nosepass left to his team with a sagged shoulder.

Noticeably, Meowstic disappeared.

"Last but not least, the skeptic with a flute, Scolipede!" Skarmory announced.

Scolipede rose to the stage confidently with a Pokeflute. Unknown to him, a spotlight fell down from the ceiling and collided with his head.

"Ouch!" Scolipede collapsed.

"Infirmary!" Skarmory was alarmed.

"Serves you right, Scolipede!" Meowstic exited the backstage and added insult to injury.

Her team gave her accusing looks.

"You *beep*, you did this!" Scolipede swore accusingly as Chef Drapion carried him to the infirmary.

"You have no proof." Meowstic folded her arms.

"There are cameras in the backstage." Lucario stated. Meowstic gulped.

"Well, it looks like the Crazy Crawdaunt win." Skarmory told them the final result. The Crazy Crawdaunt cheered in giddiness at their lucky victory.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "I'm so disappointed in her. I thought that she is a more mature Pokemon that simply seeks attention like someone I know."

 **Lucario:** "*beep*! We lost again! I'm tired of having incompetent losers in my team!"

 **Machoke:** "I think I'm going home. Who else there is to vote for? Maybe I should ask Darmanitan."

 **Meowstic:** "Scolipede, that *beep*. You ruined my career!"

 **Scolipede:** "Ludicrous! Who the hells drop a spotlight on someone else's head because of petty jealousy?"

* * *

Skarmory stood in front of the contestants with a plate of Leppa Berries. The bonfire ceremony was about to start again. Everyone distanced themselves from Meowstic.

"I will get to the point, Lucario, Houndour, Cryogonal and Duosion."

"Darmanitan and Meowth. Both of you are also safe." Skarmory continued.

"Miltank"

"Ledyba"

"Shedinja"

"Aromatisse"

"Machoke" Machoke sighed in relief. Scolipede clutched his wound and looked at Meowstic with disgust.

"Scolipede, you got injured. Meowstic, you caused the injury. By a landslide, the eliminated contestant is…" Meowstic looked nervous, she fiddled around with her hands anxiously.

…

…

"Meowstic."

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I despise Scolipede. That jerk! I hope he loses really badly. The only one left in the island that I like is Ledyba. Everyone else betrayed me, maybe except for Meowth. I thought that I'm in Lucario's alliance. I'm supposed to make it far and become a successful magician.

* * *

Meowstic carried her belongings over to the Lapras. Ledyba hesitantly came to see her off.

"I know that I can trust you." Meowstic beamed.

"Meowstic, what you did was wrong. I want you to apologize to Scolipede." Ledyba said, looking serious.

"What? No way, he brainwashes you too? Ledyba, why did you leave me? I thought that you like my magic tricks. Everyone like my magic tricks until Scolipede…" Meowstic looked miserable.

"Meowstic, the truth is your magic tricks were… below average. I watch it to make you feel better." Ledyba made an understatement.

Meowstic nearly lost her balance.

"This isn't true… This isn't true!" Meowstic had a look of disbelief as the Lapras departed. The magician whined and screamed on her way to Loser Island.

Ledyba sighed as she left. Afterwards, Skarmory landed and ended the episode.

"Well, well, well, another contestant bites the dust! This time, it is the 'great magician'. Someone finally entered the infirmary again and juicy drama happened. What will happen next time? For sure, I can guarantee something. The next challenge will be very unique. See you next time on Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Votes**

Lucario: Meowstic

Darmanitan: Meowstic

Houndour: Meowstic

Duosion: Meowstic

Shedinja: Meowstic

Meowth: Meowstic

Meowstic: Scolipede

Cryogonal: Meowstic

Scolipede: Meowstic

Ledyba: Meowstic

Miltank: Meowstic

Aromatisse: Meowstic

Machoke: Meowstic

Meowstic: 12 (eliminated)

Scolipede: 1

* * *

The ancient poem is something I planned for a different story. If you read my first story, you might have a clue of who created it.

Anyways, this chapter was changed a lot since the beginning of the planning process. At first, I intended for Meowstic to be a bit smarter and manipulate Ledyba into doubting Scolipede. However, I scrap the idea due to many reasons. The votes were supposed to be neck and neck with Scolipede winning by one vote. If I initially go with this, it might be more intense and exciting. However, I think it contradicts with their character development. Therefore, I changed it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

About Meowstic's elimination… To be honest, I rushed it because I was very late. It could have been better but it was still acceptable in my opinion. I will try to take my time in the next chapter. This is why this chapter came out even later than usual. I will give you a hint about my country. Somewhere in Asia. Shedinja is the best written character? In a comedic sense, yes. All of his lines are humorous at times. Depends on the reader, really. Lucario and Darmanitan both compete in the Pokeathlon, remember? One is a casual, another is competitive. Well, I give it a nine because I take a decent amount of time to create that poem. It is kind of like rewarding myself.

 **WhiteDiamondNinja8484**

Shedinja got a lot of fans. I'm surprised. I didn't expect that. Well, glad to see that you like Scolipede. He is somewhere between trust and distrust at the moment. He wants to trust but he needs to have a solid evidence.

* * *

 **Episode 10: Prison Sweet Prison**

Skarmory held the ear of the mug with his right wing, tilting the mug slightly so he could sip the refreshing coffee inside. However, he accidentally spilled some of the coffee. Skarmory frowned at this.

"What a waste of good coffee. Chef Drapion, you better clean up this mess later." Skarmory ordered, a groaning sound could be heard behind the camera.

"Last time, the contestants splashed like a Magikarp in the Talent Show. No one got a single ten while a certain technician got two big fat zeros." Skarmory recapped.

"Technician? More like a blind buffoon with a baseball bat." Chef Drapion mocked.

"Agreeable. The others also performed mediocrely. I guess our twist really knocked them out of the park in the last challenge there." Skarmory used a baseball metaphor.

"Are you using some kind of baseball joke to mock me?" Chef Drapion questioned, glaring at Skarmory in the process.

"Three strikes and Chef Drapion was out. Man, the technician got a homerun in the last challenge." Skarmory continued. Chef Drapion looked even more frustrated.

"He wasn't even eliminated! How the hell did that *beep* god ugly buffoon still here? *beep* him and his *beep* bat…" Chef Drapion continued to rant angrily about Machoke to no end. He swore occasionally.

"Err…" Skarmory looked indecisive as Chef Drapion shook the camera in a fit of rage.

"The magician was eliminated. I think I should end the opening now. Stay tuned for this episode of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory gave the camera a timid smile before Chef Drapion stopped recording.

* * *

Machoke slowly opened his eyes as the light of the new day shined upon his eyelids. He glanced around the room, only Darmanitan and Shedinja were there. Darmanitan was meditating while Shedinja slept rather peacefully.

With some difficulty, Machoke slowly moved his legs out of his bed, the bruises still hurt. Every tiny movement jolted him with an irritating pain. Eventually, he managed to place his legs on the ground. Pushing his body upward with his arms, he got out of bed.

"Ow." Machoke rubbed his sore body in discomfort. His skin was a bit purple due to a certain purple chef.

Darmanitan opened his eyes from meditation upon hearing the sound of Machoke's discomfort.

"Homie, are you hurt badly? Need an arm to the infirmary?" Darmanitan asked with concern.

"It's okay. My body will heal… eventually. I also doubt that the chef will welcome me in the infirmary." Machoke replied, looking at his injuries. "I'm more grateful toward the fact that the team kept me. Honestly, I don't think I deserve it." Machoke said, sounding upset. His voice lacked his usual energy and effort.

"Homie…" Darmanitan furrowed his eyebrows and positioned his right hand close to his chin, trying to come up with a consolation response.

"You don't need to console me. It's the truth. I'm useless. I don't know how I made it this far. I'm probably the next one to be eliminated." Machoke said, placing both of his hands on his face.

"That isn't true at all, homie. In Lucario's list of targeted contestants, you are above at least one person." Darmanitan told. Machoke raised his eyes at this.

"Who? How did you know that?" Machoke asked.

"Well. Lucario trusts me enough to let me see it. I don't want to name names, homie. Chill, if you make it to the merge. We can all target the other team." Darmanitan assured.

"Alright." Machoke sweated a bit. "Geez, it is getting hot in here." Machoke complained.

"Well, no air conditioner and the heat of the summer is blazing. I'm a fire type so, no big deal. You might want to go to the snow area or somewhere cold and chill.

"I will keep that in mind." Machoke noted. The fighting type staggered out of the room, moving his legs in a rather awkward fashion. He reached for the door and opened it. Darmanitan was on the edge of his bed, about to spring into action and help Machoke.

That was unnecessary as Machoke exited the room successfully, albeit accidentally hitting the back of his left foot when he closed the door.

"Ow." Machoke yelped.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Machoke's our boy. I like the homie. However, he neglect himself sometimes. He doesn't want to accept help or be a burden because it makes him feel worse about himself. It is truly concerning for me."

 **Machoke:** "What am I in this show? I'm nothing special. Not the strongest, not the most useful. I just want to find a proper place for myself in the team. How can I help in the challenge? How can I prove my worth? I don't want anyone to see me so vulnerable like this." His eyes seemed sorrowful.

* * *

Bisharp leaned his back on the left wall of the mess hall, he folded his arms as he spectated a chess match between Skrelp and Tyrunt. His gaze was focused on the game in an analytical manner, mostly observing Skrelp's movements.

Tyrunt ended his turn as he fled with his king. The fossil Pokemon rubbed his chin, trying to find a solution.

Skrelp moved instantly. Seemingly, she already planned ahead. It was checkmate as Tyrunt's king was trapped in a corner like a rat.

"Checkmate." Skrelp informed.

"Oh well, I still need more experience before I can compete in a city championship. Some of my moves weren't safe in this match." Tyrunt evaluated his performance.

"I grant you permission to ask for a rematch. I will always win, evident from my several victories in many prestigious chess tournaments." Skrelp bragged. Usually, she preferred to avoid any social contact with the other contestants. However, this time, her eyes changed. There was a pang of satisfaction in her eyes. The satisfaction of beating others.

Skrelp turned and looked at Bisharp, she had an overconfident smile on her face. "Want to play?" She asked simply. Tyrunt got out of his seat and left the mess hall.

After a moment of thought, "I'll pass." Bisharp refused the challenge. He quietly walked over to the door.

"Do you feel threatened? Obviously, you are here to analyze me, not to merely spectate. I must remind you that I do hold grudges especially when someone betrayed me." Skrelp referred to what happened in the past two episodes.

"Yes, but like any other prideful strategist, I will not go down easily." Bisharp replied before he left. Skrelp grinned to herself as the sound of the door closing could be heard.

"Regret, remorse and penitence. You will feel all of it soon enough." Skrelp spoke to herself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "As a competitive gamer, I always strive for the top of the leaderboard. I want to be a professional gamer. Winning will make me a living. I need to play many different kinds of game so that I have a wide array of choices for my future."

 **Bisharp:** "To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how to eliminate her. I'm not the most well-liked or popular around here. My social game is flawed. Maybe, Grovyle can help me. Hopefully…"

 **Skrelp:** "I know his weakness, his hamartia."

* * *

Grovyle climbed up a tree to collect the Leaf Stone on the top before backflipping down to the ground.

"I need to win the auction. If anyone around here deserves to win it, it is definitely me. I'm the good guy around here, keeping the items away from the likes of Skrelp." Grovyle self-praised.

"Gah." Somesome sounded frustrated.

Grovyle maneuvered through the forest to see Dedenne struggling to climb a tree.

"Is this what they call deja…" Grovyle paused with his mouth open, trying to find the word in the depths of his memory.

"Déjà vu." Dedenne answered for him, smiling upon his arrival.

"Yeah, I was about to say it." Grovyle tried to look smart. "Need a Helping Hand?" Grovyle unintentionally made a pun.

Dedenne let out a short chuckle. "The Grovyle line can't learn Helping Hand." Dedenne informed.

"But I sure can." Grovyle jumped from branch to branch until he snagged a bag of Stardust on top of the tree. He then tossed it down to her.

"Of course, you are my hero. Everyone here is too competitive. All they care about is the prize money. Unlike them, you are willing to help others without an incentive for reward." Dedenne praised him, her face lightened when she talked about Grovyle. When it was about the others, she didn't look very content.

"Yeah. I'm the good guy. My mission is to weed out those villains. Thanks for your cheers and motivational words. I feel deeply appreciated." Grovyle said, feeling complacent about himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Being a hero is great. You get money, you get fans, you get everything. It makes me want to eliminate those villains even more. I feel immersed into my role as the protagonist of this show. I bet I have the most fans watching and supporting me out there. Thank you to all of my fans."

* * *

Machoke navigated through the forest. He pushed a branch out of his way, only for it to bounce back and hit his face.

"Ouch!" Machoke yelled. "Am I a pain magnet or something?" Machoke groaned at his misfortune.

Walking more warily this time, Machoke luckily traversed through the forest unharmed. Sometimes, he threw karate moves at suspicious looking trees and jumped across tiny thorny bushes. These movements aggravated his injuries a bit but Machoke gritted his teeth through it regardless.

In the end, Machoke sweated as he approached a clearing.

"I look ridiculous. Nobody put that much effort into travelling through a forest, right?" Machoke asked no one in particular.

"Hey Machoke, are you there?" Houndour heard him. As well as Meowth and Duosion. The Treasure Trio reunited once again.

"Yeah, I'm surprised to see you." Machoke replied, reaching the entrance to the Skarmory Cave.

"Scavenging for the auction as well?" Duosion asked.

"What auction?" Machoke scratched the back of his ear, seemingly oblivious.

"You forgot? My, my, my. An unprepared bidder's worst nightmare. Forgetting the date of the important auction." Meowth shook his head and criticized Machoke's forgetfulness.

"Yeah, I need my notes or else I'm just a pathetic fool that can't do anything." Machoke bashed himself. "Stupid, stupid me."

The others were a bit shocked at his actions. They didn't expect him to take this seriously or too far.

"Dude, it is just a friendly warning." Houndour clarified.

"I didn't mean to fire you or cut your pay. Please consider it as a wake-up call from the boss." Meowth assured.

"Still, I'm useless." Machoke sighed, looking down.

"Man, you aren't not that useless. I mean you look pretty strong." Houndour tried to uplift his spirits. Machoke still looked depressed. Duosion looked sympathetically at Machoke. Suddenly, she got an idea and whispered it to Houndour.

"Dude, believe in yourself. I bet you can tear this beast of a branch into pieces." Houndour showed Machoke a solid, sturdy looking branch. The fighting type looked up and grabbed it.

With a determined grunt and the support of his left knee, Machoke tried to break it apart. Basically, he pushed the branch against his knee, trying his best to accomplish the task. Suddenly, it broke apart into two pieces.

"I…" Machoke paused for a moment, letting the feeling sink in. "…did it. I did it!" Machoke jumped in joy.

"A skilled workforce indeed. A raise in salary for you." Meowth praised.

"See? I told you. You can do anything if you try hard enough. Great job, man." Houndour congratulated.

"I will go back and share this news!" Machoke left the clearing excitedly.

"Don't tell him I used Psychic to break it." Duosion reminded Houndour.

"Hopefully, he doesn't know." Houndour didn't exactly feel comfortable with this.

The Treasure Trio entered the cave once again. At the same time, Machoke returned to the clearing with his head down once again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "I returned to check the size of the branch for good measure. I didn't expect to hear the truth…" Machoke observed his non-existent masculinity. His body was still bruised even though it looked noticeably better. His arms and legs were unusually thin. Yet, signs of muscles growing could be seen. His eyes were a bit deep like a tunnel.

* * *

Nosepass slowly stepped toward the Skarmory Cave. Rhyhorn was behind him, giving him company. The coward accidentally stepped on a branch, scaring himself.

"Eek! A monster broke this poor branch." Nosepass screamed. Rhyhorn moved past Nosepass to observe the branch.

"The cut was precise. It must be a psychic-based move." Rhyhorn concluded.

"Psychic? A psychopathic killer?" Nosepass panicked.

"Unlikely, probably Duosion. She is the only psychic type around here." Rhyhorn explained.

"Why would she do something like this and left it on the ground? How irresponsible." Nosepass scolded.

"…" Rhyhorn remained silent. He stared at the branch.

"We should go inside now." Rhyhorn suggested after an awkward moment of silence. Nosepass gulped as he nervously entered the cave.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Without Rhyhorn, I would freak out. He seems so strong. It makes me feel well-protected. He doesn't say much but that doesn't matter. Silent but friendly is better than loud-mouth and hostile."

* * *

Jumpluff whistled a tune to herself whimsically as she carelessly floated around the island, letting the wind carry her wherever it wanted.

There was something that sparked her interest though, Ledyba, Cryogonal and Aromatisse were having a friendly conversation inside the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin. She eavesdropped their conversation behind the cabin, pushing her left ear against the wall.

"You and Scolipede looked cute together." Cryogonal commented.

"You are taking it too far." Ledyba said, sounding embarrassed.

A snickered can be heard from Aromatisse.

"What about you, Aromatisse? Do you like anyone here?" Ledyba redirected the attention.

"The boys around here aren't handsome enough for my taste." Aromatisse answered confidently.

"What are you doing here?" Someone asked. Jumpluff looked confused, this voice sounded different than the three girls.

"Jumpluff, what are you doing here?" The voice addressed her directly. Jumpluff looked shocked as she turned around slowly to see… Scolipede.

"I-I can explain. I'm just curious." Jumpluff tried to defend herself but Scolipede didn't buy it at all. He looked very skeptical.

"Rather, I think you are a spy for the other team." Scolipede said, keeping his voice quiet so the three girls wouldn't hear.

"Holy moly, I'm not a mole for the other team. You can trust me." Jumpluff tried to reinforce her case.

"Trust is a volatile thing, Jumpluff. I can't trust you through meaningless words. Perhaps, I should report your intrusion to Lucario. I'm pretty sure that he isn't in a good mood right now." Scolipede threatened.

"Please, I beg you. Don't tell anyone, especially Lucario." Jumpluff begged, shaking her hands. The mention of Lucario sent a chill down her back.

"I will spare you once. However, if there is a repeated offense... Lucario will have a _friendly_ talk with you." Scolipede emphasized the word 'friendly'. Jumpluff gulped as she quietly and quickly floated away.

After, she was gone, Scolipede was about to leave until…

"What are you doing behind our cabin, Scolipede?" Ledyba asked, placing her arms on her hips. It was his turn to defend himself.

"Someone suspicious was here. I just come here to check." Scolipede explained, his eyes were filled with worry.

"Alright, I trust you but you should leave before the others see you." Ledyba ended it like that. No further questioning. Scolipede's eyes widened a bit. He never expected it to be this easy. He quickly crawled away from the cabin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "That's it? She trusts me so easily. Seems a bit unwise to me. I guess it is just her personality. Anyways, I don't trust Jumpluff. I will keep my eyes on her."

 **Jumpluff:** "I just want to socialize with the girls on the other team a bit. I feel like they would welcome me more than the girls on my team. However, if I do that, my team might use that as a reason to vote me out, especially Skrelp. Sometimes, I feel like Skrelp is observing me with her cold, icy glare. Therefore, I resorted to eavesdropping and that… made things worse. Now, I look like a stalking swine in front of everyone. I hate it. I… don't know what to do anymore." Jumpluff looked depressed.

* * *

Meanwhile in the mountain area…

Lucario threw an Aura Sphere at a rock, obliterating it completely.

"I *beep* lost again! My team isn't good enough. We need to improve." Lucario threw another Aura Sphere at a random rock. The explosion sound was deafening as pieces of rock flew out of the giant black cloud of smoke.

Unexpectedly, someone coughed behind a rock. It wasn't one of the contestant. It was…

"Ursaring, get out of my sight!" Lucario demanded, he wasn't fazed by the intern at all. The professional athlete just pointed to the stairs, signaling him to leave.

"Leave? You don't care about the advantage? Are you *beep* serious?" Ursaring's jaw dropped. He couldn't comprehend the reason behind this action.

"I don't need the advantage to split my team apart. If I will take the advantage, I will take it with my team. In the next few days, my entire team will hunt you down. Leave now before I make you leave." Lucario threatened. Ursaring fled with the statue in his left hand.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "This is a team game. I can't keep the advantage for myself alone. It will make me an even bigger threat and spread paranoia in our team. Instead of eliminating our weakest link, the team will go for the big members. I can't allow that. The reason why our team function better than the other team is because we are all in agreement about each and every elimination. We are always in a mutual agreement. That's why I need to eliminate rebels like Magikarp and Meowstic. They schemed to eliminate someone for their selfish gain. For one, I know that Magikarp voted for me."

 **Ursaring:** He trembled a bit as he rubbed his shoulders. "Boss, I need a jetpack, a bazooka, a mind controlling machine, a sleeping dart…" The list continued for a very long time.

* * *

Miltank and Heracross were relaxing in the beach area. Heracross threw a pebble into the sea for fun.

"Things aren't looking good in my team. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it." Heracross updated the situation.

"Why do you need to be scared? Just tell your team to get rid of the weak members. Tyrunt, Nosepass and Snorunt. Three easy eliminations." Miltank advised.

"My team is different than yours. There are a bunch of these alliances." Heracross explained.

"You got one as well. No big deal." Miltank pointed out.

"My alliance is crumbling like an upside-down triangle. I need the advantage at this point. I gotta find the damn bear and beat him into a pulp." Heracross said confidently.

"Good, beat that ugly bear up." Miltank agreed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Miltank has it pretty easy in the pre-merge. She probably already guarantees herself a spot. On the other hand, I gotta scramble. Life is so unfair. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer."

* * *

Snorunt fixed her eyes on her diary. Currently, she sat on a bench outside of her cabin. Grovyle passed by (holding tons of treasure in his arms), looking at her diary momentarily before he shrugged it off.

The ice type seemed surprised by his sudden presence. As a result, Snorunt accidentally dropped her diary. Immediately, Grovyle dropped his treasures and rushed over to pick it up for her.

"Here." Grovyle handed the diary to Snorunt. Until, he unintentionally saw his name on the page. Grovyle took the diary back by force and squinted his eyes to read.

"Don't read!" Snorunt shouted but it was too late.

"Grovyle isn't trustworthy? What? I-I feel hurt by this." Grovyle gave the diary back to her in disbelief before he left. Snorunt sighed, anxiety clear on her face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "How is this possible? I can't believe this…" Grovyle held his head, seemingly had a headache.

 **Snorunt:** "Now I'm officially his enemy. What should I do?"

* * *

Drifblim saw Snorunt covering her face with her book and floated over to check up on her.

"What happened? Is this how you normally read?" Drifblim asked.

"Drifblim, will you vote for Grovyle or Skrelp?" Snorunt asked, the book still covering her face. Drifblim was taken back by this question.

"I advise you to not ask for others' vote directly, especially when you are being specific. It is a poor strategic and social move. For example, I can tell either Skrelp or Grovyle and you will be in the hot seat." Drifblim warned.

"I just want to get rid of them now." Snorunt said, sounding impatient.

"What's the hurry? Surely, you can wait." Drifblim asked further.

"I- It's nothing." Snorunt hesitated. Drifblim stared at her doubtfully.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "She is clearly keeping something from me. It is an interesting proposal, getting rid of either Skrelp or Grovyle. However, I'm in Skrelp's alliance and Grovyle has many friends that will get revenge for him. In addition, both of them can potentially return when the merge hits. Very risky but a big move nonetheless. I'm a fan of big moves but I'm not impetuous or easy to be convinced."

* * *

Rhyhorn carried Nosepass on his back. The latter shook every time a droplet of water fell from the ceiling.

"I'm about to wet myself. Can I leave and go to the restroom?" Nosepass asked for permission.

"Quickly." Rhyhorn permitted. Nosepass got down from his back and fled the cave with a bright smile on his face.

Rhyhorn waited and waited. It was already about an hour and the auction was about to start. Still, there were no signs that Nosepass will return.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "He isn't coming back."

 **Nosepass:** "I… I'm sorry, Rhyhorn."

* * *

Nosepass nervously stood outside of the cave. He looked at himself with shame.

"It isn't too late to return, right?" Nosepass mumbled to himself.

The Treasure Trio exited the cave with tons of treasure. They all stared at Nosepass, surprised that he was here.

"What are you doing, Nosepass? Need help?" Houndour asked with concern.

"I… ditched Rhyhorn in there, all alone by himself. I don't know what to do." Nosepass confessed.

"How disgraceful, leaving work early and throwing all the burden to someone else. No bonus for you this month." Meowth scolded.

Nosepass' eyes were a bit teary. Houndour patted his back.

"Meowth, I believe your words are too harsh. Nosepass is sensitive." Duosion indicated.

"No, he's right." Nosepass spoke up and interrupted them. "I need to go back in there. We were supposed to be hunting for treasure together. I will go." Nosepass resolved. With all of the little courage he had, Nosepass ran into the cave recklessly.

"Rhyhorn, I'm here!" Nosepass screamed, half of it due to fear from the darkness of the cave.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "Not bad." Rhyhorn said simply and vaguely.

 **Nosepass:** "I hope that I'm slowly improving at the very least. Maybe this will just be a one-time thing like the Larvitar incident."

* * *

Meowth approached Lucario before the auction. They counted their Skarmory tokens.

"One hundred and six." Lucario tallied the amount. Meowth looked deep in thought.

"Is this not enough?" Lucario asked.

"No, I have an idea." Meowth smirked mischeivously.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I'm an expert when it comes to auctions. Here are tips for all of the business enthusiasts out there. Ultimately, the auctioneer controls the auction. He or she has the right to manipulate many things behind the scene. Therefore, a good relationship with the auctioneer is vital for the success of the bidder. The auctioneer decides the starting price. Usually, the price will be lower than the actual price of the item. However, this can also work in reverse, the starting place will start off very high at first to lure in foolish bidders to waste their money. Another power of the auctioneer is to bring down the hammer a bit early or late sometimes. Lastly, the scariest trick is installing a shill among the bidders that works to raise the price up."

* * *

Meowth approached Skarmory secretly minutes before the auction. The host stared at him with interest.

"I want to be in good terms with you. I believe the reason why you create the auction is to get rid of our Skarmory tokens. Lately, no one eats the chef's food. Correct?" Meowth presented his analysis.

"Indeed, you hit the nail in the head." Skarmory seemed impressed.

"I will help you by raising the price up and I will do absurd jump bids to speed up the auction so that you will have more screen time for the challenge. In return, please bring down the hammer early for me." Meowth offered a deal.

"Deal." Skarmory accepted.

Meowth walked away normally, acting as if nothing happened. Skarmory flew to the middle of the clearing and used his megaphone to make his announcement.

"Contestants, the auction will now start! Please gather near my superb Skarmory Shop!"

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I either got fifty-two or fifty-three Skarmory tokens; I lost count. I wonder what will happen if I accidentally overbid. Can I return the item and ask for a refund? Pretty sure I can. I'm Good Guy Grovyle after all."

 **Heracross:** " _If I get something, I'm happy._ You can't have this kind of mentality in the auction or else you will overspend. Trust me, I saw some examples around the streets."

 **Duosion:** "I want to buy something for Houndour as a little gift for all the things he done for me."

 **Machoke:** "I should just step out of this auction. It isn't my place."

* * *

Nearly everyone attended the auction. They were all eager to spend their tokens and get some items. Except for Shedinja and Machoke. Shedinja slept like a Snorlax while Machoke left to the gym area to prepare himself for the challenge.

"Where's Machoke?" Darmanitan asked Lucario.

"I don't know the reason behind his absence but he better competes in the challenge." Lucario replied.

"I will see if I can find the homie." Darmanitan bid his leave.

"Contestants, I'm your auctioneer, Skarmory. I will now start the auction. Chef Drapion, can you please hold the hammer?" Skarmory ordered. Chef Drapion grumbled to himself.

"Lazy as always, am I right Chef Drapion?" Drifblim assumed. Chef Drapion widened his eyes while Skarmory frowned.

"Will there be any make-up kits or perfume?" Aromatisse interrupted, earning looks from the three of them.

"No." Skarmory answered simply. Aromatisse looked disappointed as she left.

"What about food?" Tyrunt asked, salivating a little.

"Yes, bib boy." Skarmory annoyed Tyrunt.

"I wear this bib because I'm a messy eater not a gluttonous one." Tyrunt defended himself.

"It is counterproductive to point out another flaw, Tyrunt. Now, everyone assumes that you are both messy and gluttonous." Skrelp criticized, frustrating Tyrunt.

"No more questions. I want to move on. First item is a sweet, sweet pillow." Skarmory announced the first item as Chef Drapion placed an ordinary pillow on the stall.

The contestants all seemed uninterested. They already got pillows in their cabins.

"I will start with one token." Skarmory started things off.

"Two." Grovyle bid for fun, throwing two tokens into the air from his bag.

"Three." Meowth outbid him. Grovyle gave him an intense stare. Things were about to heat up. Skrelp shook her head in disapproval.

"Four." Grovyle doubled the amount. Bisharp looked as if he wanted to pull Grovyle out of the bidding.

"Five." Meowth raised the price higher.

"Eight!" Grovyle shouted. Meowth stopped bidding.

"One, two, three, deal." Skarmory gave the item to Grovyle as Chef Drapion slammed the hammer down.

Grovyle smiled with satisfaction while the other contestants gave him mocking looks.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Grovyle is the second biggest bidder other than me and Lucario. Therefore, I need to lure some greens out of his pocket."

 **Grovyle:** "It is cheap and comfy. Eight tokens for a pillow isn't bad."

* * *

"The next item will be a tasty berry juice. Two tokens, start!" Skarmory placed the next item down. Many still looked uninterested. Although, a few like Tyrunt fiddled with their tokens.

"Three." Grovyle flaunted his tokens.

"Five." Meowth competed with him again.

"Seven." Grovyle bid even more.

"Grovyle, remember the third day on this island?" Bisharp tried to interrupt him.

"Ten." Grovyle didn't seem to hear what Bisharp was trying to say. Meowth glanced sideways to Lucario (who was beside him), the professional athlete gave him an eye contact and nodded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Let me make things clear for the viewers. Most of my tokens are in fact Lucario's. While I may be somewhat competent at finding these tokens, Lucario is a true treasure tracking beast. Therefore, I need his permission."

* * *

"Fifteen!" Meowth made a great leaping bid. Grovyle didn't want to lose. He breathed in deeply.

"One..." Skarmory was about to end the deal until Meowth gave him a slight wave.

Skarmory took a very long time to say "Two" The other contestants were confused as they complained among themselves.

"Twenty!" Grovyle wasted his money. The other Crazy Crawdaunt members facepalmed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "My fans will know that I'm not an idiot. I just want to look like one of those cool, rich kids in the movies. You know? Just want to show all of them that I'm rich."

 **Lucario:** "I'm waiting for a _special_ item." Lucario emphasized.

 **Bisharp:** "Maybe I should teach him business basics."

 **Skrelp:** "Grovyle is an utter complete moron."

* * *

There was a box on the stall. Skarmory grabbed something inside with his wings but he didn't show it yet.

"In the dark, scary night filled with creepy creatures…" Skarmory introduced this item differently. Nosepass seemed spooked by the story.

"…there is a beacon of hope called a flashlight, which costs three Skarmory tokens." In the end, it was another random junk, or was it?

"Five, I need that to go to the restrooms at the night." Nosepass bid. A few of the others started to get their tokens out, debating whether or not to buy the flashlight.

Skarmory stared at Meowth, giving him a signal to speed up the process.

"Fifteen!" Meowth bid. The other contestants were too scared to compete against Meowth, they all knew what will happen. Grovyle hesitated as well, giving Meowth the item.

The fourth item was a plate of sushi. Tyrunt wanted it really badly. However, Meowth quickly bid another fifteen tokens and won in the end. Scolipede glared at Meowth, Lucario and Skarmory respectively.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "There is something wrong with this auction."

 **Houndour:** "I didn't know that Meowth is this competitive in an auction."

* * *

Chef Drapion lifted up a purple box with a question mark design, capturing the interest of many. The box was a bit crumbled up, the item made no sound. Was it very light?

"A mysterious prize. Might be something good or bad… or both." Skarmory created suspense. "Starting at five tokens." Skarmory informed. Immediately, many hands were raised. Skarmory had a sly smile on his face.

"Ten!" Grovyle bid.

"Eleven." Heracross outbid him.

"Twelve and a rare trading card. A fair deal?" Tyrunt sweetened his bid. Skarmory rolled his eyes, before swiftly giving Meowth the eye contact. Lucario reciprocated this as well.

"Twenty!" Meowth made a great jump bid.

"One, two, three, sold!" Skarmory quickly accepted it.

"You could leave some items for the rest of us, greedy businessman." Dedenne scolded. The other bidders nodded in agreement. Meowth cringed a bit at their reactions. Lucario stepped up for him.

"If he wants to bid, then he rightfully can! The only reason he wrecked all of you in this auction is because all of you lazy bums never search for Skarmory tokens seriously!" Lucario shouted, mostly at the other team.

"Lazy bums?!" Grovyle raised his voice.

"Hey, I do hustle." Heracross defended herself.

"Gosh, what a way to be a jerk." Jumpluff talked back to Lucario as well, although she looked a bit scared of him.

"Sure, coming from the competitive athlete, I'm surprised that you didn't bid at all." Drifblim retorted.

"I'm actually a bit lazy honestly." Tyrunt admitted, making his teammates all stared at him disapprovingly.

"Frankly, I'm just telling the truth." Tyrunt was being blunt.

"Enough! Meowth, come here and accept your prize!" Skarmory shouted through his megaphone.

Meowth walked over and collected the box from the chef. Meowth opened it and emptied the contents to find... a card with the words: "Jokes on you. You wasted Skarmory tokens! How does it feel? From Skarmory."

Meowth chuckled a bit, before giving Skarmory a mean look. The host returned a sheepish grin.

"Can I see?" Lucario read the card and his expression was roughly the same as Meowth.

"It is called a mystery for a reason." Skarmory stated.

"Serves you right." Dedenne said proudly. Meowth frowned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Deceiving me with fraudulent goods? Unacceptable. I hope Skarmory understands that the most powerful bidder can dictate the success of the auction." Meowth's expression darkened.

 **Dedenne:** "Most businessmen are such jerks. They only care about the profit, not the customer."

 **Houndour:** "I bet that if Darmanitan is here, he will say something along the lines of… Homie, chill out. You win some, you lose some. Honestly, having Darmanitan here might actually lighten up the mood a bit. The atmostphere is a bit uncomfortable as of right now."

 **Tyrunt:** "The random number generator gods or RNGods aren't on their side. Err… actually I don't think that makes much sense in an auction where the prize is already predetermined." Tyrunt facepalmed.

 **Drifblim:** "Nine times out of ten, don't risk something for a 'mystery'. Basic rule of reality shows."

 **Lucario:** "An hour worth of work down the drain. I should have known better to not gamble. Gah!" Lucario banged the confessional room.

* * *

"You gambled and lost. No big deal." Skarmory tried to calm down the two. Meowth breathed in deeply. Lucario punched a tree.

"Perhaps, that wasn't my smartest investment. However, I warn you that I will return the favor." Meowth said darkly. Skarmory looked a bit uncomfortable.

"For the penultimate item, we have a cool silver bracelet." Skarmory placed the item on the stall. Duosion looked at it with interest. "Twenty tokens, a fair deal?" Skarmory asked shamelessly.

"Lame." Grovyle gave it a thumb down.

"What a rip-off." Dedenne complained.

"Too expensive, sorry." Ledyba turned down the deal.

Skarmory looked a bit worried, he turned to Meowth. The cat didn't seem to have any interest. Instead, he smirked.

"It looks pretty cool. Too bad, I don't have enough." Houndour sighed in disappointment.

"I don't have enough either." Duosion revealed. "Maybe, we can buy it-" Before Duosion was about to finish suggesting her idea, Meowth held her back.

"Skarmory is getting desperate. Wait for a price drop." Meowth advised. Duosion had a look of uncertainty. However, it soon disappeared.

"How about ten instead?" Skarmory halved the price.

"Nine." Duosion bid after Meowth whispered something to her.

"Are you serious?" Skarmory said, feeling frustrated.

"No more, no less." Duosion kept her bid the same.

"Fine, nine. Sold." Skarmory said unwillingly as Chef Drapion slammed the hammer down.

Duosion used Psychic to get the bracelet and handed it to Houndour. He hesitated to take it at first until Duosion gave him a reassuring gaze.

"Thanks, I will deeply treasure it." Houndour thanked her gratefully, smiling at the same time.

"I'm glad to be able to offer you a little gift." Duosion was happy upon seeing his reaction. "Try to wear it." Duosion was excited to see him wearing her gift. Houndour inserted the bracelet into one of his paw and tried to move it around comfortably.

"Aww, they are such a cute couple." Ledyba told Cryogonal.

"I second that." Cryogonal agreed.

Skarmory coughed a few times to get the attentions of the campers back. "For the final item, it is an advantage in today's challenge." Skarmory didn't show anything. The advantage must be intangible.

A fire immediately lit up in Lucario's eyes. He raised his entire paw, showing three fingers to Meowth.

"Starting at-" Skarmory was interrupted.

"Thirty tokens!" Meowth guaranteed the prize for his team. Grovyle opened his mouth but said nothing after he noticed his bag of tokens getting smaller.

"Sold out!" Skarmory exclaimed. Lucario carried the bag over to Skarmory. The host smiled upon seeing the tremendous number of tokens overflowing.

"This is more like it. Finally, you stop giving me that cold treatment." Skarmory approved, feeling relieved.

"Just tell me the advantage already." Lucario responded impatiently. The Crazy Crawdaunt members weren't thrilled to hear about their advantage in the slightest. Rather, they dreaded it. The Feckless Flygon showed a complete opposite reaction.

"Gather all the contestants over here first." Skarmory instructed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Maybe if I spend a little less, I will have enough. In the end, I got this pillow and a cup of berry juice for twenty-eight tokens. I feel like a winner today. After all, I look like a real man in the auction out there. My friends will be proud."

 **Skrelp:** "May god bless the dim-witted imbecile that cost us the advantage with a slightly bigger cranium and more grey matter."

 **Machoke:** "What did I miss? Is it something important? Well, I will know sooner or later."

* * *

Machoke and the others that didn't attend the auction eventually gathered around Skarmory.

"The challenge will be very unique. I guarantee it." Skarmory promised.

"Do you mean unique in a horrible way?" Drifblim mocked cheekily.

"Haha… Very funny." Skarmory laughed sarcastically. "Anyways, each team will either play the role of prisoners or guards." Skarmory revealed.

"A good guy like me should be the guard." Grovyle stated his opinion. Some like Dedenne agreed, some like Scolipede disagreed and others like Skrelp thought that he was being pompous.

"Feckless Flygon, your advantage is the ability to choose your role. I will explain the details of the challenge later. What will it be then? Honorable guards or sneaky prisoners?" Skarmory asked.

The Feckless Flygon discussed with each other in secret. They returned to Skarmory to give him an answer.

"We rather be guards." Lucario told.

"No!" Grovyle screamed deafeningly to the dismay of many.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Serves the other team right."

 **Dedenne:** "While Grovyle is a great guy and all, I do have some concerns."

 **Grovyle:** "I don't deserve any of this!"

 **Machoke:** "Hopefully, I can be a great guard. I still got a few techniques left to show."

 **Skrelp:** "It seems that we are being incarcerated. The success of this challenge seemingly depends on how well we can immerse into our role."

* * *

Skarmory led the contestants through the haunted area to the prison. Along the way, Nosepass hid behind Rhyhorn, avoiding all the spooky props.

They were very close to their destination as all of them could see the giant steel, gray wall surrounding a building. However, before they reached the prison, Skarmory made a rather weird request.

"Crazy Crawdaunt, please move over to the red square." Skarmory said, pointing to the square in front of the entrance to the prison. They all wondered about the reason behind this but obeyed nonetheless.

"Good night." Skarmory separated with them. Suddenly, a purple gas was released underneath them. The Crazy Crawdaunt members fell asleep instantly. They were then teleported somewhere.

Skarmory returned his attention to the Feckless Flygon. They were surprised as well, but they didn't complain.

"We can't show them too much of the prison, can we? It will be advantageous for all of you this way. Their objective is to escape the prison before the night falls. Let me give you a nice tour then." Skarmory started to guide them through the prison.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "The smell was revolting, even though I'm a steel type. It makes your mind blank out for a moment and then put you to sleep."

 **Heracross:** "Looks like I'm in prison now, better than a Raticate hole at least."

 **Nosepass:** "I'm scared of surprises like this. It isn't Nosepass friendly at all."

 **Drifblim:** "To be honest, I was caught off guard a bit there."

 **Scolipede:** "I will be more careful of Skarmory's tricks from now on. Luckily, I'm in the other team."

* * *

Skarmory pushed the door of the prison open. The Feckless Flygon members glanced around the first room, gaping their mouth in awe.

They never expected to see couches, a refrigerator filled with food and drinks, a jacuzzi tub, air conditioners, board games and a table with walkie talkies, golden keys and police hats. There were three doors in the room. One to the left, right and middle.

"Why did you install a jacuzzi tub?" Duosion asked, looking strangely at the tub.

"Who cares? I'm going to have a spa day." Aromatisse replied, despite Duosion addressing Skarmory.

"Because, I'm nice and I want all of you to feel refreshed after keeping those pesky prisoners in prison." Skarmory answered.

"I'm more interested about the items on the table. Can you explain?" Lucario asked, ignoring the tub.

"Obviously, let me get to the point. All of you will wear the hats because it is in the staff uniform procedures, created by yours truly. The keys can be used to open any room. Don't lose it to those stinking prisoners. Most importantly, the walkie talkies. Your main tool of communication. However, there is a twist. It is a one-way walkie talkie." Skarmory explained.

"One-way? What an oversight in the production department." Meowth criticized. Skarmory nodded at this.

"Indeed, blame the production department. Not my fault that only the warden can use it to communicate with the others. The warden is pretty much your leader. He or she will be the last line of defence in this prison as well." Skarmory explained further.

"I will gladly be the warden." Lucario volunteered. His team didn't seem to have any objections.

"I have a special uniform for you but let me clarify a few more things first. The flashlight item from the auction can be used in this challenge." Skarmory allowed. Meowth looked a bit delighted.

"The item worth more than I initially thought. It might be a worthwhile investment." Meowth said contently.

"Next, only five members can leave this place, called the staff area, at the same time. See that door at the end of the room? That marks the end of the staff area. The door to the left connects to a prison confessional and to the right, we have a security camera room. I think the purpose of the confessional and security cameras are obvious enough. However, here is the thing, security cameras are powered by manual labor." Skarmory explained, observing the contestants' reactions. Aromatisse didn't seemed pleased when manual labor was mentioned.

"I think I have said enough. Let's pay a little visit to the prisoners and explain the rules to them." Skarmory moved on.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** Lucario wore a police hat, a blue khaki suit with a golden star badge on the left side. In addition, a special walkie talkie was attached to his belt alongside a golden key. He held a baton stick on his right paw.

"I take my job seriously as the warden that protects the safety of the civilians from those convicted prisoners. If I fail, I will resign." Lucario put his job on the line.

* * *

Skarmory unlocked the door and led all of the Feckless Flygon members out of the staff area as a one-time special exception.

The first thing they saw were countless jail cells lining in neat rows, left and right. The Crazy Crawdaunt woke up by now. All of the jail cells were empty except for Grovyle's, there was a pillow inside.

"Hey, get me out of here! What is my crime?" Grovyle banged his jail cell.

"Shut up! Behave properly and I will reduce your sentence. If not…" Lucario yelled, looking irritated by the noise. Grovyle seemed intimidated, gulping a bit.

"Crazy Crawdaunt members, your objective is to all escape from this prison before the night falls. How? Figure it out yourselves. Although, I will tell you a few things. If the guards see you trying to escape or steal something, they have the right to put you into a solitary confinement room. You will also need to work in the meantime here." Skarmory explained. The Crazy Crawdaunt members groaned.

"Don't be lazy or else solitary confinement for you." Skarmory threatened. "Although, you have a chance to get a reward for working." The Crazy Crawdaunt lightened up as they heard this.

"Oh, another thing, Chef Drapion cooks the food around here. You are allowed to leave your jail cell at any time and go to the mess hall as well as your working station. The prison confessional and the restrooms too, of course. Everywhere else is off limits, the guards can put you in solitary confinement if you dare to trespass. I will be watching to make sure this challenge runs smoothly so no cheating." Skarmory said before he left. The Feckless Flygon returned to the staff area momentarily.

The challenge was about to begin for real.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "Work, seriously? I thought that you can be lazy in jail nowadays. Not cool, Skarmory."

 **Skrelp:** "I will figure everything out by myself because I'm the most intelligent contestant."

* * *

Lucario rallied everyone before they got distracted by all the stuff in the staff room.

"We need to plan our shifts. Spread our members across many places so we cover a wide area. Understood?" Lucario addressed his entire team. They all nodded.

"As the warden, I need to stay here so I can communicate with the entire team as there are only five walkie talkies, excluding mine. Who wants to guard some prisoners?" Lucario asked, pacing around as he looked at each of his teammates.

"I will take care of the workplace and make sure none of them slack off. Just want to boss the other team around." Miltank stepped up.

"Homie, I will go out there and patrol around the off-limits area. I will make sure to throw the Crazy Crawdaunt into solitary confinement." Darmanitan volunteered as well.

"I prefer to stay here and monitor the cameras. I'm probably the most suitable for the job." Duosion said.

"Fair enough." Lucario allowed before eyeing specific members. "Machoke and Aromatisse, I believe it is for the best if both of you stay here and do nothing." Lucario tried to say it kindly.

"But I want to contribute. Any job is fine. Please, give me another chance." Machoke pleaded. On the other hand, Aromatisse shrugged. She was fine with it.

Lucario sighed. "Machoke, you can err…" Lucario stuttered. Machoke eagerly anticipated the answer.

"Maybe the homie can help me guard the off-limits area. I will keep him in check." Darmanitan suggested.

"I'm fine with that." Lucario replied. Machoke smiled a bit.

"Well, I can generate the power for the camera room. I'm fine with manual labor." Houndour told, hoping that he can be with Duosion.

"That's great." Lucario commented. "We still need more volunteers. Come on team!" Lucario encouraged.

"I will try my best to guard the mess hall." Ledyba finally volunteered.

"Fine." Shedinja drawled. Lucario looked at him, waiting for his clarification.

"A boring job for a boring Pokemon. I can guard the jail cells." Shedinja volunteered unenthusiastically, his voice flat and monotone.

"Alright, we can switch around later. For now, we better perform our duties! Remember to get the keys and the hats. Guards, move out!" Lucario ended.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "I got Darmanitan with me. Hopefully, everything will be alright." Machoke checked his injuries. "They are getting better…"

 **Houndour:** "Well, I'm very close to Duosion lately. It does bring a lot of attention to us. Hopefully, that isn't necessary a bad thing."

 **Cryogonal:** "I guess I will play Monopoly with Meowth to pass some time. I don't expect to win but maybe I will. It's all about luck and dice rolls."

* * *

The Feckless Flygon members swarmed around the table, collecting the necessary equipments. Hats for everyone. Walkie talkies and keys for the prisoner guards.

"Police hats are bottom tier in terms of fashion." Aromatisse complained.

Machoke adjusted his hat so that it fits his head properly. Houndour was next to him, doing the same. Machoke looked at the canine, smiling at first, but the smile soon disappeared as he averted his gaze from him.

Houndour patted his back. "Dude, go out there and show them what you are made of. I believe in you." Houndour's words of motivation reached Machoke's ears.

"Thank you for… many things." Machoke said gratefully, although a bit hesitant.

"No problem, man." Houndour didn't suspect a thing.

Afterwards, Machoke checked all of his equipment.

"Hat, walkie talkie and err…" Machoke tried to memorize.

"Homie, the key. It unlocks every room around here." Darmanitan reminded.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. My attention got caught up by something." Machoke told.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "I know that Houndour and the other two lied to make me feel better but it still hurts somewhere around here." Machoke moved his hand close to his heart.

* * *

Grovyle hugged his pillow as he rocked back and forth on the floor.

"Err… Are you okay?" Nosepass asked from the opposite jail cell. Grovyle said nothing.

"Alright." Nosepass sat and stared at the wall in boredom.

Heracross tried to break the iron bars with her fists. However, it released an electric shock after a while.

"Ouch." Heracross yelped, blowing her hand.

Skrelp observed her surroundings, there was nothing in her jail cell. Not even signs of a secret exit. The seahorse peeked outside of the jail cell to see Bisharp doing the same. The two saw that the door to the staff area was locked. Although, they didn't know that it leads to the exit due to the sleeping gas. They got no maps and Skarmory didn't guide them anywhere either. In addition, they noticed the other door that leads to the mess hall. There was no keyhole so it must be unlocked.

Suddenly, the five prison guards entered. Miltank strode in smugly at the front, twirling her keys. Darmanitan and Machoke followed soon after. The latter attached his key to his belt. Ledyba flew in slowly, while Shedinja floated in even slower at the back. Neither of their keys could be seen as well as Darmanitan's key. Many prisoners eyed the keys, plotting how to steal them.

"Prisoners, I'm your work station guard and you better listen to me. Or else, I will kick you into the solitary confinement room!" Miltank asserted her authority.

"Where's the solitary confinement?" Skrelp asked, trying to get some sort of information. Skarmory didn't show anyone the solitary confinement so Miltank didn't really know either.

"None of your business." Miltank didn't answer anyways. "Now, we will open the jail cells but behave or else I will let you taste my fists." Miltank threatened. Nosepass gulped as expected.

The five guards opened all the jail cells and everyone obediently followed Miltank to the mess hall, except for Grovyle. The gecko stayed in his jail cell.

"I will keep my eyes on him." Shedinja drawled.

"Alright, work hard, Shedinja." Ledyba motivated. Shedinja remained indifferent.

The others entered the mess hall while Shedinja and Grovyle engaged in a staring contest. Although, it was unintentional on Grovyle's part. He just didn't move his eyes, only blinking occasionally.

Both remained indifferent as there were some noises in the mess hall.

"This is so exciting. I can't describe it in words." Shedinja drawled sarcastically. "We have a world-breaking discovery here of a very unique specimen called the Grovyle. Their natural habitat is the prison and they hug a pillow at all times. They are very valuable and should be protected in a museum." Shedinja was deadpan throughout his documentary of a new specimen. Grovyle chuckled a bit but then stopped quickly.

The two then returned to staring at each other.

* * *

The mess hall was a bit disorganized with misaligned tables and chairs. There were four doors, one on the left was the confessional. Two on the middle were the boy and girl restrooms respectively. The right door connected to the work station.

Chef Drapion stood grumpily with trays of his special delicacy in front of him. There was a sign with the words: 'Drapion Games Twist, beat Chef Drapion in a game of his choice and you get a chance to save your teammate from solitary confinement. If you lose, go to solitary confinement directly.'

"Interesting." Bisharp said, looking at the sign intently.

"Chef Drapion, show them who's boss." Miltank cheered for him.

"Stop yappin', I don't care!" Chef Drapion hushed.

"The homie needs to chill out a bit more." Darmanitan whispered to Machoke, who nodded.

"I'm in a bad mood after that *beep* opening so get lost!" Chef Drapion swore.

"We are allowed to be in here, though. I'm sorry if you are in a bad mood but this is for the sake of the challenge." Ledyba pointed out. Chef Drapion grumbled to himself.

"What should we do to escape?" Dedenne whispered to Jumpluff.

"I don't know." Jumpluff looked worried.

Miltank got between both of them.

"What are you two whispering about? Escaping?" Miltank asked, lifting both of them up.

"Yikes, don't be rough." Jumpluff felt uncomfortable.

"Who do you think you are to interrupt a conversation impolitely? How impudent." Dedenne scolded.

"Lips sealed, eh? I have good news for both of you. You two have been invited to the work station." Miltank carried all of them to the right-side door of the mess hall. There was a banner with the words: 'Work Station, start working slaves!'

Jumpluff and Dedenne tried to resist but failed. Miltank opened the door and shoved both of them inside.

"Wait, please free them. We can talk through this mature-" Bisharp got dragged in there by Miltank as well. "-ly." Bisharp finished.

The work station was like a treasure hunting site. There were shovels and patches of sand. It was purely indoor with fake clouds on the ceiling.

"Keep digging or else I will whip all of you into shape!" Miltank forced the three to work.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "Bisharp was nice… Hmm… That's new. I couldn't tell if it was an act though."

 **Bisharp:** "Perhaps, I shouldn't say anything in front of someone as aggressive as Miltank. This is nothing new to me. When I tried to reason with my parents, they treated me like Miltank did." Bisharp sighed. "Still, I rebelled because I don't want to be in those chains and shackles again."

 **Jumpluff:** "When was the last time someone tried to help me in this show? Bisharp might not be the most social or outgoing Pokemon but gosh he sure is nice. Sometimes, even nicer than my friends..."

 **Miltank:** "I don't want to bring too many of them here or else they might get the reward. Those three lightweights don't stand a chance when I can just sit on them if they try to play hooky."

* * *

To the left of the mess hall, there was a corridor with an 'Off Limits' sign at the top. Machoke and Darmanitan patrolled around the corridor.

Machoke's eyes drooped down to the ground as he sighed. Darmanitan placed a hand on his right shoulder.

"I know how you feel and why you didn't attend the auction, homie. You want to give it all for this challenge. You work harder than the rest of us. Unlike the others that didn't follow Lucario's training regimen seriously, you always overworked yourself. I have faith in you. You are my boy so no matter what the others think of you-" Darmanitan tried to help. Machoke removed his hand and interrupted him.

"I know that you understand but it hurts that nobody has faith in me, including myself. I feel like I'm born… wrong. It is as if I'm destined to be weak. My intelligence is crippling and my body is crippling. I want to prove my worth to the team. In the end, even Lucario cast me aside. Even Houndour and you go easy on me. I don't want a special treatment. I don't want to be a burden to my team. I join this show because I want to prove that I'm capable of doing something on my own." Machoke clenched his fists. Darmanitan continued to listen attentively.

"I only manage to be a guard because of your supervision and ties with Lucario. I know it. He is probably thinking that I will drop my key-" Machoke checked his belt, the key was still there. Machoke sighed in relief.

Darmanitan's walkie talkie vibrated. Lucario was calling him.

"Let's talk about this later, homie. I got a call." Darmanitan paused their conversation.

"Aha. Both of us are taking care of it. Nothing's wrong so far. Duosion notices anything yet? The solitary confinement is ahead? Okay. Gotcha, homie." The call ended.

Suddenly, someone ran toward them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "That was unexpected."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the same time…

Skrelp ate her purple sludge slowly, trying to avoid attention from Ledyba's line of sight.

"Psst…" Drifblim signaled her to come closer and Skrelp did so.

"Any ideas on how to escape?" Drifblim asked quietly.

"Distract Ledyba and get the key, preferably from Machoke. Hide it quickly afterwards." Skrelp told.

"How do we deal with those two beefcakes over there?" Drifblim asked with concern.

"Let Heracross deal with them. We need to use every member to our advantage." Skrelp instructed further. Suddenly, Ledyba turned her eyes at them and they separated momentarily.

* * *

At another table, Tyrunt relaxed, having a great time with Nosepass.

"What is your crime?" Tyrunt asked. "Mine is shoplifting video games." Tyrunt confessed jokingly.

"I err… accidentally hurt someone… I guess." Nosepass stuttered.

"What about you, Rhyhorn?" Tyrunt asked Rhyhorn, who was next to them as well.

"…I killed someone." Rhyhorn revealed.

"That's… cruel." Nosepass looked a bit scared.

"Nah, he is just kidding, Nosepass. Nothing to be scared of." Tyrunt assured. Rhyhorn nodded slowly.

* * *

Back to Skrelp and Drifblim…

Drifblim got off her seat and floated to Ledyba.

"Ledyba, I got a problem." Drifblim acted anxiously.

"What?" Ledyba asked.

"There is a scary looking Raticate in the girls' restroom. Can you check? Please!" Drifblim begged in an apprehensive tone.

"Err… I will check it." Ledyba hesitantly agreed to help her. When Ledyba entered the restroom, Drifblim immediately blocked the door from outside.

"Hey!" Ledyba shouted from inside the restroom.

Heracross saw that the coast was clear and ran to the off-limits area. The corridor was pretty long with Machoke and Darmanitan around the halfway point.

"Homie, Heracross is here! Catch her." Darmanitan heard the thundering footsteps and alerted Machoke.

"Prepare to face my Guard Wall Technique!" Machoke said dramatically as he spread his arms and legs widely, as if he was a wall. This only gave Heracross the opportunity to snatch the key.

"Hey!" Machoke look annoyed. Darmanitan ran past him, chasing Heracross at a rapid speed. Rhyhorn saw Darmanitan catching up and ran over to help her.

"Take this." Tyrunt threw his plate of sludge at Darmanitan in an attempt to help but it missed and it Rhyhorn instead.

"Oops. Sorry, Rhyhorn. My accuracy stat is pretty low as of right now." Tyrunt apologized. Rhyhorn didn't reply.

"What can I do? Running and screaming?" Nosepass considered.

"What's with the noise?!" Miltank shouted from the work station.

"Someone quickly-" Snorunt was about to warn her teammates but it was too late.

Miltank slammed the door open.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Well, that was scary."

* * *

On the other side, the staff area was pretty lively…

"You land on my hotel. The rent costs 200,000 P." Meowth said joyfully to Cryogonal, who was frowning.

"I declare bankruptcy." Cryogonal admitted her defeat, tossing all of her money into the bank. "Aromatisse, want to play instead?" Cryogonal invited.

"Nah, I'm having a great time in this jacuzzi tub." Aromatisse continued to relax.

Lucario was busy with his walkie talkie.

"Miltank, don't put more than three in the working station. I don't want any of them to get the reward. Also, what's that noise? Sounds like someone is running. Please check it." Lucario ended. He then visited the security control room.

Scolipede was inside, standing next to Houndour. The fire type was running on a conveyor belt to power up the cameras.

"When you need a break, I will take over." Scolipede said.

"Thanks, not now though." Houndour sweated.

The screen was blank at the moment, with the power meter currently at fifty percent. Duosion gazed at the screen before she turned around to address Lucario.

"It takes approximately five to ten minutes for the screen to work for around thirty seconds. It is less useful than I initially thought." Duosion explained. Lucario furrowed his brows.

"Can't it be faster? Hurry up, I need to check something." Lucario wanted the process to speed up.

"Sorry, it is so tiring." Houndour panted.

"I will do it myself. Step back." Lucario ordered and Houndour obeyed.

Lucario started to sprint at full speed on the conveyor belt. He was so fast that smoke was released from the conveyor belt. The meter went up from sixty to seventy. Seventy to eighty. Eventually, the meter reached one hundred percent. Everyone widened their eyes at Lucario's speed. The professional athlete focused his eyes on the screen.

Apparently, Miltank was wrestling with Heracross, both of them rolling on the ground. Noticeably, both of them dropped their keys. Darmanitan kicked both keys out of Drifblim's grasp. Machoke tried to help but Rhyhorn pushed him against the wall. Snorunt, Tyrunt and Nosepass blocked the restroom door to keep Ledyba inside. Lucario gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He used his walkie talkie and shouted demandingly at someone.

"Shedinja, get out of there! I'm going in!"

Lucario marched out of the door as soon as Shedinja returned.

"Yay, vacation." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.

Lucario stomped hard on the ground, gaining attention from everyone.

"All of you are dead!" Lucario roared as he rushed ahead at the Crazy Crawdaunt. Grovyle lifted his gaze up lazily from the ground to glance at Lucario before he buried his face on his pillow.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "We got wrecked by the final boss this early into the game? What kind of rubbish game is this? Our warrior, Heracross was captured for stealing the keys. Although, the others luckily survived. The situation is looking hopeless. I don't want a game over screen."

* * *

At roughly the same time in the work station…

"We need to… keep digging! No giving up… everyone." Jumpluff tried to motivate. However, she ran out of breath. The three of them kept digging up empty treasure chests. Therefore, their morale was a bit low.

Dedenne groaned as she stabbed her shovel into the ground. "This is tough. I'm tired." Dedenne complained.

"I don't have that much energy left…" Bisharp said, sweating heavily. With the last of his strength, he lifted up another treasure chest. He opened it with low expectations, feeling hopeless.

"Finally, it is here!" Bisharp exclaimed. The others dropped their shovels and rushed to look inside the treasure chest.

"It is a map." Dedenne picked the treasure up.

"Hide it now before Miltank returns." Bisharp advised. Dedenne folded it before she buried the map not too deep under the sand.

Abruptly, Miltank opened the door to check on them. The three instantly returned back to digging except for…

"Oh god, where is my shovel?" Jumpluff forgot where she left her shovel.

"Over there." Miltank pointed. "I thought that you are Machoke for a second."

"I'm forgetful sometimes. Hahaha…" Jumpluff laughed nervously.

Miltank observed the tremendous amount of treasure chests opened and felt a bit worried.

"I think all of you should leave now." Miltank ordered.

"Where do we leave the shovels?" Bisharp came up with something to distract Miltank. Dedenne used this opportunity to dig for the map sneakily.

"Leave it wherever you want. Who cares?" Miltank replied, before giving Dedenne a suspicious look.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Miltank asked.

"I fell on the ground." Dedenne lied, hiding the map behind her back.

"Yeah, she is a total klutz." Jumpluff reinforced the lie.

"Sucks to be you. I don't think you are going to survive long in prison, pipsqueak." Miltank insulted with a mocking smile.

Dedenne walked sideways toward the door, hiding the map from Miltank.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "What a weirdo."

 **Dedenne:** "Miltank is such a jerk to me. Is she jealous of my small stature or something?"

* * *

The three returned to the mess hall, gaining the attention from their teammates.

"What happened?" Bisharp asked.

"I will give you three a small briefing. Heracross stole Machoke's key and got captured because of Lucario's interference. As of right now, we are debating about our next course of action." Skrelp updated them of the events that transpired.

"We got something to show." Bisharp signaled for Dedenne to show the map secretly.

"We should read this in the restrooms." Skrelp suggested. Everyone agreed. Ledyba was still watching them. She grew suspicious and tried to eavesdrop but Rhyhorn and Drifblim blocked her view.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "From my analysis of the map, there are two key locations. First, the solitary confinement rooms at the end of the corridor. We need to maneuver over there to bail Heracross out. Second, the secret sewers under the restrooms. I speculate that there might be a secret exit down there somewhere."

* * *

Tyrunt was instructed to tell Grovyle about their plan.

Tyrunt approached the gecko slowly, his face still buried on the pillow.

"Hey, we are going to the sewers." Tyrunt whispered. "Want to come? You act a bit weird today. No, alright." Tyrunt assumed that Grovyle didn't want to go as he didn't reply or move.

As Tyrunt left, he glanced up at the ceiling to see a camera staring at him. Tyrunt shrugged it off, believing that Skarmory was filming the episode.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "He better get up and do something. Seriously, even I did something in this challenge as a lazy gamer."

* * *

Lucario quickly returned to the staff area after he captured Heracross. Houndour replaced him instead since Lucario will take care of the cameras.

"How's the situation, Ledyba? Going well?" Houndour asked.

"Well, the Crazy Crawdaunt acted a bit weird. As of right now, Drifblim is playing a game with Chef Drapion." Ledyba informed.

"I think you should take a break. Cryogonal and Meowth still haven't got their chances to shine." Houndour suggested.

"Alright, take care." Ledyba said before she left, waving at him.

"Damn it, I lost!" Chef Drapion yelled in frustration. Drifblim and Chef Drapion agreed to play with darts. Chef Drapion threw carelessly and got a five, while Drifblim took her time and got a bullseye, earning herself a ten.

"Chef, are you sure that you are an expert? You said it yourself that you can do it blindfolded. Perhaps, you should play with someone around your level, like Machoke." Drifblim infuriated the chef.

"Gah! Just take this key and leave!" Chef Drapion gave her a silver key. It can only be used to open the solitary confinement rooms.

"According to the plan, we should send someone to check the sewers. Preferably, someone weak so it will not be suspicious. How about Tyrunt and Nosepass?" Skrelp discussed with her teammates.

Houndour got a call at this moment.

"Lucario, keep your eyes on the mess hall." Houndour reported.

"Fine, I guess." Nosepass looked nervous but accepted the task nonetheless.

"Oh well, at least someone is with me." Tyrunt tried to be optimistic.

"I will go and check on Grovyle." Dedenne said, her tone was a bit pessimistic.

"Perfect, proceed as planned." Skrelp ended the discussion. Jumpluff and Bisharp felt uneasy when Skrelp took charge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "No matter how hated or despised I'm, the others will keep me because I'm their most intelligent member."

 **Bisharp** : "Where is Grovyle? He is supposed to be the leader."

 **Dedenne:** "Grovyle… what happened to you?"

* * *

Dedenne approached Grovyle, sighing upon seeing his reaction. No reaction at all, Grovyle just buried his face on his pillow, blocking everyone from him.

"Grovyle, what happened to you? You are our leader and my… hero. I guess I don't understand how much agony you feel from being in prison but we need you so please get up. We are about to check the sewers." Dedenne encouraged.

"I guess you _used_ to be my hero." Dedenne emphasized. She then left, turning around to look at Grovyle for one last time before she left for real. Grovyle removed his face from his pillow and averted his eyes.

Dedenne returned to the others. Tyrunt and Nosepass already departed to their location. However, something was a bit off.

"Round 'em up boys." Miltank ordered. Machoke, Darmanitan and Miltank surrounded the Crazy Crawdaunt members.

"What did we do wrong?" Bisharp asked, looking around for any escape routes.

"Oh nothing, we are just going to force all of you into the work station. Lucario's order, it is absolute. Cryogonal, go and guard Heracross." Miltank ordered her 'underlings' around. The Crazy Crawdaunt members had no choice except to work until their job is done.

"Help!" Dedenne screamed for help desperately.

"What a pathetic last ditch effort, pipsqueak. Haha…" Miltank laughed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "What did I witness? Their scheme to go to the sewers. I sent Houndour after Tyrunt and Nosepass already. The only one left is Grovyle but meh, who cares about him?"

* * *

Tyrunt and Nosepass saw a floor tile in the boys' restroom being a bit misaligned. The color was normally black and white. However, this floor tile was black and gray instead. They lifted it up to see a ladder down into the sewers.

"You go first." Nosepass stepped back.

"Fine." Tyrunt sighed as he slowly descended down the ladder.

Houndour opened the door to the restrooms and followed them silently. He turned the flashlight that he got from Meowth on.

Nosepass and Tyrunt saw that there were two directions, left and right.

"Look, there are light bulbs illuminating the right direction. I think we should check there first." Tyrunt suggested.

"I agree." Nosepass tried to peer into the left direction. It looked ominous. He quickly turned his head around and followed Tyrunt.

"Lucario, is this place off-limits? Can you check?" Houndour got a call from Lucario, who wanted to check his progress.

"Off-limits, alright." Houndour sneaked toward the two slowly. Unfortunately, a drop of water fell on his head and he winced, accidentally moving the flashlight at Tyrunt's back. Houndour quickly turned off the flashlight and hid it.

"I think someone is following us. Let me check." Tyrunt worriedly turned around, he was shocked to see Houndour.

"Sorry." Houndour apologized as he pinned both of them down.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "At that moment, I thought it was basically game over."

* * *

"Help!" Dedenne shouted desperately. Grovyle heard it and lifted his body off the ground.

"Help? From who? I'm Guilty Guy Grovyle, not Good Guy Grovyle." Grovyle sighed and fell back down to his pillow. After a painfully long few seconds, Grovyle peeked his head out of his cell, nobody was to be seen. Grovyle frowned.

"They all need my help. True, not all of them are nice to me and I don't think some of them deserve my help. However, there are those that look up to me… I need to do my duty as the leader of this team at the very least." Grovyle talked to himself, trying to find the motivation inside his lifeless body.

"Did Dedenne mention the sewers? Maybe, I should check it." Grovyle ran with great agility to the sewers. The camera caught him and Lucario made a call to Houndour.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I'm not the hero that my team need, I'm the hero that they deserve. No, that isn't right. I'm the hero that half of my team deserve. I don't like Skrelp, that backstabbing Bisharp and Snorunt. Drifblim and Heracross? Eh, they should give me more admiration and respect."

* * *

Houndour lifted his walkie talkie up.

"What? Grovyle?!" Houndour turned around to see Grovyle sprinting at him. Nosepass and Tyrunt cheered with delight.

"My hero!" Nosepass shouted.

"Obviously." Grovyle said before tackling Houndour, knocking his silver bracelet off.

"My bracelet!" Houndour tried to retrieve it but Grovyle got if first.

"Catch." Grovyle threw it up into the air and kicked it to the opposite direction, the dark and ominous left side. It rolled continuously, making it hard to get. Houndour chased after it with his walkie talkie still on his paw.

"Lucario, I'm sorry. I will chase them later. I-I need to get it first." It seemed that Houndour and Lucario was in an argument.

The three continued to run through the right side of the sewers. Tyrunt turned back to look at Houndour.

"Was that really necessary?" Tyrunt asked, feeling a bit guilty.

"Of course." Grovyle replied as if it was something normal and not something to be ashamed about.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "Houndour was nice to me in that cave… I don't know how I feel about this."

* * *

The three finally reached a secret room. They opened it to see a freezing gun from an old challenge. There was a note attached to it.

"Unlimited ammo." Grovyle read. "I will take this." Grovyle lifted it up and got a comfortable grip.

"Yeah, you deserve it man." Nosepass agreed. Tyrunt looked deep in thought about something.

"It is time to free everyone." Grovyle smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Grovyle saved me. That's all it matters. Houndour is nice but he is on the other team."

* * *

Houndour got very close to the bracelet until a Raticate bit it and ran away.

"Hey, that's mine! I got it from a girlfriend." Houndour shouted angrily.

"Sewer life is tough. Who cares? I'm going to sell it in a black market. Later, loser." Raticate sneered at him.

Houndour chased the Raticate and got another call from Lucario.

"I know what you want but… sorry." Houndour closed the walkie talkie.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "*beep*! That insolent… How dare he defied my authority?! This is for the sake of our team, goddamn it!"

* * *

Heracross scribbled something down on the wall of the solitary confinement with a piece of rock. It appeared to be 'Lucario sucks'.

"Boring." Heracross complained.

Suddenly, there were freezing sounds and the door was unlocked. Heracross looked out of the door to see Grovyle grinning and a frozen Cryogonal.

"Didn't expect to see you here." Heracross said with a small smile.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "How ironic. I got frozen as an ice type."

 **Grovyle:** "I'm a great sharpshooter. I definitely didn't take several tries to do it." Grovyle looked a bit nervous at the end.

* * *

Miltank talked with Lucario through the walkie-talkie.

"No worries. Gecko boy can't beat me. I got a few hostages." Miltank said, feeling overconfident.

"Grovyle?" Dedenne didn't hear it clearly.

"Yes, your hero." Grovyle slammed the door open at that exact moment and rapidly shot at Miltank and Machoke. He froze them successfully. However, Darmanitan got close to him. The fire type was about to slap the gun out of his hands until Heracross held him in place. This allowed Grovyle to shoot him successfully.

"Freedom for everyone!" Grovyle shouted. Everyone cheered for him except for Snorunt and Skrelp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "Wow, Grovyle is so epic! I will totally follow him on social media. I only wish that he teaches me how to do things like juggling. Why didn't he teach me?"

 **Dedenne:** "Now, the old Grovyle is back! The Grovyle that we all love."

* * *

Lucario rallied the rest of his teammates at the staff area for their last line of defence.

"We will do anything, at all costs to prevent those criminals from causing havoc out there. It is my responsibility as the warden to ensure that." Lucario slammed his baton on the ground. Noises were getting louder as rampaging footsteps could be heard.

"Here they come." Lucario alerted.

The door was unlocked and Grovyle fired rapidly like a madman at everything. He wasn't accurate but who cares when you got infinite ammo? Aromatisse was frozen near the jacuzzi tub. Shedinja dropped down to the ground lifelessly. Everyone was frozen except for Lucario, who utilized his baton to deflect the shots.

"Run!" Grovyle shouted. Everyone distanced themselves from Lucario and rushed to the door except for Grovyle. Surprisingly, Lucario allowed all of them to escape. He only focused his eyes on Grovyle.

"What about you?" Dedenne asked in concern.

"I will survive." Grovyle gave her a reassuring smile. Jumpluff nudged for Dedenne to escape and she quickly did so before Lucario changed his mind.

"I only need to keep one prisoner in my prison to win. That prisoner will be you. Prepare for a beatdown." Lucario intimidated Grovyle.

Everyone else already escaped… It all came down to this. The final showdown between the warden and the leader of the prisoners.

"Take this." Grovyle rapidly shot at Lucario. The professional athlete reflected all the shots with his baton skillfully. Grovyle ducked to dodge the reflected shots. Lucario got closer and closer to him.

Grovyle tried to shoot Lucario again, this time, he aimed for his legs. Lucario jumped but it barely hit his foot. His right leg froze but he was still fine.

"Farewell." Grovyle said as he threw his gun away and sprinted to the door. Lucario tried to run as fast as he possibly could but with one leg frozen, it was a difficult task. As Grovyle approached the door, the sun was about to set. The final result was…

Lucario jumped with his last remaining strength to grab Grovyle's legs…

However, Grovyle stretched his hands out of the door.

Skarmory landed and announced the final result.

"Technically, Grovyle wins because he got his hands out of the prison at the very least. That counts as getting out of prison so… the Crazy Crawdaunt win barely."

"What? That's not fair!" Lucario protested.

"I make the rules." Skarmory countered.

"I resign!" Lucario threw his hat away angrily.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "*beep*! Where the hell was Houndour when we all were fighting to the death? Only if he was there… the outcome would be different. He might think that he secures a strong spot in this team and can do whatever he wants… I will demonstrate what happens to Pokemon like him to my other teammates so that none will follow his example."

* * *

Lucario rallied all of his teammates in front of the mess hall before the elimination. Machoke looked down solemnly at the ground. Houndour got his bracelet back, although he didn't seem to be in a good mood in the slightest.

Lucario addressed his teammates. "Every elimination was a landslide so far and I expect the same this time. I want everyone to put personal matters aside for this one." Machoke nodded.

"The person that we are going to eliminate is a disobedient, selfish, love-sick puppy. That's you, Houndour." Lucario pointed at him. Nearly everyone gasped, they didn't expect this.

"Fair enough to me, he did chase after that bracelet after all." Miltank agreed.

"Preposterous! We can't judge him through his performance in one challenge. Think about his overall performance." Duosion tried to defend him.

"Yeah! He is a very kind and nice fellow in general. I think we should give him a second chance." Ledyba defended him as well.

Meowth stayed silent, he looked at Lucario and saw the scowl on his face. He stepped back and let everything played itself out.

Scolipede didn't seem to like both Lucario and Houndour, he distanced himself from the two.

"Insolence! How dare you try to defend someone that cost us the challenge? He prioritizes his relationship before his team. We need to eliminate him to set up an example!" Lucario yelled at his teammates. Houndour stayed silent, he didn't want to say anything that might worsen the situation.

Machoke clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and cried a little. Lucario eventually called off this discussion.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "It should be me. I should be eliminated. I failed and failed. I mean nothing to my team. I can't even protect my own key…"

* * *

Lucario and Darmanitan met up. Lucario took deep breaths.

"Are you sure about this?" Darmanitan asked in concern. "This will turn a lot of Pokemon against you. Maybe even from the other team."

"Either way, they will all turn against me. Houndour, he is a dangerous player. He has a dominating social game. That canine can create a rebellion if he disagrees with me. He can rally votes and turn against me. When that happens, all control is lost." Lucario explained, clenching his fists. His eyes looked sore and exhausted.

"I see… I will vote with you, homie." Darmanitan promised. Machoke looked at both of them from a distance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I need to stick by Lucario's side. I'm the closest Pokemon in this island to him. If I betray him, he will go on a rampage. Lucario can't control his emotions very well. He is like a ticking time bomb that I need to chill it out with my zen principles."

* * *

Houndour and Duosion were on the beach, talking to each other.

"Houndour, use your connections. You will stay in this island that way." Duosion said, focusing her eyes on him. He was silent for a moment.

"I think I should leave…" Houndour said, giving her a sorry smile. "I made that mistake and I will pay for it."

"Why? No, please don't. I want you to stay here. I don't know what I will do without you." Duosion pleaded. "We should vote out Lucario instead. He is starting to become a dictator. Vote him out and survive." Duosion suggested.

"No, if I vote out my own team leader, what kind of Pokemon am I? A villain, I will soon be one. My friends will soon turn against me. Do you think someone like Ledyba wants to do that? Voting out Lucario? There will be chaos and all control will be lost in our team." Houndour looked determined.

"I made my decision." Houndour said confidently. Duosion sobbed as Houndour consoled her. Machoke looked at both of them from a distance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "Both of them are like different sides of the same coin. I can't allow them to eat each other alive like this. Neither of them are wrong for how they think and react. I'm the one who is wrong. I'm the weakest link. I will do the last thing that I can do for this team!"

* * *

Machoke rallied everyone minutes before the elimination. They were surprised to see Machoke making an announcement.

"Everyone, I would like to tell something to all of you. I'm born with the lowest attack record in the history of all Machop. I struggled and struggled. No matter how I tried, I always failed…" Machoke paused to think. The others waited in anticipation.

"However, I was met with kindness from many of you. All of you cheered for me, became my friends and consoled me when I failed." Machoke started to cry. However, he continued regardless, giving eye contacts to all of his teammates.

"It really makes me feel like a burden. It pains me to stay in this game if it means that I will continue to cause trouble for all of you. I realize it now that this isn't my time to shine. Perhaps, I'm not useful in this show but maybe I will be useful in something else. I want to find that, my talent. What I'm good at. Therefore, I want to sacrifice myself. Please vote for me!" Machoke spoke from his heart. It might not be the most well-structured argument but it was his best nonetheless.

Everyone was shocked and touched by this, even Shedinja, albeit a little.

"Homie, what are you talking about? Don't leave. You don't need-" Darmanitan tried to discourage him from leaving.

"No! I must leave for the two Pokemon that I care about. First is Lucario…" Machoke said, tears fell from his eyes. Lucario was astonished, he stared at the ground.

"During the first few days in this island, you saw my potential. I might be very weak but you definitely see my effort and determination. You took me in, under your wing. I got promoted to errr… a high position." Machoke stuttered a bit but he continued, he wasn't frazzled.

"Sure, you lost some faith in me lately but I still can see that you still trust me, deep inside. Next…" Machoke moved on. Lucario seemed to be emotional from this.

"Houndour, you were very nice. I remembered the time you shared noodles and all those words of encouragement. I also remember that you tricked me into believing more in myself. You made me into a bigger person than I could be. I couldn't ask for anymore than this. The elimination is about to start. Please vote for me! I want a moment of reflection out of this game. Perhaps, I will return in a second season after I figure out what I'm good at. That's it. Did I miss anything?" Machoke looked a bit unconfident, scratching his head in the process.

"No, homie. Your speech is beautiful." Darmanitan wiped off his tears.

"Yeah…" Houndour admitted, feeling emotionally overwhelmed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "The homie deserves all the credit. It is very tough for someone like him to say all those things. He will agonize over memorizing the same lines again and again. What made it special is that he spoke from his heart."

* * *

Skarmory didn't have a plate of Leppa Berry with him today.

"Wow, what a shocker. Since it is unanimous, there is no need for me to build up the elimination. By a vote of twelve, Machoke, you are eliminated.

"Bye everyone. I think I have said enough." Machoke waved to everyone as they all watched him departing. Everyone attended, even Shedinja.

"Our residential captain oblivious is gone…" Shedinja drawled.

"He saves us." Lucario said, staring into the distance. He then turned to Houndour.

"Hmm?" Houndour looked confused, hoping that it wasn't something bad.

"I will give you a second chance all because of Machoke. Don't waste it or else there will be no mercy from me." Lucario said, deadly serious.

"I know." Houndour nodded, smiling at how everything turned out. Duosion smiled happily next to him as well.

"Well, let's end things off differently this time. Everyone shout Total Machoke Island!" Skarmory instructed.

"Total Machoke Island!" The Feckless Flygon members and Skarmory shouted in unison.

* * *

Well, did anyone expect this? One of the hardest elimination to create in this story. There might be more like this. I want my Total Drama to be unique and stand out from the crowd. At the same time, showcasing familiar, unoriginal ideas that everyone can relate to.

On another note, there will be a second season. However, it will be released in like the next three or four years. Machoke will probably not return after the merge hits but he guaranteed himself a spot in the second season. Oops, spoilers.


	11. Chapter 11

**Reply to Review**

 **WhiteDiamondNinja8484**

I'm glad that you stick around in this journey of mine. Reviews like yours make me want to post the chapter early by one day. Grovyle and Shedinja chemistry huh? Maybe. You need to wait and see. Fun fact about Machoke's speech. I didn't plan it. I write it like a flow of water to resemble his character. Although, initially, there were a lot of grammar mistakes. Scolipede and Ledyba is another pretty obvious couple. Glad you like them.

* * *

 **Episode 11: Quiz and Quarrels**

The camera brightened up to the light of the new day. Skarmory smiled at the camera for a brief moment before he started the opening again.

"It has been quite a while. Ten episodes done, twenty left to go. Many more days of drama to come. I'm particularly happy today as the challenge revolves around me and Chef Drapion got his replacement. What do I mean by that? Introduce yourself, Raticate intern." Skarmory handed the spotlight over to the Pokemon behind the camera.

Slowly, the camera turned around to reveal a rodent Pokemon with long whiskers and sharp teeth. He stood on his hind legs.

"Yo viewers, I just got this job real zippity zap after the last challenge. A purple scorpion thingy found me smoking an ugly kid so he offered me a chance to work. Being a cameraman pays well, right? Insurance? Holidays?" Raticate asked.

"Err… You know that you aren't being paid, right? I don't pay new interns." Skarmory corrected.

"What?!" Raticate seemed shocked as he widened his eyes and mouth.

"Well, you got to work really hard for me to pay you. Test out the challenges, clean the whole place up and do all the horrible, dirty tasks." Skarmory explained.

"Fine, better than the sewers." Raticate groaned. The camera returned its attention to the host.

"Last time, the Crazy Crawdaunt were thrown into prison for failing to win the advantage in the auction. The Feckless Flygon worked tirelessly to make sure they stay in the prison to the dismay of Triple G." Skarmory recapped.

"Triple G? What kind of god awful namesake is that?" Raticate wondered.

Skarmory seemed amused but continued regardless. "In the end, Triple G edged out a victory against our warden, sending the Flygon to the elimination ceremony. The technician made a sacrifice for his team and got the boot. What will happen this time? Will the Feckless Flygon bounce back from their second consecutive defeat? Will our Raticate intern survive? Find out in this exciting episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

In the Crawdaunt boys' cabin, Nosepass shook in fear on his bed. Perhaps, he was having a nightmare. Bisharp and Rhyhorn already left, leaving the three boys in the cabin. Tyrunt looked out of the window. At the same moment, Grovyle just left the cabin, yawning at the start of a new day.

"Yesterday was cool. Everyone praised and cheered for me. Hopefully, today will be even better." Grovyle was having a monologue with himself.

Looking around the camp, Grovyle noticed Houndour and Duosion talking at the other side of the clearing. Houndour pointed at his bracelet, trying to convey some sort of message.

"I wonder what they are talking about? Not my business I guess." Grovyle carelessly shrugged it off. He was about to head to the restroom until Tyrunt interrupted him.

"Man, you made a bad move yesterday. Doing something like that to Houndour? He is popular, you know?" Tyrunt stretched his head out the cabin.

"I did it for the team, it was a good deed." Grovyle frowned as he defended himself. "I can't believe that you doubt me of all Pokemon here. I saved you!"

"I know but still, Houndour is a nice guy. You didn't need to do that." Tyrunt argued.

"What's wrong with you? A little fight is a crime? That is normal in sports and competition in general. I didn't kick it that far." Grovyle paused to think. "Hell, if it was my intention to harm him, I would have slice that thing in half with Leaf Blade!" Grovyle's voice showed an increase in aggression. Tyrunt looked offended.

"Man, I'm trying to help. No need to be so angry about it." Tyrunt tried to calm him down.

"Help? More like scolding me! I'm the leader of this team and I know best. I don't like it when whiny-" Grovyle nearly swore but he successfully restrained himself. "Gah! This is what I get for helping? The guys back at home sure treat me better than you thankless... Screw it!" Grovyle twitched his right arm before he stomped off to the restroom.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I thought that the guy is more… approachable. I mean I'm trying to help him. Giving him advice. It frustrates me that he reacts like this. Am I not socially suave enough? Houndour is a nice guy. He helped me previously before. Back to grinding and farming experience for me."

* * *

Houndour stood outside of the cabin with Duosion next to him. The canine was eyeing his bracelet.

"So, what is the story behind yesterday?" Duosion asked.

"It was just an accident. That's all." Houndour tried to cover up the story.

"Getting tight-lip even to your girlfriend? During ancient times, they cut your tongue off as a punishment for not cooperating or stating lies. I wonder what they do nowadays… as a punishment." Duosion said jokingly.

"Hahaha… Maybe, extend your jail sentence?" Houndour guessed.

"Probably. You don't need to say it if you want. I just ask in case you want to share the full story with me." Duosion assured. She looked at Houndour, he didn't seem to be thrilled with sharing the story.

"What will we do today?" Duosion changed the topic. This brightened his mood up.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "I don't want to piss off Grovyle. What he did is understandable. It was for the team. Well, that's all I got to say. Duosion is waiting for me outside. I need to hurry up." Houndour ran excitedly out of the confessional.

 **Meowth:** "I saw my business partners… enjoying a date somewhere in the woods. Tsk, tsk, tsk, how irresponsible. Perhaps, I should abandon them. Their heads aren't in the game anymore. They are no longer any useful to me. I will just give them pensions for their retirement and sack them both off my business."

* * *

In the boys' restroom, Grovyle turned the faucet to the right and water flowed into his hands. He slapped the water into his face and wiped it clean with a tissue paper. Afterwards, he turned the faucet to the left.

"Why did they doubt me? Am I not good enough? Am I not kind enough? Should I forget about them and care only about myself? Perhaps, none of them deserve my help. My team look pitiful. Half of my team is filled with weaklings like Nosepass, Snorunt and Tyrunt. The other half is no better with the likes of Heracross, Skrelp and Bisharp. Especially Bisharp, he abandoned me! I thought that he is on my side… Everything went well until he suddenly changed. Why did he change?" Grovyle was having a moment of reflection as he stared at the mirror.

"I'm a hero, am I? Then, where is my reward, my appreciation, everything that I deserve? I worked hard for the team!" Grovyle continued to ask these questions to himself.

Lucario entered as well, he ignored Grovyle and washed his sweaty body clean.

"Hey, how are things going in your team?" Grovyle asked. Lucario expressed confusion upon hearing this. "From a leader to another leader. Can't you spare a moment?" Grovyle asked. Lucario stayed silent. For a moment, things looked very awkward for Grovyle until there was a response.

"Hmph. In our team, there is a wide variety of members. Ranging from weak to strong. Obedient to disobedient. However, there is one thing that they all share. They have the potential to be a useful and productive teammate. However, each defeat made me wonder why I'm training these fools! Sometimes, they just don't listen to my orders. I'm trying to make them stronger for god's sake! Yet, every time, an idiot needs to come in and foil all of my plans! I don't have the patience to babysit them!" Lucario shouted and yelled. Occasionally, he slammed the wall of the restroom in anger.

"My team isn't that much better." Grovyle told before he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I'm still mad at my team but at least I'm not alone. I feel better I guess…"

 **Lucario:** "Feebas, Magikarp, Oddish, Meowstic. Those four share one thing in common. They messed up and were eliminated. Machoke and Houndour are a bit special compare to them. Nonetheless, I expect the very best from my team. In the Aura Beast, I have the liberty to work with a talented group of well-trained experts. However, before our rise to fame, most of our members were laughing stocks. I used to babysit those losers like I do now with this new group of losers. I need to use iron discipline to change these losers into winners!"

* * *

In the Crawdaunt girls' cabin, Skrelp read her book as usual on her bed. Snorunt went through her notes. Heracross fiddled with the wall of the cabin. The other three were outside somewhere.

"I'm going outside. This place feels like a bookworm club with you two here." Heracross commented before she left.

"What are your plans? Specifically, your targets. Perhaps, we share a common enemy. I inquire because you are one of the only few that didn't seem content with that pretentious Grovyle." Skrelp tried to seek information from Snorunt.

"Umm… Yeah, I don't like Grovyle. It seems like he pretends to be nice while in reality he has an ulterior motive." Snorunt tried to speak with confidence.

"Then, why don't we rally up our numbers and eliminate him? I will lend you my cooperation temporarily." Skrelp offered.

"Okay." Snorunt agreed, albeit a bit hesitant.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Snorunt:** "Skrelp is also my enemy but this might be a very rare opportunity to get rid of Grovyle. Like they say, keep your friends close but enemies closer."

 **Skrelp:** "Despite my differences with Snorunt, Grovyle is a major threat to my game. He manages to brainwash most contestants into thinking that he is a 'moral' leader. Bombastic."

* * *

Jumpluff was having a conversation with Dedenne in the mess hall.

"You know what? I'm surprised that our team never start up a party or anything. Even Lucario did it, like seriously? We just seem to be too competitive. I don't think this gives off any good vibes." Jumpluff pointed out.

"Party? Ew… You mean the ones with alcohol and drunkies? I will pass." Dedenne didn't seem fond of the idea.

"Why? Social events are awesome! I like to attend those every now and then. Some has alcohol but that doesn't mean ours will." Jumpluff tried to persuade her.

"I read the newspapers often and many reliable and responsible adults expressed their concerns with our generation acting like a bunch of lunatics especially in a party. I'm not against the idea but I will probably not join in." Dedenne rejected.

"Alright." Jumpluff looked down.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "Jumpluff needs to control herself sometimes. She can be really ditzy to be honest. A party will never work in the environment we are in."

* * *

"The homie is gone…" Darmanitan sighed. He rested on the beach, spreading his arms on the sand.

"My zen principles will help me overcome this loss. Zen…" Darmanitan sat upright and meditated again.

"Headbutt." Shedinja added as he passed by.

"Zen Headbutt… Oops, I mean zen…" Darmanitan regained his composure and chanted the same word again and again. Shedinja seemed a tiny bit amused.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Man, that homie messed me up good." Darmanitan scratched his head sheepishly.

* * *

"When will he confess, I wonder?" Cryogonal teased Ledyba.

"Stop, I don't think we are that close... yet" Ledyba's face was a bit pink.

"I doubt that Scolipede has any backbone to confess." Aromatisse stated her opinion as she continued with her make-up.

"Want to bet? I think he will confess in three days." Cryogonal challenged.

"Haha… no. I need that money for more beauty products." Aromatisse refused.

"Fine, your loss." Cryogonal seemed a bit disappointed.

"Aromatisse! Lucario wants to see you in the gym!" Miltank shouted from outside.

"Oh, oh, I think you are in trouble." Cryogonal said as Aromatiise looked worried.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "Sticking with Lucario has its benefits. However, I'm not his messenger! Geez, can't homie boy do it instead?" Miltank crossed her arms.

* * *

Aromatisse walked slowly over to the gym. Upon entering, Lucario was juggling dumbbells without breaking a sweat. Aromatisse stared at his performance, clearly impressed.

After Lucario finished, he glared at Aromatisse. His eyes looked serious like a principle calling out the school troublemaker. Aromatisse looked apprehensive in front of him.

"I will be blunt and straightforward. Aromatisse, your performance in challenges lately have been underwhelming and mediocre. I warn you that you will be the next eliminated contestant if you don't significantly improve!" Lucario gave her a warning.

"Those physical challenges aren't my-" Aromatisse tried to defend herself.

"Excuses! In the last challenge, you didn't even try!" Lucario scolded her.

"You didn't want me to try!" Aromatisse countered.

"That was a test. I want to see what kind of team player you are. You failed unlike Machoke." Lucario revealed. Aromatisse gritted her teeth. She couldn't come up with anything else to say.

"You are dismissed. Don't disappoint me again." Lucario said coldly, before turning away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Grrr… Lucario is just… despicable. Can't he just understand that I can't offer much in a physical challenge?"

* * *

Grovyle sat up high on a branch of a tree, seemingly in a trance. Thinking and contemplating alone. Nobody knew what he was thinking.

"How are you doing?" Bisharp looked up and asked in concern. "Feeling well?"

Grovyle slowly looked down and responded. "I'm as good as new. Just annoyed at someone around here."

"Who might that individual be? If it is a serious concern, you can discuss it with the others. Perhaps, an elimination can be arranged." Bisharp suggested.

"No biggie, a good guy gotta confront the baddies." Grovyle descended down from the tree. "I will leave now." Grovyle bid his leave. Bisharp looked at Grovyle's back as he slowly disappeared in the distance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I'm not really in a position to help him either. I have my own… personal issues to deal with."

* * *

Jumpluff saw Bisharp at the usual place, the dock. He was fishing to pass some time.

"Hey, Skarmory Shop just opened. Skarmory is selling Pokepuff today. Want some?" Jumpluff asked.

"I will pass." Bisharp replied simply, concentrating on his task at hand.

"Alright." Jumpluff said disappointingly. "Everyone seems to be in a bad mood even though we just won yesterday."

"Our team is dysfunctional. There is a gap between each member." Bisharp explained. "We lack the element of teamwork and cooperation that we desperately need."

"Why? Why must there be a gap like this? Can't we all be friends?" Jumpluff asked.

"I'm afraid not. Not all of us can put aside our differences." Bisharp answered.

"What about you, can you?" Jumpluff questioned and Bisharp immediately let go of the fishing pole. He thought about it and replied.

"I can try. However, a spur of events in a few days won't entirely change a Pokemon. Even if I appreciate getting closer to all of you… My values still remain. I don't want to disappoint my family regardless. I'm the only child of my family. My ancestors will be enraged if I let go of my responsibilities." Bisharp told her with slight difficulty, avoiding eye contact.

"What can I do to help?" Jumpluff asked. "I really, really want to help if I can."

"Perhaps, you can try to look more competent so that my family will not shun me for associating myself with you. No offence but my parents can be judgmental." Bisharp alerted.

"Okeydokey." Jumpluff accepted cheerfully. Bisharp seemed surprised.

"You will really do that? No negotiations, arguments, anything?" Bisharp asked.

"Of course, we are friends, remember?" Jumpluff reminded as Bisharp smiled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Friends, huh? My parents always degrade them. Repeat again and again about how useless they are. 'They are just pawns to be used for our benefits'. They always say something along the lines of this. I wonder if I can prove them wrong. Perhaps, my real, genuine relationship will be the key in beating Skrelp."

* * *

Near the benches, Grovyle approached Snorunt. The snow hat Pokemon got cautious and hid her diary immediately.

"I mean no harm. Don't worry, I just want to know why you don't trust me." Grovyle sat next to her and asked. Snorunt inched away from Grovyle and he frowned.

"You are… ambiguous. Are you with us or with them?" Snorunt asked, feeling nervous.

"I'm with everyone because I'm the leader of this team." Grovyle answered and Snorunt was deep in thought.

"Umm… I see. Maybe, I was a bit harsh. Please forgive me if I offended you. How should I make up for this?" Snorunt suddenly tried to get on his good side.

"Just thank me and appreciate me." Grovyle said proudly. "I'm the hero around here." He pointed to himself.

"Alright. Thank you." Snorunt said meekly as Grovyle happily left. Skrelp observed this from a distance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "I couldn't hear their conversation clearly. However, my intuition suggests that Snorunt betrayed me. This is intriguing. Perhaps, there will be a change of plans."

 **Snorunt:** "Alright to be honest, I still don't really trust that guy. He thinks too highly of himself. I said those things to get him out of my side."

* * *

Heracross and Drifblim enjoyed their Pokepuff together inside the mess hall. Both of them seemed to have a great time.

"Hahaha. Did he really fall for it? The first flying Machoke? Hahaha…" Heracross laughed uncontrollably.

"Indeed. Some call him captain oblivious." Drifblim told.

"That guy is real comedy right there. A shame he left. What are you up to lately?" Heracross changed the topic, seemingly interested.

"Oh, I have plans. Big plans." Drifblim hinted vaguely, glancing at Nosepass and Rhyhorn. The two rock types sat next to each other, enjoying their treats.

"I rather be with you than Skrelp. You can ask for my help at any time." Heracross said with a mouthful of Pokepuff.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Skrelp made a fatal mistake. She burned her bridges with Heracross a bit too much by messing with Archeops. Now, the beetle holds grudges against her. I will use this opportunity to take her over to my side. Emotions are very important in this game and I doubt that Skrelp understands that.

* * *

The contestants all gathered around Skarmory near his shop.

"Contestants! Prepare for another exciting challenge! This time, all of you will get the opportunity to know me a bit more." Skarmory announced enthusiastically.

"Aren't you famous? Can't we look at a Pokepedia page instead?" Drifblim retorted.

"Hahaha… Very funny." Skarmory laughed sarcastically. "The objective of today's challenge is to answer a quiz about me. More accurately, it is about my favorite drinks. If you pay close attention to what I drink, you got yourself a head-start. In addition, there will be various missions for you to complete around the island. Finish it and you will earn a hint. After a predetermined amount of time, we will start the quiz. The challenge starts now!" Skarmory finished explaining the challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Let me guess. On that list, there will be coffee, green tea and berry juice."

 **Meowth:** "Of course, I need more market research before I can create a specific, customized product for our VIP guest."

 **Aromatisse:** "At least, it doesn't seem that physically demanding. Hopefully, I get to stay on the island."

 **Nosepass:** "I didn't really pay attention to what he likes to drink because who knows that it will be useful someday? Hopefully, my team can carry me throughout the challenge and I can take the backseat as always."

* * *

The challenge officially began. Lucario led his team through the forest right away while the Crazy Crawdaunt stayed behind and explored the campsite.

"Let's check the mess hall first. This challenge is about drinks so it makes sense to go inside, right?" Tyrunt suggested.

"If you want. I don't really care. We should all just spread out and meet each other later." Grovyle separated with his team.

"Good idea." Dedenne agreed. All the Crazy Crawdaunt members headed out with their own group.

"Is something wrong with him?" Nosepass asked Tyrunt quietly. "He seems kind of angry."

"I-I guess." Tyrunt felt a bit uncomfortable.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I don't want to jump into conclusions but Grovyle doesn't seem to be happy with me. Hopefully, he doesn't vote me out. I'm still his ally."

 **Nosepass:** "These contestants are scary sometimes. I feel like they can go on a rampage at any second. Why did I sign up for this show in the first place? The money doesn't worth it anymore in my opinion."

* * *

Tyrunt entered the mess hall to see Chef Drapion blending something. It was purple-ish with tidbits of leftovers mixed inside.

"What is that, chef?" Tyrunt asked.

"Drink it and you might get a clue." Chef Drapion poured the strange juice into plastic cups.

"Does Skarmory like to drink this?" Tyrunt asked Nosepass.

"I doubt it. It looks scary. You should drink first." Nosepass hid behind Tyrunt. The latter seemed annoyed by his cowardice.

"It is more reassuring with Elekid around…" Tyrunt grumbled.

Tyrunt grabbed the drink and pinched his nose before he chugged it. His face turned purple suddenly. Nosepass decided to pass on drinking it.

"Here is your clue." Chef Drapion handed him a torn piece of paper. The only comprehensible thing was the letter 'S'.

"Hey, this clue is incomplete!" Tyrunt complained.

"You need to drink more than one cup." Chef Drapion explained. Tyrunt groaned.

"Your turn." Tyrunt pushed Nosepass up front.

"I don't want to do it." Nosepass refused.

"I already did it!" Tyrunt looked annoyed.

"What if we share a cup?" Nosepass negotiated.

"Fine." Tyrunt didn't look impressed in the slightest.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I don't want stomach problems. Who the hell wants to drink that weird purple thing?"

 **Tyrunt:** "I'm starting to get annoyed by Nosepass, very, very annoyed. I'm fine with the door incident but this… Argh."

* * *

Lucario saw a sign near the forest area and signaled his team to read it.

"Find a Raticate intern hiding in the island to receive a very special advantage. Interesting." Lucario was hooked by the challenge.

"Raticate?" Houndour wondered.

"Easy victory. Let's find him." Miltank seemed eager to start the hunt.

"Split into different groups and cover the island!" Lucario ordered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "Is it that Raticate?" Houndour shook a bit.

 **Raticate:** "What kind of crappy job is this? Whatever, I get to smoke some ugly kids."

* * *

Bisharp and Jumpluff headed to the beach area to see a Magikarp. He seemed familiar but neither of them could remember his identity.

"Who are you? A new intern? Tell me." Jumpluff asked, completely forgetting his appearance.

"Remember me? We are on different teams. I'm bought back temporarily." Magikarp explained.

"Oh sorry. You look like the other normal Magikarp around here." Jumpluff looked apologetic.

"Never mind. Anyways, don't worry. I'm not going to favor my team after what they did to me. I return due to a random draw so it wasn't my choice to come back either. Here, you need to catch a Gyarados and you get a hint. Simple?" Magikarp explained the instructions.

"Simple." Bisharp nodded before turning to Jumpluff. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"I need to be competent so I guess I will try my best." Jumpluff seemed optimistic with her odds.

"If you need help, feel free to ask me." Bisharp assured.

"Let's go! We are going to catch a Gyarados. Awesome, my friends will be shocked!" Jumpluff exclaimed, feeling upbeat. Bisharp chuckled at her reaction.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Jumpluff is very cheerful and uplifting."

 **Jumpluff:** "Honestly, I'm not that confident but I need to look confident or else he will doubt my ability to help him."

* * *

Miltank lifted up a rock and tossed it away. "No sign of that fink rat anywhere." She told Lucario.

"We need to keep on going. Look around carefully." Lucario advised.

"Homie, I wonder if he is digging tunnels." Darmanitan pondered. He placed his ears on the ground. "Possible."

"Really?" Lucario tried to feel the ground as well. Noticeably, he sensed systematic, tiny movements. The professional athlete immediately dug up the ground with his bare hands. The result was…

There was an army of toy Rattata. On their backs were winding keys.

"Attack and terminate-" Before the Rattata was about to finish, Lucario blasted an Aura Sphere down the hole and destroyed all of them, creating a pile of broken toys.

"Pathetic." Lucario didn't feel challenged at all. Miltank and Darmanitan looked at Lucario in awe before following him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Raticate:** "What? My toys were destroyed?! Curse whoever did it." Raticate said with spite.

 **Miltank:** "The dude is tough and that's a problem. He will crush all of us in the merge."

* * *

Heracross headed with Rhyhorn to the mountain area. They checked the secret room behind the mountain. Surprisingly, they found something.

"Welcome, travelers. May I tell you the future?" Alakazam sat in a meditative pose with a fortune telling orb in front of him.

"For free? Sure." Heracross seemed pleased.

"For free but this fortune telling orb is too old, dusty and obsolete. Find me a replacement first." Alakazam instructed.

"A mission, eh? Come on, silent guy." Heracross exited the room and gestured for Rhyhorn to follow. Rhyhorn didn't say much or rather say anything at all. However, his eyes darted around at his surroundings. Therefore, he was clearly paying attention.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I feel like he is a dead weight. Am I doing this by myself?"

* * *

Houndour and Duosion headed to the Skarmory Cave with Meowth tagging along from behind.

"An interesting landmark. I wonder if it is up for sale." Meowth rubbed his chin.

"Are you trying to say we should head inside?" Duosion tried to translate it.

"Obviously." Meowth clarified.

"Cool choice of words, dude." Houndour complimented him.

The three entered the Skarmory Cave once again. Nothing was new and nothing was to be found.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "A complete waste of time and resources that was."

* * *

On the other hand, Scolipede, Ledyba and Cryogonal were having more success going through the snowy area. They noticed giant footprints, similar to a Raticate's footprint on the ground. The footprints pointed toward the mansion.

"We should head over there." Scolipede suggested, moving ahead first.

Cryogonal got close to Ledyba and whispered something.

"If he doesn't say it, you should say it first." Cryogonal teased Ledyba about her relationship with Scolipede.

"Come on, stop this already." Ledyba blushed.

"I'm going in now." Scolipede opened the door. The sound interrupted the two, very much to Ledyba's relief.

"Sooner or later, either you or him need to gather up the courage." Cryogonal implied. Ledyba sighed. The two eventually focused their attention on their search for the new intern.

"The Raticate isn't in the living room. We should search further." Scolipede told the girls.

"I will check the second and third floor. Why don't you two search together in the first floor?" Cryogonal suggested.

"Seems fine to me. What about you?" Scolipede asked Ledyba.

"Yeah, alright." Ledyba went with it. Cryogonal smirked as she floated upstairs.

"I will go to the kitchen and you can check the skating rink. Sounds like a great plan?" Scolipede proposed an idea.

"Yeah, we should spread out." Ledyba agreed. The two separated for a moment. Scolipede tried to search every nook and cranny but the kitchen was mostly empty.

"Help!" Ledyba screamed from the skating rink. Scolipede hurriedly rushed over as fast as he possibly could.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "I wonder how those two are doing. Even though Ledyba tries to deny it, I think she really likes Scolipede. Scolipede probably likes her as well. I heard that she used to help Duosion with stuff like this so why is she having such a difficult time? I'm genderless so I don't really understand everything about love I guess."

* * *

Skrelp and Drifblim decided to explore the haunted area. More specifically, the auditorium.

"Can you please guide me, great shining counselor?" Drifblim flattered in a submissive, obedient tone.

"Obligatory, I'm the smartest contestant after all." Skrelp smiled as she heard it.

Skrelp led Drifblim through the backstage. Then, they explored deeper into the haunted forest. Drifblim often complimented Skrelp and the seahorse looked very pleased each time. She loved it when she seemed superior to others and Drifblim knew that very well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "We didn't find anything but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I advanced a bit further with my plan." Drifblim smirked.

 **Skrelp:** "These imbeciles can't think for themselves. They completely rely on me. How can they vote me off?" Skrelp had a cocky grin on her face.

* * *

Grovyle navigated through the forest with Dedenne and Snorunt following behind.

"That sign said that Raticate is out there somewhere. Keep your eyes peeled." Grovyle reminded.

"Nothing to fear with you around." Dedenne really appreciated his company. This made Grovyle beam with joy.

"Y-yeah." Snorunt agreed reluctantly.

Suddenly, Grovyle's eyes widened in shock. "Look at that, Lucario and his gang." Grovyle halted. He didn't want to get too close to them.

"We should retreat." Grovyle seemed afraid.

"Come on, Grovyle. There is nothing to fear, especially for you. Stand up to that jerk!" Dedenne had a different idea.

"Of course, I'm not afraid. I'm just worried that you two will get hurt. I prioritize your safety." Grovyle tried to look brave and considerate.

"Aw, what a nice guy." Dedenne was captivated by his words. Snorunt, on the other hand, tried to fake a small smile.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I'm the best, I wrecked Lucario once. Remember? Hyak!" Grovyle sliced thin air, trying to look cool.

 **Dedenne:** "Grovyle is my role model. More Pokemon should follow his example."

 **Snorunt:** "It might be a bad idea for me to follow him. Well, too late for me to go back now."

* * *

Shedinja and Aromatisse searched around the gym. The fairy type didn't seem to be satisfied with her partner.

"Great, how am I supposed to impress Lucario when I'm with you? No offence but I rather be with someone who is fabulous." Aromatisse complained.

"Just work hard." Shedinja stated the obvious. He seemed emotionless working with her.

Aromatisse looked around. There was nothing but gym equipment like dumbbells, skipping ropes and etc. Dodgeball court had dodgeballs. Basketball court had basketballs. The field had some hurdles. Nothing looked out of place.

"We should leave." Aromatisse exited. Shedinja quietly followed her outside. They bumped into Heracross and Rhyhorn.

"Stop bugging me, you bug." Heracross was infuriated to meet Shedinja.

"How ironic, considering you are a bug type." Shedinja retorted monotonously.

"Screw you. This time, I will beat you." Heracross folded her arms.

"Let's get out of here." Aromatisse tried to leave quietly. Shedinja couldn't care any less so he left as well.

"Yeah, both of you better leave!" Heracross yelled at the two. Rhyhorn stared at Heracross but said nothing before averting his eyes.

Heracross entered, feeling victorious. Rhyhorn followed behind. The two searched for any spherical object looking like a fortune telling orb. Rhyhorn noticed that one of the dodgeball in a box was painted differently. It was violet. However, it was still an ordinary dodgeball.

"Hmm…" Rhyhorn considered.

"What did you find?" Heracross came and took a look.

"This might be it. Let's grab it and go." Heracross quickly picked it up and left the gym. Shedinja and Aromatisse exited the infirmary at around the same time. They fixed their eyes on the ball.

"Steal and it will be a deal for you and Lucario." Shedinja drawled.

"That rhymes, steal and deal." Aromatisse indicated. When Aromatisse was about to approach them, Shedinja held her back.

"We don't even know what it is, follow them for now." Shedinja told her in his usual deadpan and flat voice.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Fortune telling orb as a dodgeball? Who the hell designs this challenge?"

* * *

In the mess hall, Tyrunt and Nosepass looked sick as hell. They drank twelve cups of Chef Drapion's Secret Drink to get the entire clue. Tyrunt slowly crawled over to the chef and placed the last, empty cup down.

"Here is your last piece of clue." Chef Drapion handed him the letter 'E'. Combining all the letters together in the order Chef Drapion gave them, the clue spelt 'Swanna Coffee."

"Swanna Coffee? It seems vague. I'm not sure." Tyrunt looked baffled.

"Me neither, we should give it to Skrelp." Nosepass suggested.

"Great idea." Tyrunt agreed.

After the two left, the Treasure Trio entered the mess hall. They saw Chef Drapion blending his purple liquid.

"So, what is our task?" Duosion asked.

"Drink twelve cups of my special drink." Chef Drapion explained, he didn't seem to be enjoying his job. Rather, he looked tired of seeing the contestants.

"Four each, is that okay?" Houndour asked the other two and they nodded. Once Chef Drapion served their drinks, they drank it slowly and painfully. Eventually, they finished their mission.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Disgusting, zero out of ten. What kind of restaurant treats their customers in that utmost unacceptable manner?" Meowth wiped the purple stain from his mouth.

* * *

Bisharp stared intensely at the calm water. There was a nibble.

"This might be it!" Jumpluff looked excited. Bisharp reeled it up and both sighed in disappointment. It was another Magikarp.

"Well, at least the Feckless Flygon aren't here yet. Am I right?" Jumpluff said optimistically. Suddenly, Lucario and his gang appeared after a hopeless search in the forest.

"What is our mission, Magikarp?" Lucario said in quite an unfriendly tone. It was cold and emotionless, no signs of warmth or joy of seeing a former member.

"Catch a Gyarados." Magikarp replied in a similar tone to Lucario.

"Homie, how ya doing?" Darmanitan greeted. Magikarp smiled at him but frowned once Lucario glanced at both of them.

"I will end this quickly." Lucario didn't bother grabbing a fishing pole. He ran and jumped into the sea, diving down.

After a moment of awkward silence, there was a ferocious roar. A Gyarados rose out of the sea with Lucario on its head. The professional athlete twisted the neck of the Gyarados, making the atrocious Pokemon roared in pain.

"This hurts to watch." Magikarp looked away from the scene.

"Homie, I think that's enough." Darmanitan looked worried.

"I know what I'm doing." Lucario suddenly stopped and Gyarados lowered itself down. The professional athlete proceeded to lift the Gyarados up and walked over slowly to the beach. Each of his footstep sounded thundering. Finally, Lucario placed the Gyarados down on the beach.

"Here is your… clue." Magikarp unwillingly gave him an envelope and turned away. Lucario walked away with his two teammates. Bisharp and Jumpluff were shocked at this sudden turn of events.

"Are you alright?" Magikarp asked the Gyarados.

"Alright? Alright?!" Gyarados asked as if the answer was obvious.

"Sorry, I shouldn't ask." Magikarp apologized.

"That guy is my hero! He gave me a neck massage. Need one for ages. It hurts but I'm starting to feel the benefits already." Gyarados smiled before he dived down and disappeared.

The three that were left on the beach dropped their jaws.

* * *

 **Confessiona** l

 **Lucario:** "Do I look like a murderer to you? I'm a well-trained professional athlete."

* * *

Scolipede ran as quickly as he could, making a swift turn straight to the skating rink. Ledyba flew out of the rink quickly. Behind her was a particular intern. However, there was something else as well…

"Prepare for a boss battle, ugly kids. Attack however you want! Win and get a special hint, lose and get smoked!" Raticate laughed maniacally. He was standing on a giant Raticate toy with a remote control in his hands. The giant Raticate toy had a black, giant wind-up key on its back. Perhaps, that was its weak spot.

"Get out of the way." Scolipede warned as he used Steamroller against the giant toy. He rolled himself up and struck the Raticate heavily while Ledyba dodged out of the way.

The giant Raticate toy barely took any damage; it was pushed back a little. Scolipede was stunned by this.

"Prepare for my counter attack." Raticate pressed a button and the sharp teeth of the Raticate toy glowed.

"Hyper Fang!" Raticate announced. Scolipede braced himself for the impact.

"Reflect!" Ledyba formed a barrier around Scolipede and reduced some damage. The teeth sunk in a little and Scolipede yelped in pain but he was still looking fine.

"Two against one, how unfair. Oh wait, Rattata minions come and help me!" Raticate pressed another button and the Raticate toy released a bunch of mini Rattata toys from its mouth. "Attack that ugly girl!" Raticate commanded.

"How rude!" Ledyba was angry as she used Silver Wind, blowing powder against all the Rattata toys and destroyed them.

"Wait, what happened?!" Cryogonal just arrived and witnessed the situation. Raticate groaned, the situation wasn't looking good for him.

"Raticate jet, activate." Raticate pressed another button. Suddenly, flames blazed from the tail of the Raticate, boosting it through the wall of the mansion.

"We should go after it now!" Cryogonal said as she quickly floated toward the fleeing Raticate. She blasted an Ice Beam and froze its legs.

"Hey! Take this!" Raticate angrily released another horde of Rattata minion. Cryogonal and the other two were prepared to destroy it until…

"Self-Destruct!" Raticate pushed another button and lights were released from the Rattata horde.

"Dodge!" Scolipede tackled Ledyba out of the way, allowing her to escape. However, it was pretty unfortunate for the other two. The explosion finished them off and sent a giant cloud of smoke into the sky.

Ledyba coughed at the smoke. Gradually, the smoke disappeared and the two were seen fainted with swirly eyes.

"Scolipede! Cryogonal!" Ledyba shouted their names in worry. She then turned and stared at Raticate with rage.

"See, you ugly kids are about to get smoked." Raticate laughed, feeling confident. Suddenly, there was a voice.

"Good Guy Grovyle is here!"

* * *

On the other side, things were getting intense for Rhyhorn and Heracross as well. They were about to deliver the item until…

"See you later." Shedinja drawled as he suddenly appeared and snatched the ball from Heracross.

"You *beep* bug!" Heracross swore. Shedinja floated through to the secret room and placed the dodgeball down. Heracross slammed the door open.

"He stole it from us!" Heracross pointed at him accusingly.

"Nowhere in the rules does it say that you can't steal. The only exception is if he harmed you but he didn't from the looks of it. He will get the clue." Alakazam judged.

"Ouch, it really hurts! My ankle!" Heracross faked an injury as she lay down on the ground.

"You can't fool a psychic." Alakazam didn't believe it one bit. Heracross groaned.

Aromatisse entered slowly from behind. Trying to avoid the attention from the Crazy Crawdaunt members.

"Well, I will start telling your future now." Alakazam breathed in deeply as he covered the dodgeball with a piece of black cloth.

"Shedinja will die tomorrow." Heracross mumbled to herself. Rhyhorn heard it and critically stared at her.

"Just kidding. Do I need to be careful of my words all the time?" Heracross looked annoyed. Abruptly, Alakazam teleported the two out so they don't interrupt him.

"Number five is your lucky number today. Choose the simplest and freshest option and you will be rewarded handsomely." Alakazam lifted the cloth off and a real fortune telling orb appeared instead.

"Yay, a real magician." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross;** "He stole it from us emotionlessly like that?! I need my revenge for all the humiliation he made me suffer through. Wait until the merge, just you wait."

 **Aromatisse:** "Hopefully, Lucario gives me some credit."

* * *

Grovyle jumped up and slashed Raticate with Leaf Blade and stole the remote controller.

"Screw you!" Raticate attacked back with Quick Attack. He tackled Grovyle at full speed and sent him down the Raticate toy.

"Good Guy Grovyle will prevail!" Grovyle jumped up and tried to hit Raticate with Leaf Blade again. Raticate narrowly dodged it and used Hyper Fang on his left arm, sinking his teeth in.

"Ouch!" Grovyle yelled in pain before he slammed his right fist on Raticate so he let go. Ledyba saw an opportunity and blasted Silver Wind at both of them. Both Grovyle and Raticate got knocked off.

"Now, this is my chance." Ledyba said as she quickly flew up to grab the remote until Dedenne appeared and zapped her with Thundershock. Ledyba fainted.

"Don't hurt Grovyle like that!" Dedenne didn't seem pleased. "Are you alright?" Dedenne rushed over to Grovyle's aid.

"The remote." Grovyle whimpered. Dedenne looked up to see Raticate regaining control of his giant toy.

"Nice try, but this ends here!" Raticate pressed another button. The toy charged energy before rushing in to tackle the two at full force.

"Take Down!" Raticate announced his attack. Both Grovyle and Dedenne were sent flying but Raticate recoiled as well.

"Argh!" Dedenne screamed before she landed on the ground and fainted with Grovyle.

"I'm starting to like my job." Raticate stated.

"Not so fast!" Someone shouted at Raticate from a considerably far distance. The voice was loud and clear. He never heard this contestant's voice before.

"Who?" Raticate was confused until someone ran at full speed toward him. It was… Lucario. He charged up an Aura Sphere before sending it at the toy. The sphere collided powerfully against the toy and smoke started to rise out of the machine. Fortunately for Raticate, the toy still function.

"I'm not going down that easily!" Raticate sent another horde of Rattata at Lucario. He was prepared to press another specific button. Until…

"Bone Rush." Lucario struck all the Rattata toy back at the owner with a long bone.

"Unbelievable!" Raticate received a blow to his face by his very own Rattata toy, sending him off the giant Raticate toy once again. Lucario used this opportunity to climb up the toy. Snorunt appeared and tried to do something but she was too intimidated to do anything.

"For my team!" Lucario declared as he twisted the wind-up key off and put the Raticate toy to rest. Attached to the key was another envelope.

"You are tough, kid. Real tough." Raticate praised before he fainted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Thanks to the cloud of smoke, I knew exactly what happened."

 **Snorunt:** "I'm too scared to do anything. I hope no one is mad at me."

 **Skrelp:** "I heard that the Feckless Flygon got a huge advantage. However, I'm still a genius at quizzes."

* * *

After all the Pokemon were healed with Revive and Potions, the quiz began. Skarmory called all the contestants over to Skarmory Shop. On his stall, there were six drinks: soda, green tea, berry juice, coffee, ginseng tea and fresh water.

"You need to arrange these drinks with numbers. One for my most favorite drink and six for my least favorite. Head off and discuss right away." Skarmory instructed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** He opened the two envelopes and read it to the viewers. "This is the fishing one, 'It is unnatural and unhealthy. Definitely not uno.' I assume this means the soda is anywhere but the first spot. The next one says, 'Green 3 and Berry 4.' Now, this is obvious. It probably means that green tea gets the third spot and the berry juice gets the fourth one. I will discuss things further with my team and come up with a reliable list." Lucario looked determined to win.

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt struggled with barely any hints. Still, Skrelp tried her best to come up with all the answers.

"Swanna coffee? A Swanna is shaped like a two. Therefore, that should be the case." Skrelp told Tyrunt.

"Ingenious. I never thought of that." Tyrunt seemed impressed.

"Obviously, I'm simply the smartest." Skrelp felt great about herself.

"Do we have anymore?" Skrelp looked around. Bisharp sweated horribly but it wasn't because he was nervous, it was because of exhaustion. He lifted an envelope up, it was the one from the fishing challenge.

"Perfect." Skrelp smiled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "In conclusion, we will go with green tea first, coffee next, ginseng tea afterwards, berry juice for fourth, soda for fifth and fresh water for last. It is challenging to decide on an order with a limited number of clues. Some required 'good guessing'." Skrelp looked a bit unsatisfied.

 **Lucario:** He showed a piece of paper with the following written down:

1\. Coffee

2\. Ginseng Tea

3\. Green Tea

4\. Berry Juice

5\. Fresh Water

6\. Soda

"We couldn't figure the Swanna Coffee clue out so we guessed."

* * *

Skarmory read through both lists and he laughed a bit.

"Contestants, I will reveal my fourth favorite drink first. Both teams got it right, berry juice!" Skarmory revealed and both teams cheered.

"My least favorite out of the six is soda." Skarmory continued. The Feckless Flygon felt their victory coming closer.

"For coffee, second place." Skarmory revealed and the scores were tied up. Both teams were anticipating the next answer.

"Fresh water for fifth." Skarmory revealed further. The Feckless Flygon could already taste their victory.

"I will drink my most favorite drink…" Skarmory built up suspense as he walked over to the stall. He removed all the drinks except for green tea and ginseng tea. Both teas were rich with aroma. He first walked over to the green tea and picked the cup up, generating a nervous response from the Feckless Flygon. He placed it down and picked the ginseng tea up instead. This time, he also smelled it before placing it back down.

"Want one, Chef Drapion?" Skarmory asked.

"Your taste sucks." Chef Drapion refused as Drifblim nodded. Skarmory grumbled as he walked over to the ginseng tea. This time, he drank it for real.

Skarmory gulped it all in and announced the result. "The Feckless Flygon win!"

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Suck it, Crazy Crawdaunt! All of you sucked!" Lucario was having a great time mocking the other team.

 **Bisharp:** "Lucario is an insufferable winner and a sore loser. He mocked our team after the challenge was over."

 **Snorunt:** "I'm going to eliminate Grovyle. While I despise Skrelp, Grovyle is more dangerous."

* * *

Ledyba told Scolipede to meet up in the forest. Currently, she leaned against a tree and whistled to pass some time.

"What do you want? It's suspicious to come here. Let me guess, offer me a spot in your evil alliance?" Scolipede joked.

"That's not funny, Scolipede." Ledyba huffed.

"I'm just joking. What is the reason then?" Scolipede asked.

"I just want to thank you for what you did for me." Ledyba said, feeling grateful. "That was very selfless of you."

"To be honest, I don't really know why I did it either. It was like an impulse, my body moved on its own will. You probably remind my memory of something. If that's all, we should head back now. Nighttime is close." Scolipede said before he left.

"Scolipede!" Ledyba called him back again. Scolipede turned around.

"Thank you." Ledyba thanked him again but this time she blushed as well. Scolipede chuckled.

"What's wrong with your face? Come on, let's leave before I really start to doubt you." Scolipede didn't seem to get the message.

Ledyba sighed before she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "I wonder if I should just be straightforward…"

 **Scolipede:** "Why is she blushing? Is it because of… No, that is unlikely." His eyes looked doubtful.

* * *

Aromatisse was called out of her cabin by Lucario. She took a few deep breaths before confronting him.

"Shedinja told me everything…" Lucario paused, holding his hands behind his back and paced around.

"Did he tell you that I contribute fairly well?" Aromatisse seemed nervous.

"No! You barely did anything. You better prove yourself soon or else I shall have no mercy." Lucario warned and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Shedinja you…" Her eyes twitched.

* * *

For the Crazy Crawdaunt side, they were all preparing for the inevitable elimination. Grovyle in particular, gathered his allies.

"Dedenne, you helped me greatly in the challenge. I must thank you for that." Grovyle said appreciatively.

"No problem." Dedenne smiled.

"Our target is Skrelp, any objections?" Grovyle looked around. Jumpluff and Bisharp seemed content. Snorunt smiled slightly. Tyrunt nodded and Dedenne obviously supported it.

"Good." Grovyle seemed satisfied with this meeting.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Snorunt:** "This is why he is dangerous. He got too many allies. Grovyle relies on pretty words and fake acts of kindness to brainwash others."

 **Jumpluff:** "Holy moly! Skrelp is finally gone for good!"

* * *

Skrelp read her book as she came up with a plan. She whispered it to her allies. Heracross looked dumbfounded but a few clarifications erased any misunderstandings.

"I will head out for a moment." Skrelp told the other girls as she left. The seahorse placed her book down and exited the cabin. She was about to initiate her greatest plan yet.

Outside, she observed Grovyle and his allies. Furthermore, she noticed Snorunt. Skrelp smirked immediately.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "How to defeat someone like Grovyle when you are outnumbered? Well, anything is possible for a genius like me."

* * *

Grovyle exited the restroom and saw a note on the ground. He picked it up and furrowed his brows.

Someone nudged Snorunt. She turned to see Skrelp gesturing for both of them to leave the cabin. They quietly headed to the beach.

Ten minutes before voting begins…

Skrelp and Snorunt discussed quietly. Grovyle spectated from a distance and clenched his fists.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Someone left me a note, telling me to come to the beach…" Grovyle crumbled the note.

* * *

Seven minutes before voting begins…

Jumpluff and Bisharp eagerly headed out to cast their votes early. Skrelp grinned at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "What is my plan? Make them split their votes." Skrelp revealed. "My target isn't Snorunt. Rather, it is that moronic imbecile, Grovyle. I will make him impetuously change his vote in the last second to target Snorunt so that he will be eliminated instead. He no longer got the majority."

Six minutes before voting begins…

Rhyhorn and Nosepass were about to vote as well until Heracross stopped them and proposed an idea. Nosepass and Rhyhorn looked annoyed.

Grovyle headed to Nosepass and Rhyhorn to suggest who to eliminate. Both of them looked even more annoyed.

Drifblim saw the frustration on their faces.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "What do we look like to them? Free votes? Grovyle and Heracross came up suddenly and aggressively pitched for us to vote for someone."

* * *

Five minutes before voting begins…

Drifblim approached Rhyhorn and Nosepass.

"What do you want? Threaten us to vote for someone?" Nosepass assumed.

"No, rather I want to encourage both of you to stay independent. Don't be swayed by their pretty words. No, be adamant like a rock. That's all." Drifblim supported their decisions.

"Hmm…" Rhyhorn looked deep in thought.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "What do I gain from this? Absolutely nothing! Wonderful, isn't it? In a game like this, you can't be blinded by the most optimal strategic move. Put it out of your mind and have fun. I just want to reduce the chance of someone persuading them. This way, they will need to scramble for more votes. That's basically all." Drifblim winked.

 **Nosepass:** "I'm tired of being bossed around since Larvitar bossed me around. I will just vote for Heracross and call it a day."

* * *

One minute before voting begins...

Grovyle whispered something to both Tyrunt and Dedenne. They both looked mad at a certain individual. Skrelp moved past them to cast her own vote at this same moment. The three glared at her but she ignored them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "My perfect plan is set in motion. Bisharp and Jumpluff already voted for me and the rest will vote for Snorunt. I got Heracross, Drifblim, Snorunt and hopefully both Nosepass and Rhyhorn on my side. In the worst-case scenario, Rhyhorn and Nosepass vote with Grovyle to eliminate Snorunt instead. That sacrificial lamb worth nothing to me." Skrelp looked very proud of herself.

 **Heracross:** "Bye gecko boy, Nosepass probably doesn't have the guts to piss us off."

 **Grovyle:** "Snorunt, you betrayed me! Is this what I get for being a good guy? Perhaps, I shouldn't have been nice in the first place." Grovyle looked down.

 **Drifblim:** "As a dedicated fan, I prefer to be the one to control the elimination. It is two for Skrelp, three for Snorunt, two wasted votes and three for Grovyle at the moment. That means I choose the Pokemon to go home. How exhilarating!"

* * *

Skarmory looked shocked as he tallied the votes. He picked up his plate of Leppa Berries and headed to the elimination ceremony.

"Contestants, this time, the elimination ceremony might be a lot more intense than usual. I want to start right away." Skarmory started calling out the name of safe contestants.

"Bisharp"

"Drifblim"

"Jumpluff"

"Rhyhorn"

"Nosepass"

"Dedenne"

"Tyrunt" Skarmory slowed down.

…

…

"Heracross" Skarmory slowed down even more.

…

…

…

"Skrelp" This shocked Bisharp and Jumpluff. They were completely speechless.

"Grovyle and Snorunt, both of you have targets on your back. Snorunt, you are very introverted and that might be a red flag for your teammates. Grovyle, you are a threat. Perhaps, there are other reasons as to why both of you received votes. Anyways, I'm about to reveal the name of the safe contestant." Skarmory built up suspense for the final time.

…

…

Grovyle wished himself luck as Dedenne reassuringly caressed his back.

…

…

…

Snorunt prayed for the very best.

…

…

"Grovyle"

"Yes!" Grovyle jumped up in joy to the dismay of Skrelp and Snorunt.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I guess it all backfired. I'm just so exhausted from competing in this show. It is too draining. Perhaps, this is for the best. I didn't get my revenge but I get to see Helioptile now. I don't know who I really want to win. Tyrunt is alright I guess. He is still a pretty nice boy. I very much rather let someone like Houndour or Duosion win even though they are on the other team.

* * *

Snorunt left to the Lapras and departed quickly. No one was close enough to see her off.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Why did I vote for Snorunt? Hmm… good question. Perhaps, it is because Grovyle is a more exciting contestant to watch. My friends back at home are probably fans of him. They will be mad if I vote him off this early. I also prefer to vote him off when he ruins his reputation."

* * *

"That's it everybody. Another awesome episode of Total Skarmory Island. Do you have anything to say, Raticate?" Skarmory gave the spotlight to his new intern. The camera turned to face him instead.

"Yo viewers, keep watching this show so you can see me smoke those ugly kids again someday. I will have my rematch later on. I promise that I'm going to deliver a painful torture to them." Raticate might have possibly hinted at a future challenge. The camera faced Skarmory once again.

"See you in the next nail-biting episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode.

* * *

 **Votes**

Bisharp: Skrelp

Jumpluff: Skrelp

Nosepass: Heracross

Rhyhorn: Heracross

Grovyle: Snorunt

Snorunt: Grovyle

Dedenne: Snorunt

Skrelp: Grovyle

Tyrunt: Snorunt

Heracross: Grovyle

Drifblim: Snorunt

Skrelp: 2

Heracross: 2

Grovyle: 3

Snorunt: 4 (eliminated)

* * *

This elimination is insane, isn't it? Expect more insane eliminations like this to come. The winner will shock a lot of people or it might not. You can cheer for anyone to win even weaklings like Nosepass or villains like Skrelp. There is always that slight chance that your dreams might come true.

My list of favorite drinks is very close to Skarmory's list so there is more to know about me! Of course, I plan the interns as well. They are very essential to Total Drama and I feel like they aren't appreciated enough.

Other than that, #Sun and Moon Hype and #Nintendo Switch Hype!

I might disappear for a while when Sun and Moon launches. Just saying.


	12. Chapter 12

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

Glad to see you back. Well, about Shedinja. To be honest, I didn't expect him to be popular or a fan-favorite. That's why I feel pressured writing him lately. He is a comedic character but at the same time not. One of the toughest to write. About the freezing gun, it bypasses the ice immunity. Chapter 7 tells you that. Well, Aromatisse belongs in the easy to write category. She is simple with slight complexity so I can handle her just fine. To be honest, I'm prouder of writing characters like Skrelp, Jumpluff and Bisharp over Shedinja and Aromatisse. They require more work and thought. Speaking of Jumpluff, here is the thing. At no point in time did Elekid and Tyrunt got criticized for socializing with Houndour. If you think about it carefully enough, a part of it is just Jumpluff being paranoid. Skrelp and Lucario kind of install fear into her in a way due to her character. I will let you analyze her. I think you will understand it better that way. I understand that you don't like Machoke because of his looks. Sometimes, these things can get in the way of us liking a character. At least, I'm glad that you can empathize with him in a sense. I think this is enough for now.

 **Guest**

Glad to see a guest reading my story. In my early days on this site, I'm also a Guest. Well, it reminds me of my younger self posting extremely short reviews. This makes me feel kind of nostalgic. Anyways, glad to see you like Bisharp and Darmanitan. I understand your dislike for Grovyle. He isn't supposed to be a character that you can relate too. Therefore, it can be a bit tough to like him.

* * *

 **Episode 12: A Fabulous Showcase!**

The camera brightened at the sight of the host once again. Skarmory stood on the dock, ready to start a new episode.

"Welcome back, my loyal viewers. It is another great day for all of us. Last time, the challenge was about me. This time, the challenge will be about something else. Back to the important part, our contestants did either of four things: drink, fish, find or fight for clues. Unfortunately, neither of the two teams got the entire list about my favorite beverages right. Such a shame. After an insane elimination, Snorunt got eliminated as her plan backfired. What will happen this time? Will we meet a different intern? Maybe the last intern that will get the spotlight, unlike most of the backstage workers that will never get their one minute fame other than in the credits? Find out in this fabulous episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the opening before he sipped his latte.

* * *

"Aromatisse, wake up!" A blaring voice could be heard from outside the Flygon girls' cabin.

Aromatisse rubbed her eyes drowsily before she got out of her bed. Walking slowly to the door, Aromatisse wondered who called her this early in the morning. Her brain was still numb from the sleep, failing to properly process the voice. Nonetheless, it wasn't long before she met the obvious answer… Lucario.

"The others are still sleeping. Why do I need to wake up so soon?" Aromatisse yawned as she talked. The sun barely even rose.

"You should be grateful that I'm teaching you good habits. Anyways, there will be a big event tomorrow. I need to see if you can hold your own weight. Therefore, you will go with me today for a preparation test." Lucario told. However, Aromatisse didn't seem to be paying attention, her eyelids were half-closed. Lucario looked at her scornfully.

"Do you hear me?! Respond!" Lucario yelled, getting more frustrated by each passing second.

"Yes, err…" Aromatisse tried to remember what he just said.

"Come with me!" Lucario ordered aggressively and Aromatisse reluctantly followed him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I expect every single member of my team to listen attentively! What Aromatisse just did is unacceptable!"

 **Aromatisse:** "Does he expect everyone to have Early Bird as an ability? How inconsiderate of him. I need my beauty sleep."

* * *

Speaking of early birds, Houndour woke up early as well. He took a short morning walk outside before he returned to see the others starting to wake up from their slumber.

"Good morning everyone, let's have another great day." Houndour greeted their sleeping faces.

"The same to you, homie." Darmanitan replied while tidying his bed.

"Never late for work, aren't we?" Meowth also replied. He looked a bit more fully awake than the others, readied to head outside.

"Well, it's my ability. Can't do anything about it. Surprisingly, Lucario woke up sooner than me." Houndour pointed out.

"Shedinja is still sleeping as always." Scolipede got their attention.

"He slept late, homie. Don't know what he did in the night all alone." Darmanitan told the others.

"Probably something peculiar and suspicious." Scolipede stared deeply into Shedinja.

"Let's not jump into conclusions. Maybe, he had trouble sleeping last night. Oh well, I need to go now." Houndour said and quickly left.

"What's the hurry?" Scolipede seemed curious as he looked outside, trying to see the direction Houndour went.

"He got his business with his girlfriend." Meowth explained.

"Can't blame him." Scolipede ignored it afterwards. Meowth turned to face Scolipede after he heard this, raising his eyebrows.

"I thought you don't like him or have any goodwill for him." Meowth questioned.

"I'm in a relationship formerly so I can understand him in a sense. That doesn't mean that I like the guy." Scolipede clarified.

"Houndour isn't bad, what do you have against him, homie?" Darmanitan asked, seemingly confused.

"Eh, he just doesn't blend in well with me. That's all." Scolipede didn't continue after this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Darmanitan defends him, Scolipede doesn't like him. Hmm… My annually financial meeting is about to come up. Tough decision."

 **Darminatan:** "These dudes need to chill out sometimes, you know? Damn, they are bigger hotheads than us fire types."

* * *

Chef Drapion stabbed a fork into his pile of sludge and served it to Tyrunt. He gave the gamer an unwelcoming smile and signaled for him to go away.

"Thanks chef, you put so much effort into your food." Tyrunt said sarcastically.

"Whatever, I don't really care about you losers. I'm tired of cooking food and work for that lazy host. Will probably quit after the season ends. He better be goddamn ready to find a new replacement." Chef Drapion complained about his job.

"Preferably a better replacement, you never put love and care into your food." Tyrunt insulted him.

"I second that." Dedenne agreed from her table.

"Get the *beep* out!" Chef Drapion burst into anger. Tyrunt quickly hightailed to his table upon noticing the chef's hostility.

"What a jerk, am I right?" Dedenne whispered to Tyrunt, who sat pretty close to her.

"Yeah, a real jerk." Tyrunt crossed his arms.

Minutes later, Jumpluff, Grovyle and Bisharp all entered. Bisharp and Jumpluff in particular, didn't seem happy with yesterday's elimination.

"Grovyle, can you please explain in detail why you went after Snorunt and risked getting eliminated?" Bisharp questioned.

"Well, because she makes me mad." Grovyle answered. This didn't seem to satisfy the two.

"What in the world makes you mad? You seem pretty chill." Jumpluff asked.

"She betrayed me! I don't stand up for that. Even in this circle of friends, I will destroy those that think they can make a fool of Good Guy Grovyle." In his eyes, anger blazed into flames. Some of the anger directed at... _Bisharp?_ Was this the case? Nobody could read his volatile mind.

"Calm down, Grovyle. No one will betray you." Dedenne reassured him.

"Thanks, at least someone here is supportive of my decision." Grovyle seemed content. "Unlike the others!" Grovyle growled. Both Bisharp and Jumpluff seemed uncomfortable.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "Nobody understands Grovyle but me. I know that he hates it when others doubt him. We should have more faith in him."

 **Grovyle:** "Why do they doubt me? Haven't I done enough for them? I don't understand." Grovyle shook his head.

 **Jumpluff:** "It hurts… what Grovyle said. I'm always on his side."

* * *

Nosepass breathed heavily on his bed, he trembled as he held his blanket close to him.

"Another nightmare? Does it trouble you?" Rhyhorn checked up on him.

"I hate sleeping. Sometimes, I wish that I can be an insomniac and never sleep. I just don't want to have bad dreams. I always have them for some reason. They are like monsters that chase me down every single night. I'm… scared." Nosepass confessed his inner feelings.

"…" Rhyhorn stared at him but didn't say a word.

"I will go and get some breakfast now." Nosepass solemnly left the cabin.

"You are not… alone." Rhyhorn muttered as he watched the fellow rock type dragged his slow body across the camp. Nosepass didn't seem to hear it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I just wish that it will all go away. My insecurities and fears. However, I don't know how to get rid of them." Nosepass looked hopeless.

* * *

Jumpluff sat on the dock next to Bisharp. He didn't hold a fishing pole this time.

"What kind of friends do you have and why are they your friends?" Bisharp asked, holding his chin.

"Well, they are friends that I can fit in with. Friends that I can talk to." Jumpluff answered, looking down on the water a bit.

"Fit in? I don't want to sound presumptuous. However, it seems like you struggle to fit in with the cast of this game show. May I ask why? Are we all too difficult to get along? I find it odd that you would bond with me of all Pokemon here." Bisharp asked with deep curiosity in his eyes.

Jumpluff sighed before she began her story. "Well, to be honest… I'm no expert at getting friends. Most friends that I have aren't very close to me. They are just other Pokemon that share similar interests on the internet. When I was very young, I don't have any friends at all and I'm very lonely. It is the most painful period of my life. Every time I mess up… I'm scared that my friends will leave me. I'm always scared that I will no longer be in the trend or look cool in front of them. Sometimes, I feel left out. Sometimes, I feel like they insult me behind my back. That's why I stalk their social media pages and try to be social all the time. I'm in no position to help you. Perhaps, you should find a new friend. A better friend… Your parents probably despise a loser like me. Haha." Jumpluff suddenly became depressed.

Bisharp was shocked. He didn't expect to hear any of this. He didn't know what to say or even if it was appropriate to say anything at all.

"Why are you acting like this? You seem cheerful most of the time." Bisharp asked with concern. Jumpluff turned to look at him slowly.

"I just pretend to be alright. In reality, I'm always scared of what others think of me. I can't handle insults and especially when someone swears at me. It is so painful like getting stabbed by a knife. Dedenne left me and now Grovyle too… Today, I lost another friend. I want to socialize with the Flygon girls but I know that Skrelp will probably leak the news to Lucario. Then, I'm in serious trouble. It sucks…" Jumpluff started to sob. Bisharp stared at her with sorrow and sympathy. He averted his eyes and tried to think of something.

"Do you want my input on the situation or do you want me to leave you alone?" Bisharp asked hesitantly.

"Please stay with me." Jumpluff sobbed. Upon hearing this, Bisharp decided to tell her.

"Honestly, I believe you are being a bit too paranoid. Perhaps, it isn't right for me to judge as you might be traumatized from a similar situation before but you are… friendly, likable and kind. Don't worry about your friends leaving you. Dedenne and Grovyle will always be your friends despite what you think of them recently. Personally, Grovyle is one of the most accepting and open-minded Pokemon in this island. Talking with the members of the other team is also not forbidden by any means, I saw many instances of that. Finally," Bisharp paused and Jumpluff anticipated what he was about to say.

"Please smile for me. The Jumpluff that I like is the Jumpluff that is upbeat, cheerful and optimistic. The Jumpluff that tells me that I can stand up against my parents and create my own path for the future. No matter how you feel, I really appreciate our friendship and I consider you as a close friend." Bisharp smiled as he cheered her up. Jumpluff cried even more.

"Did I hurt your feelings?" Bisharp looked worried.

"No, I feel so emotionally overwhelmed. Thank you so much. Thank you for waking me up from this depression." Jumpluff wiped her tears away. "I will also be your friend. A useful friend that won't put your family to shame." Jumpluff replied.

Bisharp stared into the sky. _Clouds_ slowly drifted alongside the _Sun_. "Don't worry. You don't need to be a cloud in the sky to be my friend. You can just be an ordinary blade of grass. What matters the most is that you can relate and empathize with my plight. That's all I ask." Bisharp lay down on the dock and relaxed alongside Jumpluff.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I'm glad to be able to help her the same way she helped me."

 **Jumpluff:** "Bisharp, I never expect him to be like this. At first glance, he seemed cold and distant. However, inside… he is very warm. Bisharp is here solely for his parents. He never meant any harm. I will admit that he is the last Pokemon that I thought of being friends with when I arrived here for the first day. I'm such an idiot for trying to be friends with Skrelp first. I…" Jumpluff blushed. "-might have developed feelings for him."

* * *

Scolipede crawled out of the mess hall after finishing his breakfast. He accidentally bumped into Ledyba.

"Sorry." Both of them apologized at the same time. Ledyba blushed a bit to the confusion of Scolipede, who widened his eyes.

"So, how are you doing?" Ledyba attempted to start a conversation.

"Alright, better than the first few days in this island. How about you?" Scolipede asked back.

"Doing well as well. Thanks for yesterday still." Ledyba said awkwardly with a small smile. She then quickly left.

"Weird." Scolipede seemed dumbfounded, but not completely. Cryogonal observed them from the distance and shook her head in disapproval.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "Why am I acting like this? What's wrong with me?"

 **Cryogonal:** "When will they make any progress?"

* * *

Aromatisse sweated and panted as she followed Lucario to the deep parts of the forest area. Lucario didn't stop for any breaks, making the fairy running out of stamina.

"Please stop for a moment." Aromatisse begged but Lucario ignored her pleas.

"No, we need to scout the location for tomorrow. Try to remember our surroundings and find any suspicious hiding spots." Lucario instructed.

"I need a leg surgery after this." Aromatisse exaggerated as she looked at her poor legs.

"This exercise is good for your health." Lucario reminded as he pushed a tree branch away. The professional athlete ducked. Unfortunately, it came back and hit Aromatisse.

"Ow, what is that for?" Aromatisse looked furious at Lucario as she held her face.

"Dodge." Lucario said simply. Aromatisse groaned.

They soon reached a torrential stream. Water rushed rapidly against a rocky pathway. There was a small gap between each rock that they needed to use in order to cross.

"Be careful and hold your balance." Lucario advised as he made his way across first. Aromatisse didn't dare to cross it. Lucario looked backed and scowled.

"Hurry up!" Lucario ran out of patience dealing with her.

"I can't. It is too dangerous." Aromatisse stared at the stream with fear. Lucario sighed and offered his hand. Aromatisse grabbed it and slowly made her way across. Lucario didn't seem pleased in the slightest. Aromatisse felt pressured by his demeanor and rushed. As a result, she slipped and fell.

"Help!" Aromatisse shouted as water rushed against her. Lucario was alerted as he jumped down and carried her back to the ground safely. He fought through the stream effortlessly. Each of his movements struck the water with superiority.

"Thanks." Aromatisse was grateful as she coughed out some water. Lucario didn't seem to care.

"What a liability. You got both of us wet." Lucario complained instead. Aromatisse huffed at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Jerk."

 **Lucario:** "In Pokeathlon Plus, there is a special event called Torrent Torment. Guess what, I won in that event as well. Therefore, I can breeze through the stream easily. I'm not used to losing like these losers."

* * *

Shedinja finally woke up. He floated out of his bed and left the cabin emotionlessly.

"Another great, boring day." Shedinja drawled. Cryogonal passed by and decided to approach him.

"Shedinja, finally waking up? Aromatisse doesn't seem happy about you." Cryogonal told.

"So, what?" Shedinja didn't seem to care.

"Don't you care about the game? Why don't you go and make amends with her?" Cryogonal suggested.

"Meh, vote me out then. If I stay fine, I get to waste some more screen time. If I'm out, I will go and grab a pizza and watch the rest of you boringly fight it out for a million." Shedinja said, sounding indifferent and monotonous.

"I don't understand you at all. Why must you be so complicated?" Cryogonal sounded annoyed.

"Whatever, your problem. Excuse me, I'm going to find something to entertain myself. Perhaps then, my life will be one percent less boring." Shedinja ended the conversation and floated away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "What's up with him? He said it himself that he is here to annoy a relative. Why?"

* * *

Heracross threw a pebble into the sea. Then, another and another.

"Screw you, Shedinja." Heracross fumed.

"Angry at the bug? The guy is already in the afterlife. Calm down." Miltank said as she passed by.

"He annoys me greatly! I want to teach him a lesson." Heracross clenched her fist.

"Don't worry, you will get your chance in the merge. That guy got no allies." Miltank reassured.

"Someone like him doesn't have friends, obviously. I wonder how he managed to beat me previously before." Heracross seethed with anger.

"He is pretty smart and crafty. Be careful, girl." Miltank warned before she left.

"Wait until the merge…" Heracross' expression darkened.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "I like her and all but she needs to chill down with Shedinja. That bug isn't a threat."

* * *

Skrelp read her book quietly in her cabin as usual. She didn't bother socializing or talk with anyone else.

"What are you reading about? Seems like an interesting book." Drifblim appeared out of nowhere and asked.

"Perhaps, I will spare some time to spill the contents of this deep, philosophical book. However, today isn't that day." Skrelp refused to tell.

"The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises? Seems like a pretty depressing story to me. What genre does it belong to, tragedy?" Drifblim pressed for more answers. However, Skrelp just glared at her in annoyance. Upon seeing this, Drifblim decided to vanish.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Touché."

* * *

Tyrunt saw something that caught his eyes in Skarmory Shop. It was a board game of Monopoly. However, his smile soon turned into a frown once he saw the price.

"Fifty Skarmory tokens?!" Tyrunt shouted in disbelief.

"Well, inflation strikes. There isn't enough productivity compare to the amount of Skarmory tokens lying around. Therefore, the average price of goods rises. This is what all of you get for not spending more in the auction." Skarmory explained.

"Curse that damn inflation!" Meowth looked depressed as he slammed the ground with his fists. "All of us will be running out of jobs!" Tyrunt cringed at Meowth's reaction.

"Oh well, I guess I will leave." Tyrunt left Meowth, who was suffering because of the inflation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Inflation is a vicious cycle. First, customers will have less spending power. This means that businesses will receive less income. Then, they will hesitate to expand and cut costs. This result in more Pokemon being unemployed. The cycle continues and continues." Meowth held his head in pain.

* * *

Aromatisse collapsed in exhaustion on her bed after her long and draining journey with Lucario.

"Why can't he just understand me? He is such a jerk. A beautiful Pokemon like me isn't suited for that kind of harsh environment." Aromatisse grumbled.

"Well, he is an athlete. What do you expect?" Cryogonal said.

"He told me that I'm going to be eliminated! Does he expect me to take that nonchalantly?" Aromatisse threw her arms on her bed.

"Well, what are you going to do? Start a rebellion? Good luck with that." Cryogonal saw that she couldn't do anything else to help so she left.

"A rebellion…" Aromatisse looked deep in thought.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I don't know what to do. Should I go against Lucario?"

* * *

Skarmory announced through his megaphone that the challenge was about to start. Everyone made their way over to the middle of the clearing except Grovyle who leaned on a tree near the beach, resting for a moment.

"I can make my way there quickly, don't worry about me." Grovyle seemed to notice Dedenne's presence. The little mouse came to check up on him.

"Well, I'm just worried. You are on edge lately. When will you go back to the way you were?" Dedenne wished.

"After a few Pokemon leave." Grovyle answered as he propelled himself out of the ground and landed on his feet.

"Someone like Skrelp, huh?" Dedenne assumed.

"There is more than that." Grovyle said vaguely before he strode directly to Skarmory. Dedenne followed him, glancing sideways.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I feel like there has been a change in me recently. I feel like I desire something and I want to pursue it so much that I don't know to what extent I will go for it. I feel more… competitively driven." Grovyle was in deep concentration.

* * *

Skarmory started to announce the challenge with his trusty megaphone to amplify his voice.

"Contestants, like the last intern?" Skarmory asked, looking around at each contestant. None of them seemed fond of Raticate, especially Houndour.

"Excuse me, half of us never really get to see him in person. Please do your research next time." Drifblim mocked.

"Thanks, supportive as always." Skarmory said sarcastically. "Anyways, this challenge is a really fabulous one…" Skarmory paused to observe their reactions. Most seemed neutral and a few bored like Shedinja.

"Fabulous?" Aromatisse seemed excited.

"Great, at least someone here is excited. Let me explain. Each team needs to create a fabulous showcase that fits the theme of the area you choose. You can choose any area, whether it be snow, haunted, forest, mountain, gym or even the beach. But! You can't enter the desert area just yet. I plan a big surprise for all of you. Unfortunately, the construction is still underway." Skarmory instructed.

Lucario raised his right hand to ask a question.

"I'm not done yet." Skarmory stated. "Save your questions for later. Furthermore, here is the twist. I'm not the judge, neither is Chef Drapion or Raticate. You get the point. Instead, it is someone that takes care of the equipment, props and decorations. This Pokemon is also an intern that works for free or rather for work experience so that she can enter the Pokestar Studios." Skarmory explained.

"Wonderful! I get to see all of you in person!" Someone shouted gleefully as she ran eagerly to the contestants. It was a beagle with white and brown fur. The most iconic feature, however, was the paintbrush tail.

"Especially you, Lucario, I'm a big fan of you!" Smeargle headed to the athlete first and hugged him. Lucario widened his eyes and gaped his mouth, completely taken by surprise.

"Wow. Lucario, you got a fangirl. Why don't you give her an autograph?" Drifblim giggled. Heracross laughed at this as well.

"Can you please let go of me?" Lucario tried to ask politely. Smeargle didn't seem to budge.

"The girl stick to him tighter than glue, maybe we will get bonus points." Miltank commented. Meowth nodded at this.

"Athletes have a lot of fans, naturally. Perhaps, we can use this to our advantage." Meowth told his team.

"She can't and she won't." Skarmory heard this and joined in. "This Smeargle is honest enough, don't worry. Your team won't get any advantage, especially when I'm watching." Skarmory dashed their hopes and dreams.

"That's right, fair play." Dedenne nodded in agreement.

"Pipsqueak, watch your mouth. You will get beaten fair and square, just like you want." Miltank trash talked with confidence. Dedenne looked annoyed.

"Look at these muscles." Smeargle lifted his right arm up and squealed. Lucario looked really uncomfortable. He looked at his teammates and signaled for them to help through eye contact.

"Err…" Houndour hesitated. Aromatisse tried to look busy filing her nails. Cryogonal whistled innocently. Darmanitan shrugged. Miltank was in an argument with Dedenne. Meowth coughed. Duosion averted her eyes. Scolipede looked doubtful. Ledyba gave an encouraging smile. The only left was Shedinja.

"Are you a beagle or a bagel? I can't tell. Nonetheless, you don't look delicious." Shedinja drawled, distracting her successfully. Smeargle let go of Lucario and glared at Shedinja.

"You, I don't like you and your dry humor. When will you stop trying to be funny?" Smeargle criticized.

"Noooo… An intern doesn't like me. How can I live with my life now?" Shedinja said sarcastically. Smeargle groaned and finally paid attention to the challenge. Lucario sighed in relief.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Being famous sometimes is tough. There are occasions where I would get swarmed by a crowd of hungry fans. They would ask for my autograph and… touch my body. I don't know how to deal with them. I don't want to accidentally hurt them either. Ugh, my life." Lucario sighed in annoyance.

 **Drifblim:** She was laughing uncontrollably. "That is funny, really funny. I think one of his fears is getting trampled by a bunch of fangirls."

 **Aromatisse:** She laughed in the confessional as well.

 **Grovyle:** "Someday, I'm going to have more fans than him. Just watch! Good Guy Grovyle will have his fans rush over to him every day for an autograph." Grovyle gave flying kisses to his fans.

* * *

"I want the showcases to be fabulous. Fly balloons into the air! Sell popsicles! Decorate everything! Try to stand out from the other team!" Smeargle told both teams her preferences. Meowth wrote it all down on a piece of paper. Skrelp memorized it for her team.

"Start the challenge now. You got a few hours. Better hurry!" Skarmory declared. Each team went to their own separate ways to discuss about the challenge. The Feckless Flygon headed to the intersection while the Crazy Crawdaunt decided to go to the beach.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "We go to the beach because it isn't cold, not scary, not dangerous and not exhausting. Fits my style. My team can just lean back and let me charm her over with my skills."

 **Meowth:** "I have experience in working with many types of customers." Meowth rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

* * *

Lucario voiced his opinion about the location to his team.

"I prefer to create a showcase in the gym. It is my optimal working environment. Any objections?" Lucario asked his team for feedback.

"I have one. This is supposed to be fabulous. Enough with the brawny challenges. Step back and let me take charge this once to prove my worth." Aromatisse objected. Most of the Feckless Flygon members looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Fine, however, if we lose, you are eliminated." Lucario threatened. Aromatisse looked nervous but resolved.

"Good, Aromatisse will take charge." Lucario ended the discussion.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Rather than creating a rebellion that doesn't fit my style, I need to show Lucario the power of beauty. If we win, I stay. If we lose, farewell dirty island."

* * *

Grovyle started to give orders with the help of his counselors.

"Tyrunt, Nosepass and Rhyhorn. Go and get some chairs from the mess hall." Grovyle commanded. "So, what's next? I'm not the brightest bulb in a box when it comes to showcases." Grovyle asked his counselors (Skrelp and Bisharp) for advice.

"I believe the correct saying is 'the brightest crayon in a box'. A light bulb in a box got no electric current. Therefore, it is illogical and doesn't make sense, moron." Skrelp scoffed.

"Hey, maybe it got a triple A battery to power it up." Grovyle made himself look dumber by saying that. Bisharp facepalmed as Skrelp shook her head and gave him a mocking grin.

"That basically proves that you are an uneducated imbecile." Skrelp insulted.

"Hey! Respect your seniors. I bet that I'm older than you." Grovyle looked offended as he tried to fight back.

"I'm eighteen years, three months and seven days old. What about you?" Skrelp revealed her age in a complicated way. Grovyle used his fingers to count.

"I'm eighteen as well and I'm born in March. What month is this?" Grovyle scratched his head.

"April. As a result, you are approximately eighteen years and one month old. I'm older than you so please respect your seniors that clearly have a higher degree of education." Skrelp made Grovyle eat his own words.

"Hey! Respect your juniors." Grovyle changed his approach. Skrelp looked very infuriated by his actions.

"Bisharp, deal with this imbecile on your own. I no longer wish to assist this fool." Skrelp scowled.

"Hey, come back here! I'm not done yet!" Grovyle snapped, shaking his right fist in a fit of rage.

"Calm down." Bisharp shook Grovyle's shoulder.

Grovyle turned to face him and asked. "How old are you?"

"Older than both of you." Bisharp didn't specifically reveal his age.

"Then go and teach her a lesson." Grovyle was getting more irrational.

"Please let that go already." Bisharp looked tired as he convinced Grovyle. After a while, Grovyle cooled off and resumed his duties as the leader of the team.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Back where I live, we put batteries in and things work. I don't understand all that science mumbo jumbo. I got no book smarts but I got them street smarts and reflexes. Anyways, being young isn't that bad. I should feel happy being younger than her right? Or is it better to be older?"

 **Skrelp:** "I can't believe an imbecile like him is qualified to be a leader."

* * *

Aromatisse chose the snow area as the location for her showcase. This raised many doubts and concerns among the Feckless Flygon members. They discussed about this in the Delibird Workshop.

"Are you sure about this? I'm fine with the snow but does Smeargle like snow?" Houndour questioned.

"Brr…cold." Ledyba shivered.

"This place is good for chilling out but is that what you homies really want?" Darmanitan addressed his team.

"I agree, what kind of theme fits the snow? Christmas?" Lucario asked, demanding an answer.

Aromatisse looked pressured as more concerns were raised but no answers from her yet.

"How are we going to find the balloons and popsicles?" Meowth asked.

"Errr…" Aromatisse stuttered.

"What will be our main show? Please explain things in detail." Duosion requested.

"Please give me a moment." Aromatisse fled to the café in order to hide from her teammates for a while.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "This is harder than I thought."

 **Lucario:** "She better starts doing something." Lucario tapped his feet impatiently.

* * *

Aromatisse drank her smoothie and sighed, chilly air escaped her lungs.

"Tough, isn't it? Need help? I'm on your side. I like this area." Cryogonal approached her, trying to be helpful.

"I just don't know how to lead and manage so many things. I start to see how difficult things must be for Lucario now." Aromatisse admitted.

"Well, you need to take the first step forward. How about telling them straightforwardly that you need help? Staying in the café won't get the job done. Come out and face your team." Cryogonal persuaded.

"I guess." Aromatisse slowly stepped forward to her teammates, out of the café.

"Everyone…" All eyes were on her. "To be honest, I need help to run this event. I will appreciate it if all of you beautiful and fabulous Pokemon…" Aromatisse complimented in hopes that it will win them over. "...come up with ideas and decide things on your own. I have complete faith and trust in all of you to be able to manage yourself. This doesn't mean that I will do nothing. I will still take charge in running the main event. However, everything else that requires strength… I can't do it." Aromatisse ended and averted her eyes from her teammates. She was nervous.

"Everyone, you hear it?! Follow her orders!" Lucario shouted to his team with his loud, clear voice, befitting of a leader. "Meowth, since you wonder about the popsicles and balloons, survey the island for them. The gift shop might be a good place to start. Duosion, help Aromatisse come up with a solid plan about the main event. Houndour and Darmanitan, try to find a way to keep Smeargle warm. The others, work on decoration. Understood?" Lucario showed what it really means to be a leader. Aromatisse stared, looking impressed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I have more respect for him now. Despite our conflicts, I hope we can put things aside and work together one day."

* * *

Grovyle slashed a few palm trees skillfully with Leaf Blade. He then dragged one back to the center of the beach, near the dock.

"Heracross, help me drag some more over here." Grovyle pointed to where he cut them down.

"Roger that." Heracross worked on it right away.

Afterwards, Grovyle chopped the tree into smaller pieces, removing the coconuts and leaves. During this time, someone tapped his shoulder.

"Here are the hammers and nails that you requested." Drifblim placed them down.

"Good, I will make a table out of palm trees." Grovyle replied.

He slammed the hammer down, being careful not to hit his own fingers. The nail pierced through the wood and connected the leg to the base. The table didn't look stable yet.

"I need to use some more nails." Grovyle told himself as he kept doing his manual labor.

"Grovyle, I got the straws! Wowie, you are skilled!" Jumpluff exclaimed, impressed by his crafting skills.

"Yeah, I'm skilled." Grovyle seemed complacent. Jumpluff's expression suddenly worsened. Something was bothering her.

"Grovyle, I'm sorry about you know, this morning and all. I hope that you realize that I'm still your friend." Jumpluff tried to reconnect with the gecko. Grovyle stopped working and turned to her. He said nothing for a while, then spoke up.

"Alright." Grovyle's tone was ambiguous. Was he still mad? Did he forgive and forget?

"Yay!" Jumpluff seemed content.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "I guess Bisharp was right. Grovyle is one of the best guys on this island." Jumpluff seemed sincere.

* * *

Meowth searched through every nook and cranny, there was still no sight of the balloon.

"Oh my, a scarcity in the balloon market." Meowth looked worried.

"Any luck?" Ledyba asked, she just entered the gift shop.

"No, may I help you with anything?" Meowth offered to help.

"I want to find a plush of a Delibird and maybe even Smeargle. Think she will like it?" Ledyba asked.

"Maybe. Unfortunately, stock is limited here. Maybe, you should search in the storage room." Meowth suggested.

"Okay, I got it." Ledyba said and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "This is a challenging task."

* * *

"We will bring them back, chef." Tyrunt assured as he carried a chair out of the mess hall.

"You better…" Chef Drapion said threateningly. Tyrunt gulped as he and the two others left the mess hall. They bought the chairs to Grovyle.

"Put them on the dock for now." Grovyle directed. The three obeyed.

Currently, Grovyle was painting the table. He painted it blue and then white. He was trying to create a wave of water design. He then placed a coconut down and sliced it open. He put the straw inside and placed a tiny umbrella on top of the drink.

"Bisharp, so what is our plan again?" Grovyle asked for a reminder.

"Well, decorations are going pretty smoothly. We got a selling stand for coconut juice and popsicles. Chairs are also prepared. We still need to come up with a performance and decorate the dock." Bisharp updated their status.

"Alright, how is Ms. I'm smarter than you doing?" Grovyle asked about Skrelp.

"Well, not much." Bisharp informed, pointing to Skrelp. She just relaxed on the beach, reading her book.

"Hah, how lazy. Respect your hardworking juniors." Grovyle smirked, feeling victorious.

"I will contribute after you kindly shut that insolent mouth of yours." Skrelp responded without lifting her gaze from the book.

"Maybe, you should." Bisharp suggested.

"What?! You are on her side?" Grovyle looked shocked.

"No, what I meant-" Bisharp was interrupted.

"You can join her 'lazy senior club' then!" Grovyle stomped off. Bisharp frowned, watching Grovyle as he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I don't understand. He used to be my partner… What changed about him?"

 **Grovyle:** "I will get rid of them all… Those that dare to offend me. Just because they are older than me doesn't mean they have any right to look down on me. They are just trying to use me, both of them. They thought that they can use me, Good Guy Grovyle? They are dearly mistaken." Grovyle clenched his fist.

 **Skrelp:** "At this point, that imbecile will self-destruct and get himself eliminated."

* * *

Duosion and Aromatisse discussed about the main event inside the café, drinks were in front of them.

"Here is my idea and it will be totally fabulous. Why don't we create another play like we used to in the babysitting challenge? It will be a play about Christmas." Aromatisse suggested.

"In my opinion, the theme works for this area. However, we need to plan it out intricately. Can you tell me the plot, necessary equipment, the length of the performance, the setting and everything else necessary for a successful show?" Duoison inquired.

"Well, we should keep it simple. How about Santa Delibird delivering presents to all the good children out there?" Aromatisse proposed an idea.

"Well, simplicity works, I guess. What about equipment?" Duosion didn't look exactly confident.

"I plan on creating a Santa Delibird costume myself. Other than that, I need a sleigh, a few Stantler horns, red noses and presents." Aromatisse listed.

"Alright, I will convey this message to everyone else." Duosion left the café to tell the others. Of course, she took her drink with her by using Psychic.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Hopefully, Smeargle likes my idea. I mean who doesn't like Christmas and all the free presents, duh?"

* * *

Somewhere along the beach…

Dedenne brought Grovyle a coconut drink, trying to cheer him up. Apparently, he lay down on the sand with empty eyes.

"Cheer up, did you overwork yourself to exhaustion?" Dedenne asked in concern.

"Thanks, you are the only one that I can rely on, Dedenne." Grovyle accepted the drink, making her smiled. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm picked on by the others. They make me feel like a puppet leader. I feel manipulated. I didn't take this role because I want to, it was forced on me. Sure, I took it in the end but if I didn't do it then, who will? Our team will be leaderless without my sacrifice." Grovyle said, getting it off his chest.

"Aw, Grovyle, you poor thing." Dedenne consoled. "Who picked on you?"

Grovyle whispered names into her ears and Dedenne frowned.

"I will head back to work now." Grovyle lifted himself up and headed to the dock.

Bisharp was there, readied to deliver news to his leader. "Good news or bad news first?" Bisharp asked, sounding urgent.

"Good news." Grovyle chose instantly.

"Well, we nearly finish the decorations. Just need the balloons and popsicles." Bisharp updated their progress.

Seemingly, they got beach umbrellas installed, providing shade. Underneath the umbrellas were chairs from the mess hall. Furthermore, fishing rods lined up neatly on the dock with a statue of a Magikarp near the end. In addition, a wide variety of water Pokemon plushes scattered across the sand. Whether it be their own mascot, Crawdaunt or Feebas, Staryu, etc. Last but not least, the coconut drink stall received a nifty upgrade. Palm tree leaves were tied to the legs of the table to make it more stable. An umbrella was also installed to provide shade. Hidden below the table was a music box, playing a tropical beach theme.

"A catchy theme right there, I like it. Everything looks great. What's the problem?" Grovyle looked around with hands on his hips, puzzled at what could possibly go wrong.

"Well, we don't have a performance. We need one to showcase the qualities of the beach area." Bisharp revealed the bad news.

"What?! I thought you planned it." Grovyle looked shock.

"I thought you planned it as well." Bisharp had a similar expression. "We focus too much on the decorations."

"What are we going to do?" Grovyle panicked. Heracross approached them both with something.

"Hey, what are we going to do with this? I found this piece of scrap in the secret room behind the mountain." Heracross showed them a surfboard. "Should I throw it away?"

"Wait, this is perfect. I'm going to ride the waves for the show." Grovyle got an idea. Bisharp and Heracross didn't look confident.

"Surfing? I doubt that your microscopic-sized brain will be able to handle such a complex sport, Mr. Triple A battery." Skrelp degraded. Grovyle's face reddened with rage.

"I will make you eat your words." Grovyle said in a serious, dark tone.

"Please demonstrate." Skrelp didn't seem threatened in the slightest. Instead, she challenged him.

"Oh, you will see." Grovyle smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Do I know how to surf? No. However, I'm pretty sure that it is very easy like taking a candy from a…" Grovyle hesitated. "…Skrelp, yeah. Taking candy from Skrelp." Grovyle was sure that he said the right thing this time.

 **Bisharp:** "Why is Grovyle so vindictive lately? He takes these things too seriously."

* * *

On the other hand, the Feckless Flygon didn't get much done with decorations…

In front of the entrance to the Delibird Workshop, there was a snowman holding a sign with the word, 'Welcome'. A few plushes of Delibird were placed around the area. Otherwise, not much else to see.

"Why are there barely any decorations?" Aromatisse asked no one in particular.

"Well, you told us to focus on the show. Building a sleigh takes a long time. Luckily, we got Lucario or else nothing will be done when Smeargle arrives." Cryogonal explained.

Lucario put finishing touches on the sleigh. It seemed like it could function adequately. The color scheme was red. Nothing else stood out. The sleigh looked somewhat unfinished. Lucario turned around, staring at Aromatisse with deadly eyes.

"I expect you to manage everything else when I work my butt off to build this sleigh! You manage nothing!" Lucario scolded her. Aromatisse eyes were a bit teary, saddened deeply.

"I did sew a Santa costume…" Aromatisse tried to come up with excuses.

"All you did was sewing a costume? All this time? What kind of leader does that?!" Lucario continued his onslaught. Aromatisse was getting heavily panned and she was about to sob.

"Homie, chill out. She didn't mean it." Darmanitan pulled Lucario back.

"Now what? What the *beep* are we going to do now?!" Lucario swore in anger. The rest of his team started to gather around as they heard Lucario's deafening voice from afar. They didn't say much with their heads down, none of them contributed that much.

Suddenly, an announcement interrupted the commotion.

"Attention, contestants! Yesterday, the Feckless Flygon won so I'm giving them a small advantage. Smeargle will evaluate the Crazy Crawdaunt first so use your extra time preciously." Skarmory gave the Feckless Flygon their last ray of hope.

"You better get things done!" Lucario yelled as he stomped on the ground angrily. Aromatisse cried a bit but she covered her face. Therefore, Lucario didn't see that.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I tried my best but he still isn't satisfied." Aromatisse sobbed.

 **Lucario:** "Great, elimination ceremony again!"

 **Darmanitan:** "Things are heating up a bit too much. Everyone needs to take a chill pill."

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt members were scrambling around at the last minute to ensure that everything will be perfect.

"Umbrellas, check. Popsicles, check…" Grovyle noted.

"Yeah, better check those popsicles. I ended up paying ten Skarmory tokens to Chef Drapion for them." Tyrunt said, seemingly unhappy.

"Music, check. Balloons… Where are the balloons?" Grovyle asked, rapidly looking around.

"Perhaps, there is a shortage of helium recently." Skrelp commented. "Why am I blowing hot air into a buffoon's ears? Mr. Triple A battery probably doesn't understand."

"All talk, no help. That's Skrelp for ya." Grovyle retaliated.

"Fine, need help? We got a balloon Pokemon in our team. Helpful?" Skrelp pointed out.

All eyes turned to Drifblim. She glanced around and frowned.

"You all owe me for this." Drifblim agreed reluctantly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Do I need to stoop that low? Fine, for the entertainment of the viewers." She didn't sound thrilled.

* * *

Smeargle arrived at the beach area, holding a notebook in hand. She wrote something down as she observed the atmosphere and decorations. Contestants mingled with each other as they drank coconut juice. Some stayed at the dock, fishing like Bisharp. Some threw pebbles into the sea like Heracross.

Music soothed Smeargle's ears as she walked over to the stall. Smeargle tapped her feet, following the rhythm of the theme.

"Enjoy? Having fun?" Jumpluff asked cheerfully behind the stall with a big smile on her face.

"Definitely! The music is excellent and everyone looks happy." Smeargle exclaimed in joy.

"Want popsicles and coconut juices? We got a special promotion, buy one get one free!" Jumpluff pitched.

"Are you charging me?" Smeargle seemed appalled. Jumpluff immediately shook her head.

"No, it is just that-" Jumpluff was interrupted.

"I'm joking." Smeargle confessed.

"Oh, golly. I look like an idiot." Jumpluff sheepishly grinned.

"Not really, I mean I'm sure someone around here is a little less intelligent than you." Smeargle referred to a certain individual.

"Anyways, I'm fine with paying. How much does it cost?" Smeargle asked for the price.

"How about this? You are the first, special customer so you get both a popsicle and a coconut drink for free!" Jumpluff said generously.

"Thanks." Smeargle wrote something down before she grabbed the freebies. Upon seeing the tiny umbrella included with the drink, she wrote something extra down.

Afterwards, Smeargle headed to the dock. She looked surprised as she got her eyes on the Magikarp statue.

"Where did you get that? I can't recall that I put something like this on the island." Smeargle said in disbelief.

"It was washed ashore. Someone probably throw it away." Bisharp explained.

"Oh, it looks nice." Smeargle complimented the statue. She rubbed it a bit before she moved on.

Smeargle made her way around to look at the plushes on the beach next. She seemed content as she scribbled something down. The beagle viewed the place a bit more, writing certain words down in the process. The last thing that caught her eye was Drifblim being tied to the dock.

"Why are you tied up?" Smeargle seemed confused.

"I'm supposed to be a balloon." Drifblim clarified. Smeargle chuckled at this. This made Drifblim frown.

The sun was about to set. Thus, the main event began.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to start the epic finale to the showcase of the beach area. I hope that all of you have a fabulous day so far. In a short moment, someone will attempt to tame the vicious waves of the sea. Please give support to our valiant surfer, Grovyle!" Bisharp announced. Smeargle seemed excited, she couldn't stay still.

Grovyle held the surfboard up as he slowly stepped into the shallow parts of the sea. The surfboard was painted with the design of a Sharpedo. The gecko then placed it down once the water was deep enough. He lay down on the surfboard and waited for a wave.

One minute passed and things were looking silly as no huge waves appeared.

"Err… we are having technical difficulties." Bisharp tried to make it less awkward.

Suddenly, a gigantic wave rushed toward Grovyle. It threatened to swallow him up whole.

"Come at me, wave." Grovyle challenged as he stood on his surfboard. On his face, he looked confident. However, his legs were shaking. Regardless, the wave crashed against him. Would it be a tragedy for the amateur surfer?

Everyone looked anxious as they dreaded the worse for the guy. Some looked less anxious than others. Like Dedenne, who had complete faith in him. On the contrary, Skrelp didn't care for Grovyle's wellbeing in the slightest.

Miraculously, Grovyle managed to keep his balance! The guy was spinning full circles on the waves before it tossed him skyward.

"Woah!" Grovyle screamed deafeningly, a mix between fear and adrenaline. The end result was… his head got buried in the sand.

"Let's go help him!" Dedenne alerted, heading to him first. Bisharp, Jumpluff and Tyrunt ran to him faster than the others. Grovyle tried to pull himself out of the sand to no avail.

"Luckily, it isn't me that need to do that." Nosepass sighed in relief.

Dedenne tried to pull Grovyle up but failed. After the other three arrived, they helped as well and Grovyle was freed. Dedenne glanced at Bisharp before she turned her attention to Grovyle.

"Are you alright?" Dedenne asked.

"I'm… okay." Grovyle said before toppling down.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Smeargle applaud. "That was very brave of you, Grovyle. I like this showcase. Let's see if the other team is better." Smeargle said with high expectations.

Before she left, they all enjoyed their time in the beach area with all the music and drinks a bit more. Grovyle was praised and complimented. He looked happy. Nevertheless, he flashed Skrelp a mean glare, every now and then.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Respect your juniors. That was pure skill, no luck." Grovyle boasted.

 **Skrelp:** "To be honest, I hope the wave crushes and obliterates his body so that he will be medically evacuated."

 **Dedenne:** "I'm very proud of him. That was reckless but he did it anyways for the team. Such a great hero."

* * *

Smeargle stood in front of the Delibird Workshop. She wrote something down upon seeing the snowman. There was nothing else to see so she headed inside, expecting a huge surprise.

However, Smeargle frowned immediately once she realized that nothing new or fresh was added. Instead, the Delibird Workshop was still the plain old Delibird Workshop. It looked great, but because she was the one who decorated this place before the contestants even arrived on the island.

"Maybe, it is still early to judge." Smeargle tried to remain optimistic.

Houndour and Darmanitan saw her first and rushed over immediately with a cup of hot coffee and a scarf.

"Cold? Want to drink this hot coffee or wear this Delibird Scarf?" Houndour offered.

"No thanks, I don't drink coffee and I'm not cold. I like it here. Wait… is this, Skarmory's?" Smeargle pointed to the cup.

"Err… we paid him fifteen tokens to get this." Darmanitan answered.

"Well, I guess you wasted it." Smeargle wrote something down before she moved on. The two seemed disappointed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "You know, I'm not mad about losing the tokens but I fear that we will inevitably lose. I guess I should blame myself but I feel like Aromatisse couldn't get things organized properly enough. When I'm about to do this, she ordered me to rehearse for the play. When I'm about to rehearse, she wasn't there to direct. Instead, she was sewing a costume."

 **Darmanitan:** "I gotta hold that L. My bad."

* * *

Smeargle was about to head inside the gift shop until someone barged into the workshop. It was Meowth, he was sweating and panting horribly. In his hands were balloons, they contracted due to the cold temperature.

"You don't want to know what I had-" Meowth coughed. "-to go through to get these..." Meowth collapsed, letting the balloons floated to the ceiling. Instantly, Darmanitan and Houndour rushed over to help.

"Are you alright? Please respond!" Houndour asked in concern, anxiety written on his face.

Darmanitan touched his head and his eyes widened.

"A fever, we need to put him in the infirmary!" Darmanitan spoke with urgency. Smeargle was shocked to hear this.

"Both of us are needed in the play, someone please bring him to the infirmary!" Darmanitan shouted. Houndour shouted for help as well. Duosion heard this and carried him up with Psychic.

"I will do this. You boys better hurry." Duosion gave them a reassuring look and they both left to prepare for the show. Houndour turned back to look one last time, Duosion was already outside. It was getting dark and cold. Houndour wished for the best. Smeargle wrote something down as she unsmilingly explored the place further.

There was nothing special to see. Sure, plushes. However, the plushes were already there in the workshop. The contestants just changed their locations. Unimpressive to the artist.

There was also an unfinished ice sculpture near the gift shop. The only distinguishable feature was a round face and a round body. It never had a chance to fully blossom because of time constraints.

A few red and green signs were made with words like 'Happy Holidays' or 'Merry Christmas'. However, they were plain and ordinary. The location was also questionable. It hung near the exhibit on the second floor, next to all the old machinery.

Smeargle continued writing criticisms down while shaking her head in disappointment.

The show needed to be perfect for the Feckless Flygon to even stand a chance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "I'm no expert at decorating. I just hung the signs randomly. Whatever."

 **Cryogonal:** "I built the snowman. I hope she likes it."

 **Ledyba:** "I saw her disappointed expressions for the plushies. This is disheartening…"

 **Miltank:** "We need more muscles on the team. Hard to make that ice sculpture all alone without Lucario."

 **Scolipede:** "We need more brains on the team. Miltank smashed many ice sculptures into pieces without thinking or planning ahead."

 **Aromatisse:** "Everything is a mess with decorations. It is too late for me to save them now. I need to focus on the show."

 **Lucario:** "Do I need to wear this costume?" Lucario lifted a Santa costume up and cringed.

* * *

Suddenly, the lights were all turned off. Smeargle jumped up, feeling scared. Lights flashed outside the workshop. It was an alluring yellow light. Smeargle exited the workshop to hear bells tingling. Most noticeably, there was a figure dressed in red and white. It was Lucario in a Santa costume. He sat on a sleigh. It was decorated more beautifully than before with flashing lights and bells. Tied to the sleigh were Darmanitan and Scolipede in front. Miltank and Houndour at the back. They all wore Stantler horns and red noses.

"Hohohoho…" Lucario tried to laugh like Santa. "It is this time again. The time when I deliver presents to all the good Pokemon out there. Merry Christmas." Lucario said his lines. Smeargle had an unreadable expression on her face.

"Go, my magical Stantler! Go to that mansion over there." Lucario pointed. The four dragged the sleigh at a decent speed to the mansion. Smeargle followed them along.

Suddenly, one of the Stantler collapsed. It was Houndour. He groaned and moaned in pain. Smeargle gasped.

"What happened?!" Lucario shouted in surprise.

"Master, he fainted due to exhaustion." Scolipede explained.

"I need food and water… Please…" Houndour cried desperately. Lucario looked back and forth between the mansion and Houndour, biting his own lip.

"We must move on. Keep on going! We need to make the dreams of all children come true." Lucario said determinedly. Houndour was left behind and the three dragged the sleigh at a slower pace. Smeargle could feel Lucario's struggle with the decision.

"Did you feed him enough, master?" Scolipede asked. Lucario grew silent.

Suddenly, someone yelled in pain.

"My foot! Ow!" Miltank held her left foot up, it was bleeding. In reality, it was just tomato sauce.

"How did this happen?" Lucario was taken by surprise again.

"Master, the path here is rough. Maybe, we should turn back." Scolipede suggested.

"No, we must march forward for the children." Lucario refused, his eyes were adamant. Miltank was left behind like Houndour. Smeargle looked absorbed into the story.

Scolipede glanced maliciously at Lucario as they got closer to the mansion, the latter didn't notice it. The path was getting rockier and rougher, courtesy of fake sharp looking rocks.

Suddenly, a Shadow Ball was blasted at the sleigh. Smoke surrounded Lucario and everything came to a halt.

"Who did this?" Lucario coughed at the smoke. Once the smoke faded, Darmanitan was seen fainted. Scolipede was the only Stantler left. In front of the two, was Shedinja.

"Santa, remember me? I'm your neglected helper, Shedinja." Shedinja played the role of the antagonist. However, his voice was still monotone.

"Why the hell did you do this, my naughty helper?!" Lucario questioned aggressively.

"Every year, there is a single day that I dread the most, Christmas. Do you know why? Look behind you." Shedinja pointed out and Lucario averted his eyes guiltily.

"We work for three hundred and sixty-four days and get that kind of treatment. You only work for one day yet, you get all the love from children all around the world. What about us? Don't you think it is unfair that everyone else gets to smile on Christmas but us?" Shedinja's voice had a bit of anger surprisingly.

"Enough!" Lucario threw an Aura Sphere at Shedinja, it dealt no damage.

"What a hopeless gesture, there will be no Christmas this year." Shedinja drawled.

"Scolipede, attack!" Lucario barked orders at him.

"Hahaha…" Scolipede broke into laughter.

"Why don't you attack?!" Lucario raged.

"Master, no Santa. I'm sorry but I agree with him. It is time for Christmas to end for good." Scolipede slashed the ropes with his forehead horn and betrayed Lucario.

Lucario gritted his teeth as both of them outnumbered him.

"Come at me! I will protect Christmas!" Lucario made his last stand as he tried to slam Scolipede with Bone Rush. However, Shedinja interfered and used Sand Attack on Lucario. It blinded him and allowed Scolipede to escape.

"Aim for the presents. We made them so we will destroy them." Shedinja instructed Scolipede, who nodded in reply.

Shedinja distracted Lucario with another Shadow Ball. This allowed Scolipede to rush over to the back of the sleigh.

"No!" Lucario screamed as he ran over to protect the presents. However, it was too late. Scolipede already slashed them with his forehead horn. Clothes turned into pieces of scrap. Plushes were torn. Toys were crushed.

Lucario dropped down to his knees and cried (with the help of fake tears, not a move). It looked so real to Smeargle.

"How does it feel now, Santa? This is what you truly deserve. You can beat us up if you want. However, that won't save Christmas." Shedinja stated.

"No, I will go and save the other Stantler…" Lucario said quietly and depressingly as he dragged Darmanitan up the sleigh and pulled it back to Delibird Workshop all alone. Along the way, Scolipede, Shedinja and Smeargle watched his progress. Lucario lifted Miltank up and rummaged through destroyed presents for a piece of cloth to tie to her bleeding foot. Finally, he carried Houndour up on the sleigh and fed him crushed leftovers from the pile of broken presents. Before he reached the workshop, he turned to face Scolipede and Shedinja.

"I'm… sorry." With some slight difficulty, Lucario vocalized these words out. "I treated all of you badly. I don't deserve to be Santa." They were shocked to hear it.

"Santa, there might still be some time left to save Christmas…" Shedinja said, looking down.

"How? The presents are destroyed." Lucario said pessimistically.

"Who said that we don't have more presents?" Shedinja drawled and Lucario suddenly became interested.

"We save some in case of an emergency." Scolipede revealed. Lucario cried tears of joy.

Thus, it was a happy ending. Lucario, Shedinja and Scolipede hurriedly entered the workshop to get some stuff from the gift shop and stuffed it inside present boxes. They then headed to the mansion together to deliver the presents before the children wake up. Lucario promised to treat his Stantler and helpers better and they all cheered for Christmas.

Smeargle cried at the end.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Smeargle:** "I feel like that role fits Lucario in a sense…"

 **Aromatisse:** "We put all of our eggs in one basket. Hopefully, it pays off."

 **Duosion:** "I kind of change the script at the end. Aromatisse's version is too cheesy and simple. On another important matter, Meowth is recovering just fine."

 **Lucario:** "I didn't put that ridiculous costume on just to lose, you know?"

* * *

"I have the results, Smeargle gives the best showcase award to… the Crazy Crawdaunt. She commented that while she likes the main performance of the Feckless Flygon better. The decorations are too horrid and popsicles are nowhere to be found despite all of you being in the snow area." Skarmory released the result. The Feckless Flygon didn't look happy. They turned all of their eyes to Aromatisse.

Cryogonal and Ledyba looked at her with sympathy. However, Lucario's piercing gaze pressured them to avert their eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I wish to be a more useful member. I really want a second chance to prove myself."

* * *

"Ten nice children will get a Leppa Berry. On the other hand, one naughty degenerate will get nothing but a one way trip out of Skarmory Island. I will start calling out names of the good kids out there." Skarmory started to give Leppa Berries out rapidly.

"Lucario, Miltank, Darmanitan, Houndour, Duosion, Meowth, Ledyba, Scolipede, Cryogonal..." Skarmory paused to build up suspense.

...

...

...

"Aromatisse, you naughty girl. You are eliminated. This one is so predictable." Skarmory yawned in boredom. Aromatisse rolled her eyes as she left.

"Yay, I'm not in the naughty list. Presents for me." Shedinja drawled.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I voted for Shedinja, he betrayed me in yesterday's challenge. Other than that, I must say that I'm actually happy that I get to leave this dirty island. It ruins my nails and pretty looks. Who do I want to win? My girls, Ledyba and Cryogonal. I like them both. I just don't want Shedinja to win. As it stands right now, I rather let Lucario win than him.

* * *

Aromatisse boarded the Lapras with her pink handbag still intact. She waved to Ledyba and Cryogonal.

"We will miss talking to you. Have a safe journey. Bye." Cryogonal bid her farewell.

"I'm sorry for voting for you. We don't have a better choice. Hope you meet happiness wherever you go and try to remain optimistic. See you later." Ledyba said her parting words.

"See both of you but not so soon. I want you two girls to win. Try to remain fabulous in this dirty island." Aromatisse waved for the final time as the Lapras departed.

After everyone left, Skarmory appeared for the ending.

"To be honest, I don't like her. She likes to insult my beautiful, lovely island. Contestants nowadays…" Skarmory complained. "Anyways, the infirmary streak is one step closer to revival. Triple G becomes Triple A. What's next? Let's say, things are about to heat up in the desert area." Skarmory hinted. "Find out in the next fabulous episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Votes**

Lucario: Aromatisse

Scolipede: Aromatisse

Shedinja: Aromatisse

Miltank: Aromatisse

Darmanitan: Aromatisse

Houndour: Aromatisse

Duosion: Aromatisse

Meowth: Aromatisse

Ledyba: Aromatisse

Cryogonal: Aromatisse

Aromatisse: Shedinja

Shedinja: 1

Aromatisse: 10 (eliminated)

* * *

How is it? Another great episode? Well, that's all for the interns. Each of them will get their chance to appear again. As well as the areas. They will be revisited. There is one secret area left for the finale. Let's call it Skarmory Area for now, shall we? The final challenge is a bit special.

Tell me what you think and review so that I will have more motivation to release chapters faster.


	13. Chapter 13

Well, I'm back from my vacation. Pokemon Sun and Moon is exceptional. I recommend that game for all Pokemon fans out there. If you want to play with me, give me your friend code. I got a competitively bred team with two of my favorite Pokemon (Goodra and Porygon Z). To be honest, I could just finish the main story and start working on this chapter but I procrastinate a little.

From now on, Pokemon from the seventh generation will appear in this story so spoiler alert. Finish the game before you read. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

Sorry about the elimination. It was rushed like you said. It was already very late for me when I'm about to post that chapter. Heck, I nearly fell asleep. I will try to take my time with all the eliminations from now on.

 **OctoRiter**

Ah, a fellow Total Pokemon Island author. If I have time, I will check your story out. Lately, I'm feeling a bit pessimistic about authors not finishing their stories so I made a rule that it either needs to be updated usually or very long in words count. Anyways, I'm glad to see you enjoying yourself with how Darmanitan speaks. Team Skull speaks a bit like him from what I noticed with the berry thief boys with all the "homie". Like I said with Worma-Sir, sorry about the elimination.

 **WhiteDiamondNinja8484**

The Crawdaunt have more tension, of course. The Flygon members are all scared of Lucario so they can't do much. Your ships might come true, I don't want to spoil the surprise.

* * *

 **Episode 13** **:** **Can** **'** **t Handle the Heat?**

The camera blinked to total darkness, unusually different from the routine structure of each episode. The image blurred but slowly got its focus on the Flygon boys' bedroom. Three contestants were awake during the night while the others slept peacefully.

The camera zoomed into the first contestant, Meowth. He was scratching a Skarmory token with his right hand. His left hand was used as a pillow, possibly providing comfort.

"Hey, having trouble sleeping?" Houndour whispered. He tried not to disturb others.

Meowth turned around to face him, putting the coin away. "Today was a bit mortifying. A great businessman like me failing to deliver the goods because of a mere balloon? I have no excuses for my poor performance." Meowth replied, his eyes looking grim and stressed.

"Dude, it will be alright. I mean I don't know how you feel as I'm not a businessman but I also make mistakes sometimes. It is great that we can learn from it but don't be too harsh on yourself. Not good for your mental health." Houndour advised quietly. Meowth nodded.

"In a large enterprise, everything is high risk, high reward. I can't afford to make mistakes. While I appreciate your words of encouragement, I suggest you to listen to them yourself." Meowth stared at Lucario's sleeping figure before his eyes returned to the subject. "Lucario did spy on you secretly a few times." Meowth slipped out highly confidential information.

"Why?" Houndour blurted out a bit loudly. Once he realized, he swiftly closed his mouth. "Is it because of what happened in the prison challenge? Is he still mad?" Houndour assumed.

"No idea. However, stay alert just in case." Meowth slid his blanket over him. "We better sleep unless we want to be late to work." Meowth and Houndour agreed to sleep. Shortly after, Shedinja entered the cabin.

"Who cares about waking early? Not me." Shedinja drawled and soon fell asleep as well. Did he hear the conversation? Nah, he probably didn't care.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** **:** "Yesterday, I had a reality check. I planned many things for my business but I didn't take any steps forward. I got a lot of information to work with yet I hide under the radar. Pitiful, if I don't release a new product, the consumers will lose faith in me. I'm ready to play this game _hard_." Meowth smirked and tossed a coin up into the air before he caught it skillfully without even looking multiple times."

* * *

Skarmory was seen on a cruise ship with a silver suitcase behind him. Unusually, he wore black sunglasses. Facing toward the camera on the dock, he removed his sunglasses with his right wing.

"Viewers, I'm going to be on a vacation at a luxurious six-stars hotel. Massages, a scrumptious feast, exceptional spa time, perfect for me. Ah, the privileges of being rich. At the meantime, Chef Drapion will be taking charge as a temporary host. See you later." Skarmory made his absence known before the cruise ship set sail.

On the other hand, Chef Drapion grumbled on the dock. Noticeably, he held some notes. Apparently, Skarmory left them.

"Great, lazy as always." Chef Drapion said the usual. Quickly, he glanced at his notes.

Turning to the camera, he delivered the message. "Last time, the contestants get to meet a new intern." Chef Drapion looked at his notes again. "This time, Chef Drapion gets to do whatever he wants with the challenge…" Chef Drapion gaped. "Is this for real?!" Chef Drapion said, feeling shocked. "Finally, I can do whatever the hell I *beep* want! Opening's over!" Chef Drapion exclaimed and the opening was over like that.

* * *

In the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin…

"Wake up, sleepy slackers! Wake up!" Lucario blasted his teammates' eardrums into pieces.

Lucario clapped his hands together loudly. "Wake up!" Lucario repeated, frustration forming in his voice.

The other boys closed their ears and groaned as they slowly opened their eyes, including Houndour (who got Early Bird).

"There is no need to obliterate our eardrums. I thought there was an earthquake outside. Geez." Scolipede complained.

"What's the time, homie?" Darmanitan yawned.

"5AM" Lucario answered and his teammates looked at him as if he was crazy.

"The earlier we get up, the earlier we can hunt for the advantage." Lucario responded once he saw the looks on their faces.

"I suggest a hunt for coffee instead." Shedinja drawled, looking the worse out of everyone. He slowly drifted back to sleep, who knows when he slept?

"This isn't my working hours yet." Meowth fell back to sleep as well, never did he expect Lucario to wake up this early.

"I agree. While I could go out right now, I would appreciate it if we can get a little more rest." Houndour nodded. He didn't seem drowsy like the others but his eyes still droop a little.

Veins protruded out of Lucario's head as he scowled. "Fine! Don't want to come? Stay inactive here! I will go and get the advantage by myself!" Lucario yelled as he exited the door with a slam.

"Homie, wait. I will go." Darmanitan hurriedly followed him out.

"Should I go?" Houndour looked at the others for their opinions. He seemed extraordinary worried especially after what Meowth told him.

"Do you need to ask? Your choice. Either you go out or don't." Scolipede replied in an unfriendly manner.

"I will go then." Houndour told as he left, frowning a bit at Scolipede's tone of voice.

The camera caught Meowth opening his left eye momentarily before closing them down.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "I don't know where the guy is coming from but he seems like the type that tries to please everyone. I remember when he shared noodles. Sharing is fine and all but sometimes it is just too much, you know what I mean? I can't imagine him doing all that out of good intentions. It might just be me overthinking but I rather be safe than sorry." Scolipede paused for a moment. "Ledyba also seemed to be very close with him. I saw both of them talk a few times. I want to make sure she is safe from him. She is the type that is too trusting. Don't get any wrong ideas. I'm just trying to help as a friend." Scolipede looked a bit flustered in the end.

 **Meowth** **:** "Houndour is many things to me. He is my PR manager, establishing many relationships that I hope to take advantage of. He is also a competitor, a big threat that steals my business at the end of the day. In addition, he is also a pretty big target with enemies. I have an idea on how to milk him up for profits." Meowth rubbed his hand together quite sinisterly.

 **Houndour** **:** "What did I do wrong for Scolipede to not like me? The dude got trust issues."

* * *

Lucario stomped over to the girls' cabin next. Darmanitan rushed over to his side.

"Homie, I know that the entire Aura Beast members wake up early but not everyone do." Darmanitan reasoned. Lucario turned to look at him.

"Everyone in my team needs to, no exceptions." Lucario demanded. "Anyone who fails to comply with my rules will be punished accordingly. Iron discipline is necessary if we want to win and we need to win."

Darmanitan apprehensively smiled as Lucario gathered his voice before he shouted deafeningly to wake the girls up.

"Wake up!" Lucario's voice was so loud that it could be mistaken for an Earthquake. Darmanitan shut his ears tightly, the same for everyone in the vicinity.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** **:** "While I like it when Pokemon with loud and clear voice present a product, being too loud can scare the customers away."

 **Darmanitan** **:** "I'm all dizzy now, homie." Darmanitan was about to lose his balance.

 **Dedenne** **:** "Did Lucario try to wake us up? I thought he was at our front door… Did he shout from the other side?"

 **Miltank** **:** "Back at my farm, I thought all the wild Pokemon are loud. I could never be more wrong. The nerve of this guy… He should be arrested for disturbing everyone. Geez, if I'm not in his alliance, I will probably vote him out already."

 **Skrelp** **:** "For a moment, I thought the Lucario line could learn Boomburst. Regardless, it is very disrespectful and inconsiderate of him to wake everyone up this early in the morning."

 **Nosepass** **:** "Who is the angel that woke me up? I had a terrible nightmare last night. A crazy Pokemon was about to eat me until that loud voice… saved me!" Nosepass sighed in relief.

* * *

After a rude awakening, everyone eventually gathered with half-closed eyelids in front of Lucario.

"I see that we are missing Scolipede and Shedinja. They shall be excluded from the advantage. Next, I want to…" Lucario rambled on about his plan to capture Ursaring. However, everyone didn't seem to pay attention.

They yawned and struggled to keep their eyes open.

"Finally-" Lucario stopped and frowned once he saw the condition of his team.

"What's wrong with all of you sleepyheads? Did you all sleep late?!" Lucario scolded.

"Most of us only get like six to seven hours of sleep. That might not be enough for everyone." Houndour explained, seemingly more energetic than others.

"Great!" Lucario walked away from his team. "Go to sleep!" Lucario turned around and yelled at them for one final time.

Darmanitan thought about following him but decided against it… for now.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "The homie needs to learn that not everyone is like him or his teammates. He doesn't seem to understand that. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being like him. The homie works hard as hell to bring his team of amateurs to the top. All the other Pokeathlon teams have a higher budget and older, veteran athletes. Lucario got a team with a bunch of no-name high school kids and manage to bring them to the top."

 **Lucario** **:** "I can't believe that I'm out here babysitting a bunch of losers. I don't want to go through all of that again."

* * *

Nosepass smiled as he happily walked out of the restrooms.

"I escape that terrible nightmare. Perhaps, today is my lucky day." Nosepass seemed cheerful and optimistic as he said that.

Nosepass saw Rhyhorn walking straight to the intersection, he was about to greet the fellow rock type until Rhyhorn glanced cautiously behind his back and speeded away out of everyone's sight.

"Wait, where is he going?" Nosepass talked to himself as he quickly followed him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "Where is he going and why?"

* * *

In the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin…

"An extra hour of sleep without Lucario, this must be a dream." Cryogonal expressed her joy, relaxing on her bed.

"At least, he is nice enough to let us sleep." Ledyba pointed out.

"And cruel enough to wake us up rudely." Miltank retorted.

"I wonder about Lucario's different sleeping schedule compared to us. It will be a great opportunity to study athletes' sleeping habits." Duosion indicated.

"Sleeping schedules? You must be some kind of weirdo who studied old machines, fossils and all that junk." Miltank mocked. Duosion didn't show much reaction.

"Hey, everyone has different interests!" Ledyba defended.

"Who are you? Her defender to the rescue? Girl, that's none of your business. Don't act like that pipsqueak that butts her head in when it comes to fairness, justice and all that junk. Fair and square! No discrimination! Everyone stands on equal grounds! Life ain't that easy." Miltank jeered.

Ledyba was about to argue back until Duosion spoke up.

"I totally understand your logic and point of view. I'm used to other Pokemon belittling my unpopular hobbies. Therefore, I take no offense to that, considering you are the outspoken type. I appreciate your honesty." Duosion didn't argue or fight back any further. Ledyba looked a bit shocked as she stared at Duosion with slight disapproval.

"Good, I will hit the hay now." Miltank went back to sleep. Instantly, she started snoring and fell asleep.

"Are you okay? Did it hurt your feelings? Why did you take all that crap from her? Be optimistic, we are always here with you so don't think of doing anything stupid, alright?" Ledyba asked many questions.

"I think you are taking this too far. You said it as if she was about to commit suicide." Cryogonal told Ledyba, who returned a confused expression.

"Suicide? I don't know where you get the idea but-" Ledyba was interrupted.

"I'm fine. Ledyba, I'm grateful that you defend me as a friend but don't underestimate my mental capabilities. I'm not mentally weak. I'm immune to most insults and phobias. Before the show, I'm already well aware that I'm in the minority. Back at school, there aren't many that share similar interests to me. Statistically, about 0.7 percent understands what I usually talk about. Don't get me wrong, I'm not socially crippled or lack the ability to make friends either so don't take that into account." Duosion explained in a statistical manner. Ledyba looked a bit dumbfounded as well as Cryogonal.

"I don't really understand all of this witty analysis of yours but did you count everything and change that into probability?" Ledyba asked with disbelief.

"Of course, through many observations and surveys, I manage to create a record of that. As well as things like the ratio of villains to heroes in Total Drama and social politics. I don't want to show off my knowledge or sound like Skrelp but I study into fields of archaeology and statistics heavily and passionately. Sorry, if it confuses you." Duosion looked a bit worried.

"No, it doesn't confuse me at all. I know that you are the intelligent type but you never really show off or boast about it like Skrelp." Ledyba replied.

"Indeed, I wonder if your boyfriend knows about all of this." Cryogonal sounded curious.

Duosion blushed a bit. "He knows. That's why I'm a bit shocked that he decided… to be with me. I'm not used to being with Pokemon like him. He is very accepting and kind. I'm very lucky to meet him."

"Aww, that's great for you two. Anyways, since Aromatisse left… I wonder if you will join in with our conversation from now on to fill in that gap. You seem to be busy and didn't seem to have any interest in it so we didn't invite you." Ledyba requested, anticipating the answer a bit nervously.

"I would like to when I got time to spare." Duosion accepted.

"Great, we will have so much fun-" Cryogonal was interrupted by Miltank's snoring sound. "-together." The three chuckled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "I start to understand what I fear the most now after days of thought. It is when I can't put things into perspective of probability. How much… does Houndour love me? There is no way of estimating something like love. It is so… complex and foreign to me. I'm not emotionally ready if bad things happen…" Duosion sighed. "Hopefully, the other girls will cheer me up."

* * *

Nosepass saw Rhyhorn heading toward the mountain area. Rhyhorn sprinted ahead with a burst of speed and Nosepass lost him.

Nosepass panted. "Where is h-he going?"

Coincidentally, Lucario passed by him. Immediately, Nosepass apprehensively retreated. Lucario glared at him for a moment before ignoring him soon after. Nosepass sighed in relief.

"I hope he gets eliminated. I would feel a lot safer. Wait… did he wake me up?" Nosepass started to question whether he heard the right voice or not.

Darmanitan rushed over and asked Nosepass a question.

"Where is Lucario? Did you see him?" Darmanitan wanted directions.

"Err… check the gym area?" Nosepass answered, feeling unsure.

"Thanks." Darmanitan said politely before he headed to the gym area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "I wonder if he is going to beat me up if I don't tell him. I'm so scared of so many contestants here. I want there to be weaker contestants like me."

* * *

Grovyle held a fishing pole on his hand, extending his legs on the dock and enjoyed himself. Occasionally, there would be nibbles and ripples across the sea and he would reel the water Pokemon up.

"A Gorebyss? I'm so talented." Grovyle complimented himself.

"Err… I just want free food." Gorebyss said before she left.

"Food from me? I feel flattered." Grovyle beamed with joy. This was a moment of stress relief for him. He was free from all the commotion of the game for a short, precious moment. Until, Bisharp came and interrupted him that is.

"Grovyle, I wonder if both me and you are still in good terms. I admit that I should perhaps spend more time getting to know you than I initially did. When I first join the game, I only consider you as a pawn to take myself further in the game. However, I now changed for the better. I want to prioritize our friendship over the game. Don't you agree?" Bisharp tried to befriend Grovyle once again. However, Grovyle didn't face him, only his back was shown. Bisharp looked a bit agitated as Grovyle didn't respond until a short moment after.

"Of course, we can be friends again." Grovyle turned around and smiled at him. Bisharp was delighted as the two shook hands.

"I will treasure our friendship this time." Bisharp assured. Grovyle merely smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** **:** "I'm fine with being a pawn, serving my king. I willingly be his pawn so the both of us could reach the end together… I want to be a talented pawn that reach the end in a game of chess. Why? Because I know that there exists a rule stating that you can become whatever you want when you reach the end. When I reach the end, I will become a king. I'm pretty sure that is how it works." Grovyle forgot the fact that there can't be two kings in a game of chess. "However, Bisharp ruins everything. I guess that plan is no longer possible…"

* * *

Lucario punched a sandbag rapidly. A left hook, a right uppercut and a Bone Rush combo. The sandbag was completely annihilated, sand spilling out of the bag.

Darmanitan entered the gym and recoiled at the beating the sandbag received.

"Homie, chill. Cut them some slack." Darmanitan suggested.

Lucario stomped on the ground. "Ridiculous! I already cut them some slack. You know that it is actually harder and tougher than this. My training! I'm doing this for their own good. I'm trying to give them an advantage for god's sake!" Lucario replied aggressively, anger and frustration written all over his face.

"You need to understand that our teammates aren't always going to be competitive. They might prefer a chill, relaxing lifestyle over winning. Winning isn't everything." Darmanitan tried to convey the message to Lucario. However, Lucario pulled his ears once he heard this. He didn't seem to get the message.

"Winning is everything! Either we win or we lose." Lucario blocked Darmanitan's reasoning out.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "Winning means you will rise to fame, money and a better life. Losing means you will live pitifully for the rest of your life. These Pokemon might have it easy but in a competitive environment like Pokeathlon Plus, you need to win."

* * *

Skrelp read her book inside her cabin once again. However, her eyes didn't move. Clearly a sign that she was planning something instead of actually reading.

"Is that how you normally read? Reading without moving your eyes?" Drifblim noticed and asked jokingly.

"I'm just merely taking a short break to process all the events in this book." Skrelp clarified. Is this true?

"Oh, I see… What is it about? Is now the time?" Drifblim asked. Skrelp said nothing.

"Come on, it wouldn't hurt to tell me a bit, would it?" Drifblim nagged for answers.

"Vacuous curiosity will get you nowhere. Perish that thought. I will only tell when I'm in the mood." Skrelp finally responded.

"Your choice." Drifblim said before she vanished.

"What a pest." Skrelp insulted, clearly annoyed. Heracross looked inside the cabin through the window before she shrugged and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim** **:** "I heard that. I just tried to get to know her a bit more, you know? Good for future reference. My curiosity isn't about the book. I can search it up on the internet after the show ends. It is about her personality. I need to write my analysis on all of the contestants for my blog. No worries, I can watch the episodes later even though they are edited."

 **Heracross** **:** "Bookworm leading the alliance? Not on my watch. I need to find a crack somewhere. Afterwards, I'm going for the ghost bug."

 **Skrelp** **:** "I got an ingenious plan. No one will see it coming…"

* * *

Nosepass waited in front of the mountain area for Rhyhorn to return. He sat on the ground, looking a bit lonely.

"Who am I going to depend on without him? Tyrunt? He is a coward like me." Nosepass talked to himself. After talking smack at his own friend, Nosepass felt guilty immediately. He looked down on the ground in shame.

"I guess I have no right to call him a coward. What a hypocritical statement. I'm a bigger coward than him. The only reason I'm with him is because he looks kind of weak like me." Nosepass continued.

Suddenly, there were footsteps. Sounds of footsteps. Nosepass looked behind to see Rhyhorn exiting the mountain area, entering the intersection once again.

"What did you do?" Nosepass asked.

"Nothing." Rhyhorn refused to tell him. He was obviously hiding the truth.

"You need to tell me or else I will be scared. How am I going to trust you then?" Nosepass trembled.

"Are you scared of me despite everything I have done? You throw away trust that easily?" Rhyhorn said disappointingly.

Nosepass didn't say anything.

"Please trust me." Rhyhorn said simply.

"I guess I need to. I never have a choice or control in the first place. I never have the right to say anything. I'm always bossed around by the big guys. I lost and lost again and again. I never accomplish anything in my life." Nosepass insulted himself, sorrowfully walking away with a bent back.

"...Nosepass…" Rhyhorn muttered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "He wants me to trust him unquestionably? Fine, I can't refuse anyways."

* * *

Bisharp laughed with Jumpluff on the dock. The two were enjoying their time together.

"I wish that everyday can be like this. Grovyle now is back on my side." Bisharp told Jumpluff the good news.

"That's great. He also seems cool with me as well." Jumpluff felt happy for him.

Suddenly, there was a strong pull on the fishing rod. Bisharp immediately sprung into the action.

"What in the name of Kyogre can be this strong? Catch it quickly!" Jumpluff excitedly cheered.

Bisharp pulled with all of his might and a giant Sharpedo landed on the dock.

"Yes! A new record." Bisharp looked proud, standing tall at his accomplishment.

"Hold it and take a selfie!" Jumpluff recommended even though they didn't have a camera.

"We don't have a camera." Bisharp reminded.

"I have one." Sharpedo interrupted. "Since, you give me free food. I will take a picture with you. I guess you could sell it for a few P (currency)." Sharpedo allowed them to take picture.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "Finally, I have caught something. I'm not a failure of a fisherman after all."

 **Jumpluff** **:** "I want to post that on my social media account. My friends will be so envious."

* * *

Lucario arrived at the mess hall during lunchtime. Other contestants turned to him for a second before resuming their business.

"Chill now, homie?" Darmanitan asked with concern, gesturing him to sit on the same table.

"Chill." Lucario tried to remain calm. He grabbed a plate of chef's special delicacy before he sat down and engaged in a quiet conversation with Darmanitan.

"Skarmory Shop doesn't open today. I'm forced to eat this pile of purple garbage." Tyrunt complained.

"You better watch your mouth, bib boy. It will come back to bite you in the butt today." Chef Drapion grinned maliciously.

"What can you do, chef? I bet that is just an empty threat." Tyrunt challenged, not knowing Chef Drapion will be taking charge of the challenge.

"Maybe, you should keep quiet." Dedenne suggested. "Chef Drapion seems strangely happy today."

"What could go wrong?" Tyrunt jinxed himself with a smug look on his face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "I move my hunt for the advantage to tomorrow. My team better be ready by dawn." Lucario looked serious.

 **Tyrunt** **:** "Chef is just one grumpy chump that tries to look tough. Skarmory is the one who decides everything while Chef Drapion just groans and grumbles about things all day."

* * *

Chef Drapion announced through a megaphone that the challenge was about to start to the dismay of a few contestants.

"Attention contestants, your lazy host left for a vacation. Therefore, I will be a replacement host today. Prepare for your worst nightmare and get the *beep* over to the desert area already!" Chef Drapion announced impatiently.

"I have done it now, haven't I?" Tyrunt dreaded the worst.

The contestants made their way over to the desert area. They travelled across the mountain area to the second intersection. Then, they turned right to their destination.

The desert area can be described with a few words like hot and dry. There were cactuses here and there but the area was mostly vacant and isolated. At the very least, there was a desert town in the distance or was it just a hallucination? The town appeared to be huge but upon closer inspection, it was pretty small.

The buildings were built with a mix between sandstones and wood. The doors were quite old-fashioned. Instead of turning a door knob, you push your way through. The majority of the buildings were dull and uninteresting two-floors houses. However, the eye catcher in the town was surprising to everyone-Chef Drapion Grill.

It was no ordinary restaurant. On top of the building, an image of Chef Drapion appeared, holding both a sign and a frying pan. The words written on the sign were 'Chef Drapion Grill'.

The restaurant can be mistaken for a saloon if it wasn't for the fact that it was well painted and clean-looking. The color scheme was purple, creating a sharp contrast to the gray and brown buildings nearby. Some of the other buildings look unfinished though. Construction was still in progress. This area looked the least finished but it could have more stuff later down the line.

All the contestants looked around like foreign tourists in a wild and strange location. Most lay their eyes on the restaurant, wondering about their challenge. It wasn't long until Chef Drapion revealed it.

"If you losers can't handle the heat then you get out of my kitchen! That is my slogan, pretty neat, huh? Anyways, your job today is to feed hungry, unsatisfied interns inside the restaurant. They haven't arrived yet but they soon will. The team that gets the best ratings from the interns will win. Enter inside and you will see two kitchens. One for each team. Prepare to prep your meals. Any questions?" Chef Drapion asked.

Drifblim raised her hand.

"Brahbrahbrah, I don't care. Just start already so I can see you losers failing terribly." Chef Drapion refused to answer.

"That is very professional of you." Drifblim sarcastically said.

"Yes, chef. Threatening poor Tyrunt is also very professional. I find you to be an inferior replacement to Skarmory in every way." Dedenne supported.

"Head the *beep* inside the kitchen already, you *beep*! All of you!" Chef Drapion seethed, his face was red in anger.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "Perfect, my team is literally asking for Chef Drapion to rig the challenge. I will not be surprised if we end up as the losing team."

 **Meowth:** "I look forward to interacting with our customers." Meowth rubbed his hands together in excitement.

 **Cryogonal:** "It is scorching out here! I don't feel very comfortable in this area."

 **Darmanitan:** "Cooking is a pretty chill activity. I like it."

 **Nosepass:** "I don't want to cut myself. I can't handle the heat. Help!"

* * *

Both teams entered Chef Drapion Grill. On the interior, six giant tables lined up in two rows. Three tables for each row. Each table was surrounded by at least seven chairs. The tables were empty at the moment. There were two kitchens, one to the middle and one to the right.

"I assume one row for each team." Bisharp speculated.

"You got brains, don't you? The answer should be simple enough." Chef Drapion wasn't being helpful.

"That is not cool at all. Think about how the viewers think of you on social media." Jumpluff warned Chef Drapion of his public image.

"Yeah sure, 'Social Media'. Who cares when I can just block their accounts?" Chef Drapion scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Lucario tried to open the door to the kitchen in the meantime but it was locked. He turned to the chef, expecting a key.

"Chef, can you give us the key?" Lucario asked.

"Find one on your own. It is a part of the challenge." Chef Drapion explained before he yawned. "Start already! I want to see you losers get wrecked by my challenge."

Everyone quickly scrambled for the key. The madness that was the Chef's challenge ensued.

"Check those buildings opposite to the restaurant. Hurry up!" Jumpluff shouted.

"Out of my way!" Grovyle pushed Darmanitan and speeded out of the restaurant shortly behind Lucario.

"Chill, homie, chill." Darmanitan frowned and stopped running. Only to be surpassed by the likes of Heracross and fell behind.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "The chef's challenge seems to be poorly designed. I expect low ratings for this episode."

 **Tyrunt:** "Cooking? I like eating but I never learn how to cook. I never cook. My parent cooks for me. I'm on the edge of a cliff for this challenge. One mistake and I'm eliminated. It might be worse, what if the chef automatically eliminates me? I wouldn't put anything past him to stoop that low."

* * *

While some pushed and shoved each other to get a slight lead, some were more passive than others.

Nosepass tried to search for easy places like under the table or near pots of plants. Safe places that don't require much work.

"Want to search outside?" Rhyhorn tried to encourage him to step outside of his comfort zone.

"I don't wanna-" Nosepass whined but Rhyhorn's condescending glare changed his answer for him.

"Fine." Nosepass obeyed reluctantly.

"It will be good for you." Rhyhorn assured.

Similarly, Tyrunt tried to avoid the spotlight and stayed close to the restaurant. Searching easy places in hopes that his team will not notice his pathetic performance. He resorted to digging the sand outside the restaurant, very sluggishly. Suddenly, Grovyle tapped his shoulder.

"You don't look busy, Tyrunt. I have a job for you. See that truck in the distance?" Grovyle pointed to the truck closing in to desert town. Tyrunt wondered what that had to do with him. "My guts tell me the interns are in there. Go and give them a friendly greeting will ya?" Grovyle ordered.

"Can't someone else like Skrelp do that instead? I'm not the best at talking and greeting." Tyrunt shook his head, trying to avoid the responsibility.

"Oh, I know. However, I can't rely on them as much as you. Our relationship might not be the smoothest but at least you give me more respect than a man in a lottery shop could ask for." Grovyle came up with a weird saying.

"Alright." Tyrunt saw the faithful eyes of Grovyle and decided to go along with it.

"Good." Grovyle patted his back and Tyrunt nervously laughed. The gecko sprinted away to a nearby house and Tyrunt sighed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I know so many good sayings and they work wonders. For example, don't count your Treecko before they hatch means that don't count something that doesn't really exist yet because someone might eat them or something." Grovyle nodded and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.

* * *

Lucario ordered his team to spread out and return to him if they find anything. Houndour returned and reported something.

"There is a truck coming. Maybe, the key is inside." Houndour suggested.

"Check it and if there is anything, return to me. Otherwise, continue searching." Lucario commanded.

"Roger that." Houndour quickly followed his orders and Lucario seemed a bit pleased.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I'm keeping my eyes on him. If he is obedient and doesn't do anything stupid, I will keep him around longer."

* * *

Scolipede searched inside one of the houses. Under the rug, inside cupboards and drawers… Underneath the sofa, the bathroom, the bedroom… Nothing was to be found.

"Hey, we should work together." Ledyba came into the same house and offered her help.

"That is unnecessary. There is nothing here." Scolipede informed, averting his eyes slightly.

"Are you sure about that? Maybe we just need an extra pair of eyes." Ledyba insisted.

"Can you please stop?" Scolipede said, facing her with an uncomfortable look.

"What's wrong? You still… don't trust me?" Ledyba saddened.

"No, it's just… we are starting to get too close. It reminds me of something in the past." Scolipede corrected, seemingly guilt tripped.

"You mean your old relationship?" Ledyba asked with concern.

"Yes… I meet Leavanny one day. She was crying from her recent breakup with… Muk. I consoled and comforted her then we started out as friends. I didn't know that she used me to get back with Muk. I don't want to explain things in detail. Please understand." Scolipede eyes got a bit teary.

"Are you worried that it might happen again with me? Scolipede, I…" Ledyba tried to assure him.

"I know that I should trust you a bit more but I feel so threatened. After I save you in the quiz challenge two days ago, I feel like I'm about to repeat the same mistake. It isn't that I don't trust you but I also don't trust myself. I'm a horrible Pokemon, Ledyba! I didn't really tell the whole story. After I got together with Leavanny, I ditch all of my friends because they aren't 'cool enough' or so she said. I got tricked like a gullible fool!" Scolipede broke down.

"Scolipede…" Ledyba didn't know what to say at that exact moment.

"It is better if I do things alone…" Scolipede exited the house.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I look so pitiful. Hehe, how pathetic. Now, everyone that watches the episode will hate me. They might very well see me as a villain."

 **Ledyba:** She paced back and forth. "Hopefully, I can clear things up with him and me." She said, looking optimistic or at least tried to be.

* * *

"Watch out!" Grovyle ran into Scolipede, who exited out of the house in a hurry. The two crashed into each other and fell down.

"Scolipede, are you alright?" Ledyba hurriedly came to check on him.

"Be careful next time. You got eyes, don't you?" Grovyle looked pissed off.

"Sorry." Scolipede apologized submissively and left. Ledyba lost her grasp on him as he slowly headed by himself. Her eyes slowly descended down to the ground as she landed and stopped buzzing her wings, unlike her usually upbeat self.

Darmanitan saw the situation and approached the two.

"What happened?" Darmanitan asked. Instantly, Cryogonal appeared as well.

"Scolipede crashed the hell out of me out of nowhere. He better watches out or else a Tauros stampede will chew him up." Grovyle brushed his shoulders and left, looking annoyed. Darmanitan furrowed his brows at this.

"Don't mind him, what happened between you and Scolipede? Did he hurt your feelings? I will teach him a lesson!" Cryogonal reacted out of anger.

"No, no! Nothing like that." Ledyba corrected any misunderstandings.

"So, what happened?" Cryogonal asked.

"He is just having a personal issue right now. Please don't bother him." Ledyba explained.

"I see. I hope you know that I'm always here for you like a big sister." Cryogonal comforted.

"Thanks." Ledyba felt much better.

Darmanitan stepped out of the conversation as if was none of his business. However, he still looked annoyed at a certain individual.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Can't that homie just admit that it is equally his fault and say I'm sorry for running into you or something. Pokemon nowadays need to learn how to chill out and be polite to others."

 **Cryogonal:** "My little sister, not biologically of course, used to run into relationship problems. She had a few mean boyfriends that hurt her feelings. Let's say I taught them a good lesson… That's the least I can do as the adopted one in the family."

* * *

Tyrunt reached the truck. It was pretty huge and could hold about two interns in the front. On the other hand, about eight interns could stay at the back of the truck. Apparently, there were two trucks upon closer inspection. Another one was trailing behind. Both trucks were identical except for their color scheme. The first was primarily red, the other was green.

"Red one is for my team, right?" Tyrunt wondered as he approached the driver of the red truck. It was a Druddigon, his eyes sharp and cold, piercing through your soul with intimidation. Tyrunt knocked on the window and Druddigon pressed a button. The window slowly opened with Druddigon giving Tyrunt a death stare.

"Err, excuse me. Do you have anything for me? I'm a member of the Crazy Crawdaunt." Tyrunt asked politely, fear preeminent in his voice.

"Be a good boy and carry these cameras to the restaurants for me!" Druddigon's voice was loud, similarly to Lucario. The driver dragon dropped a bunch of cameras through the window, making Tyrunt collapsed due to the heavy weight.

"My poor arms." Tyrunt moaned in pain. Druddigon snorted and closed the window before he drove away speedily, releasing smoke at the back of the truck. The smoke entered Tyrunt's nostrils and mouth, making him cough severely.

"Tyrunt, what happened? Are you alright, man?" Houndour ran over to check on him.

"That jerk. Even though he has a car, he dropped a bunch cameras on me." Tyrunt showed four heavy cameras, which buried his arms under the sand.

"Dude, let me help." Houndour kindly lifted the cameras off Tyrunt. Eventually, he managed to free his arms.

"Thank you, I better start carrying these cameras now. Ugh, Pokemon Snap looks uncool to me now." Tyrunt groaned as he lifted up one camera with both arms.

"Do you need help? I can carry the rest." Houndour couldn't stand to see Tyrunt struggling with those poor arms of his.

"No, I waste enough of your time. Go and check the other truck." As Tyrunt said this, the green truck passed both of them.

'It's fine, I doubt that we are supposed to meet them now anyways." Houndour persisted on helping and eventually Tyrunt accepted his selflessness.

The camera caught Lucario scowling at Houndour near the restaurant.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "I really like Houndour. He is very helpful. That's why I'm not very pleased with what Grovyle did a few days ago."

 **Houndour:** "He is on the other team and all but I'm not the kind of Pokemon that can just stand there idly, watching him struggle."

* * *

Lucario seemed to be in a bad mood until Meowth appeared next to him."

"Any good news?" Lucario asked hopefully.

"There is a suspicious place called the sheriff's office. Miltank is surveying there for results." Meowth relayed the information.

"Good, I expect good news." Lucario sighed.

"Disappointed with Houndour?" Meowth asked him with a sneaky smirk.

"He is out there helping the other team. I couldn't understand him!" Lucario growled.

"Oh, he is too soft-hearted. Not suitable for the business world or the competitive sports world. If you wish, I will put my partnership with Houndour behind our backs and move forward with you, however you like it." Meowth promoted himself.

"We will talk about this later. There is still a challenge left to be done." Lucario didn't lose his main focus.

"Understood." Meowth nodded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I have enough with him. He will betray me in the merge. I can see it coming now. He will ally himself with the other team and play all of us like a fiddle."

 **Meowth:** "Time to work on the deal behind the other door." Meowth smirked.

* * *

Houndour finally returned to the desert town with Tyrunt. They dropped off cameras and laid themselves down on the ground for a rest. Their bodies were covered with sweat, more on Tyrunt's side.

"I need water." Tyrunt desperately said.

"There is probably some in the kitchen. Grit your teeth and drink your saliva for now." Houndour suggested.

"Alright." Tyrunt looked out-of-shape from the draining exercise under the scorching Sun.

"Do you know what, Tyrunt? I'm proud of you. You have come a long way since your first day here." Houndour praised him.

"Really?" Tyrunt seemed shocked.

"Yeah, you complain a lot less than you initially did." Houndour stated the truth.

"I guess I got a bit stronger." Tyrunt smiled, feeling satisfied of himself. Houndour words gave him a much-needed boost to his self-esteem.

"Let's go back to work." Houndour lifted himself off the ground and so did Tyrunt.

Noticeably, someone made their way over to both of them. Specifically, it was Meowth who was looking for Houndour.

"I have an appraisal meeting with you. Can you please spare a moment?" Meowth requested.

"Of course, I will. Tyrunt, see you later." Houndour parted ways with Tyrunt and followed Meowth. Tyrunt waved at him before a shadow of someone consumed him. It was Grovyle.

"Tyrunt, you should have asked me to help you carry the cameras. I'm your team leader, you know? Good Guy Grovyle, that's me. You aren't that far from the desert town. You should leave the camera and make your way over to me first." Grovyle lectured.

"I will do it next time, then." Tyrunt replied. However, this didn't seem to be what Grovyle wanted to hear.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Houndour, there can only be one good guy on this island and that will be me." Grovyle pointed to himself.

* * *

Meowth and Houndour quickly discussed something behind the restaurant. Judging from facial expressions, Houndour was astonished.

"Lucario is coming to destroy your business, Houndour. If you want, I will keep my eyes on him and alert you if he has any plans." Meowth offered to help.

Meowth didn't expect to hear what Houndour was about to say, not in a million years.

"No thanks. Come and think of it, I kind of deserve that. It is my fault that I don't communicate with Lucario well enough for him to get the message. I don't want you to get yourself involved in that kind of dirty business, Meowth. If he realizes that you spy on him, you will be in trouble." Houndour only thought of the best for his friend.

"But-but." Meowth was clearly shocked, he wasn't prepared to have his offer be rejected.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let's go back to find the key, dude." Houndour left Meowth like that. The business cat clenched his fist and grit his teeth after Houndour was out of his sight.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "My deal is rejected?! Unacceptable. I thought about saving him from Lucario. I really did, considering the well-being of Treasure Trio. However, he is now only a liability to me." Meowth's expression was dark.

* * *

The sheriff's office was a special building with a shiny, golden star badge on top. Otherwise, it looked similar to the other buildings with wood and sandstones as the materials of choice and a few pots of plants for decorations. The most noticeable and distracting thing, however, was its unfinished state.

Inside the first floor, the room was filled with cardboard boxes. Presumably, they held all the furniture. One of the box was opened and a Granbull statue with a police hat was revealed. In addition, rooms without doors can be seen with iron bars on the floor. Surprisingly, dust never collected anywhere.

Miltank rummaged through all the boxes with Heracross alongside her. They both emptied all the contents out such as wallpapers, chairs and etc. Let's say someone won't be happy at the end because the room was now a mess.

"I only manage to find a pile of crap and junk. What about you?" Heracross asked. They seemed to cooperate with each other.

"The same, let's check the second floor." Miltank suggested and both of them went over to the stairs leading up to the sheriff's room. Unfortunately, it was locked.

Miltank banged the door to no avail. "It is locked tight." Miltank told before she moved away so that Heracross can try. The beetle smashed the door but it didn't budge. After seeing their brute force, some decided to intervene.

"Use simple deduction skills. If it is locked, it obviously means we aren't supposed to be here. Leave, Heracross." Skrelp schooled them and gestured for her teammate to leave.

"Are you sure? The Chef might just be tricking us." Drifblim suddenly appeared and commented on the situation.

"Stubborn and stupid, be my guest and feel free to waste your time." Skrelp left by herself.

"I'm smarter than you. Wah, listen to me." Heracross mimicked Skrelp and Miltank laughed.

At the same time, Drifblim tried to pass through the door but she was repelled by a mysterious, unknown force.

"What and why?" Miltank scratched her head.

Drifblim looked confused for a moment until she saw a special cleanse tag on the door. It was specially made to repel ghosts.

"Well prepared, well prepared. Bravo to the production crew." Drifblim complimented.

"Great, what are we going to do now?" Miltank folded her arms.

"Just use raw strength. Watch me do it." Heracross was still persistent with her method. She went downstairs and carried an iron bar up.

"Grab a bag of popcorn everyone, Heracross is about to make a fool of herself. Brawns over brains, they say." Shedinja appeared and mocked.

"Just watch and shut your trap." Heracross got a running start and pierce the door opened with an iron bar. Inside, were two treasure chests. Heracross grinned triumphantly at Shedinja, who remained emotionless.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "One point for team brawn."

 **Miltank:** "Wow, she made a fool of both that stupid seahorse and that brain-dead bug. This is what I want to see."

 **Drifblim:** "That moment when brawns beat brains, funny and humorous as always."

* * *

Miltank and Heracross carried the treasure chests back to the restaurant. Inside each box was a fiery, red key. Lucario seemed very pleased but his smile faded a little once he realized that Heracross got one as well.

"Great, now get back in the kitchen! The interns are about to come." Chef Drapion instructed.

The trucks parked next to the restaurant at the exact same moment and six intern stepped down in total.

The first one was a Druddigon. He stood in the middle as the center of attention, glaring at the contestants.

The second one was a Trumbeak, he walked normally toward the contestants and looked around a little, rubbing his long beak.

The third one was a Lurantis, she held a camera and filmed the area. However, the camera pointed at the Sun most of the time.

The fourth to appear was a Shiinotic, she folded her arms and frowned once sand got on her feet.

The fifth crawled down nervously and slowly, trying to avoid eye contact with the contestants. Standing as far away from the others as possible, he was a Wimpod.

The last rolled out through the back of the truck, still asleep and snoring. He sent tremors through the ground once he landed. He was a Snorlax.

"What? There were supposed to be more interns than this! I'm about to become rich!" Chef Drapion looked furious.

"You charge them for the food?" Bisharp asked with disbelief in his voice. He didn't expect Chef Drapion to charge his own workmates shamelessly.

"Of course! Nothing is free! Where are the other interns?!" Chef Drapion yelled and scowled at the six.

"Chef, you aren't our boss. You aren't the one who write our paycheck or give us credit. Many of us aren't that fond of you enough to come either." Shiinotic explained.

"Whatever, pay me an entrance fee of 1,000 P and get the hell inside!" Chef Drapion shouted, feeling frustrated.

"You deserve that, chef." Dedenne gleamed. Chef Drapion grumbled to himself.

The interns all paid the chef except for Snorlax, who snored and drooled in his sleep. Chef Drapion decided to charge him later and allowed him to get inside. Although, he got stuck because the door was too small.

With the combined, efforts of Lucario, Darmanitan, Miltank and Heracross, Snorlax squeezed through the door successfully.

"That tickles." Snorlax sleep talked.

"Anyways, I already assigned the interns to their teams based on the color of the truck. Crawdaunt, you get Druddigon. This guy is always angry for some reason." Chef Drapion introduced.

"I want to get screen time like the others! It is unfair that a new Raticate brat gets screen time and a robot in a span of one day while I got nothing, working here for a long time!" Druddigon fumed. The contestants didn't seem to like his company except for a few like Miltank and Heracross.

"Crawdaunt, you also get Trumbeak. This guy is boring so I have nothing to say about him." Chef Drapion didn't even bother with Trumbeak. He was slightly offended but shrugged it off.

"I look forward to eating good food that will be worth the money." Trumbeak had expectations that the contestants weren't so sure about fulfilling.

"Don't worry, I'm sure the contestants can deliver." Chef Drapion sarcastically said. "The last one is Lurantis. She is a freak, that's all I know."

"Hi, I work on the camera department. I like to film beautiful sceneries like the Sun and the Sun only. Bless the Sun!" Lurantis obsessively repeated things about the Sun. The contestants either thought she was a weirdo or she was someone interesting.

Chef Drapion now focused his attention on the other team. "Flygon, you get the rest. The Shiinotic is the pickiest eater I ever know so better prepare to cry after you all lose." Shiinotic's eyes showed contempt against the Chef at that statement.

"The next one is the biggest coward and loser of all time, Wimpod. He creates the credits and that's it, can you believe that? Hahaha…" Chef Drapion laughed, making fun of the poor guy. Wimpod averted his eyes from everyone and sobbed a little. Nosepass looked at him with some sympathy and empathy.

"The last one is Snorlax. He tests out the challenges. The biggest eater of all time." Chef Drapion stated. The contestants looked a bit appalled at how he was still sleeping, snoring and drooling on the floor.

Unexpectedly, Raticate sneaked out of the green truck and tried to stealthily made his way to the kitchen while everyone was distracted by the Snorlax. Until, Druddigon alerted everyone that is…

"Chef, Raticate is trying to steal the food!" Druddigon pointed out.

"Yo chef, I just want a few droplets of water and crumbs. Don't mind me." Raticate defended himself.

"No money, no entry." Chef Drapion didn't allowed.

"It's true that I have no money but I have someone to pay for me." Raticate turned to Houndour and the canine looked a bit anxious. Duosion looked at this with worry.

"Hey, you lout of a loser, fork your old man some cash, will ya? Or else I gotta smoke you up again." Raticate threatened.

"Er…" Houndour looked a bit scared. Raticate strode to Houndour and tried to shake him down.

"Ugly kid, pay up." Raticate didn't get his way for long when Duosion used Psychic to lift him up.

"Uncle, uncle! I wish my parents give me that dark typing from birth like some of the Rattata." Raticate tried to resist but it was merely a futile attempt.

"I don't really know who you are or where you are coming from but please restrain yourself from that thieving habit especially against my boyfriend." Duosion really did a number on him. Many gave her looks of respect for standing up to Raticate, even Lucario. Skrelp chuckled a bit at Raticate's predicament while Meowth grinned a little. Rhyhorn's eyes were a bit blank as if he was in a trance.

"Please just let me go, kid." Raticate begged and eventually Duosion freed him from her Psychic. The rat scrammed away immediately, the others laughed at him.

"That was awesome." Cryogonal complimented. Duosion smiled a bit, Houndour smiled at her as well.

Chef Drapion got the attention of everyone back. "Anyways, since I'm not Skarmory, things will work a bit differently. To win, you must earn the most tip for your team or rather me!" Chef Drapion looked greedy as he said that.

"Chef, what happens in a hypothetical scenario of a tie?" Skrelp asked.

"Then, I get to choose the winning team." Chef Drapion played by his own rules. The contestants didn't look happy with the chef's rules.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "Chef is the greediest, insensitive, selfish and inconsiderate Pokemon to ever exist."

 **Tyrunt:** "Oh man, I'm starting to miss Skarmory now."

 **Drifblim:** "Skarmory is unprofessional but Chef Drapion has none of the qualifications required to be a host."

 **Lucario:** "I expect the interns to be honest with themselves and pay the appropriate tip or else…" Lucario cracked his knuckles.

 **Nosepass:** "That Wimpod reminds me of myself."

 **Cryogonal:** "What Duosion did was totally badass!"

 **Duosion:** "Well, I got to stand up for him. I hope that doesn't make me look like a huge target in front of everyone."

 **Druddigon:** "Raticate got wrecked by a girl. I can know sleep peacefully. Bwahaha…"

* * *

The Feckless Flygon gathered in the kitchen on the right side. They discussed about their plans.

"Personally, I prefer to be a waiter because I don't know how to cook. I prefer someone with experience to be a head chef." Lucario admitted about his poor cooking skills. "The menu only list three things, steak, pizza and bread." Lucario read the menu to his team.

"I can grill a mean steak." Miltank volunteered.

"I want to chill with the pizza dough, homie." Darmanitan volunteered as well.

"I can-" Ledyba was about to say something until someone interrupted her.

"Hurry up! The customers are hungry!" Chef Drapion shouted from the outside and then he left the restaurant to go somewhere secretly.

"I will get the orders. Start prepping up the meals." Lucario rushed outside to see Grovyle hastily jotting down notes. This sparked his competitiveness, making him rushing to the first customer.

The first table had no chairs because well Snorlax was too heavy so all of them were removed for safety. The intern was still sleeping dreamily. Lucario didn't know how to deal with him and just wrote one of each item on the menu down.

Next, Lucario faced the Wimpod. The intern looked nervous once he saw the professional athlete.

"Can I h-have the menu, please?" Wimpod stuttered. Lucario handed him the menu and waited patiently.

"Can I have one s-serving of bread? I p-prefer sweet bread." Wimpod had his preferences. However, a stare from Lucario changed all of that.

"Just bread is fine." Wimpod returned the menu submissively.

Lucario was glad that his scare tactics work and moved on to the last intern. The most troublesome so far.

"I prefer my pizza to be oven-baked. I want only six, thin slices. No onions, low amount of cheese and pepperoni favored. Also, please bring me a glass of water." Shiinotic was one picky customer. Lucario tried to look intimidating but it didn't work on her. Shiinotic just tapped her feet impatiently.

"Fine." Lucario decided to stop wasting his time and gave his team the orders.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "What kind of customer is that picky?!" Lucario looked frustrated. "The water isn't even on the menu!"

* * *

From Grovyle's perspective, he was having an easier time with his customers.

"One order of pizza, please." Trumbeak ordered swiftly and returned the menu.

"I want a spicy and hot pizza like the Sun!" Lurantis exclaimed.

"Hot like the Sun? How hot?" Grovyle asked for specific details.

"Very, very hot." Lurantis said a bit vaguely. Grovyle nodded and walked over a bit obsequiously to the last customer.

"I want a sour and salty steak. Give me bread and water as well. Make it snappy!" Druddigon clicked his claws.

"Yes, sir." Grovyle rushed back to the kitchen only to hear… bad news.

"Grovyle, we got no salt and pepper! Lemons and onions are also missing!" Dedenne told him the bad news. Grovyle bit his fingers a bit. The pressure was starting to get to him.

"All of you, here are the orders. Work on the food and try to serve water as early as possible." Grovyle placed the list down and returned outside to find Chef Drapion.

"Chef, we are missing some key ingredients. Where are they?" Grovyle asked.

"Back at the mess hall, get it on your own." Chef Drapion smirked mischievously.

Suddenly, the door of the kitchen to the right was banged open by Lucario. "Chef, where are the seasonings?!" Lucario said a bit too loudly for the customers' liking.

"Back at the mess hall." Chef kept having that smirk of his. Lucario and Grovyle exchanged a glance before they returned to their respective teams.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I want to get it by myself but then who will supervise the team?"

* * *

Scolipede wasn't paying attention really. He seemed to be distracted by something. All he did was staring at the pizza dough.

Lucario opened the door and gaped his mouth open, about to say something until he saw Scolipede doing nothing.

"Where are the seasonings, homie?" Darmanitan asked.

"Scolipede, go to the mess hall back at the camp and get some seasonings." Lucario demanded since he didn't do much.

"Fine." Scolipede obediently crawled out of the kitchen.

Ledyba looked extremely worried at him. Feeling distracted, she nearly cut herself as she was currently chopping onions.

"He will survive, don't worry." Cryogonal assured once she saw how Ledyba looked.

"I hope so." Ledyba wished him the very best of luck.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "Maybe, I should follow him."

* * *

Grovyle entered his kitchen as well. His teammates stopped their tasks and turned to him.

"Who wants to go out and get the seasonings from the mess hall?' Grovyle asked.

"I can." Bisharp volunteered.

"Can I also go?" Jumpluff wanted to do it as well.

"Fine, both of you go out." Grovyle allowed.

"Can I go to the toilet?" Nosepass asked.

"Yes, you too." Grovyle permitted, rolling his eyes.

Nosepass quickly exited the restaurant to see Wimpod outside as well. He was looking around for something.

"Are you going somewhere?" Nosepass asked.

"Oh, I want to go to the toilet." Wimpod didn't seem to be scared of Nosepass unlike the others contestants.

"Really? Me too. We should go together. I mean I don't even know where it is." Nosepass suggested.

"Alright." Wimpod agreed. "The toilet is in a very hidden location for some reason. Skarmory wants it to be under the well at the middle of the town." WImpod explained.

"Is it that well?" Nosepass pointed to a stone well with a wishing bell attached to it. There was a ladder leading down.

"Yes." Wimpod nodded and both of them started to slowly climb up the well before descended down a ladder. Until… a mysterious figure climbed up the ladder and intercepted them. This shocked Wimpod, making the Nosepass nervous as well.

"Is this Pokemon an intern? You make the credits, right?" Nosepass asked.

"Yeah, this Salazzle is not one of them to my knowledge. This means…" Wimpod and Nosepass turned to each other before they panicked and shook the ladder.

"Help!" Both of them screamed.

"Hey, don't shake the ladder!" Salazzle cautioned. Suddenly, the ladder broke and all of them fell down to the bottom of the well.

"Did you hear something?" Jumpluff just got out of the restaurant with Bisharp.

"I'm not sure." Bisharp shrugged and they both made their way to the mess hall.

* * *

Scolipede dragged his many legs through the sand. He seemed to be ahead of Bisharp and Jumpluff yet he moved at a much slower pace.

"Ugh, the heat." Scolipede complained as the heat of the desert radiated harshly. He sweated before he eventually stopped to take a break.

Jumpluff and Bisharp passed him during this time.

"Good luck, Scolipede. Just keep on going for a little longer." Jumpluff cheered.

"Don't give up." Bisharp motivated. Scolipede nodded a little before he continued this long, exhausting trip. The customers didn't have enough patience for this. Did Chef Drapion set them up to fail?

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I just can't get a hold of myself. I feel like I'm stuck in depression…"

* * *

Grovyle paced around the kitchen with a tasting spoon on his hand. He wore a chef hat as well. He tried to look like a professional chef. However, he seemed to be failing pretty badly at his job.

"Why do we need to preheat the oven? Can't we just heat it up after the pizza is inside?" Grovyle questioned Skrelp.

"I prefer not to answer your idiotic questions." Skrelp refused to give him an answer.

"Won't the oven explode by doing this?" Grovyle asked further. Skrelp facepalmed.

"Drifblim, why aren't you grilling the steak yet?" Grovyle asked.

"Because I need the things all the key ingredients first. Can't just cook it and left it cold." Drifblim explained.

"Grovyle, can you reach up to get the rolling pin for me?" Dedenne asked. Now, this is what he is good at!

Grovyle reached up to get the rolling pin for Dedenne since she was too small and handed it to her with a smile.

"Thanks." Dedenne was grateful.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Can't the entire team just be like Dedenne? She is like the sweetest girl ever."

* * *

Lucario inspected all the food.

"One pizza without onions, another with onions and two pieces of bread heating up right now. We just need the seasonings for the steak! Where is Scolipede? I knew I shouldn't have trusted him with an important job! Gah!" Lucario kicked the prepping table, his eyes filled with rage and frustration.

"Chill out, he will come." Darmanitan calmed him down.

"I will go check on him." Ledyba told the others before she left.

"Quickly!" Lucario shouted after she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "I hope that he is okay right now."

 **Lucario:** "If we lose, if we lose… I swear I will…! My team should be winning at least 75% of the time. This is such a disgrace to my name!" Lucario furiously scratched his head, his fur falling a little.

* * *

Bisharp and Jumpluff finally reached their destination. However, an unfriendly face was blocking the entrance to the mess hall. It was Raticate standing on top of his spanking, new toy. This time, the Raticate toy had chubbier cheeks and the color was primary black.

"Chef Drapion promised me the leftovers if I stop you ugly kids from getting inside. Prepare to get smoked by my Raticatebot D-type." Raticate told, smirking. The two braced themselves for a battle.

"Stay behind." Bisharp wanted to face Raticate by himself to keep her safe.

"I can fight too. Just distract him for a while." Jumpluff gave Bisharp a reassuring gaze and he nodded.

"Smoking steak, here I come!" Raticate pressed a button and his toy rushed toward Bisharp.

Bisharp danced frenetically to boost his own attack sharply. Then, he slashed the stomach of the Raticate with Night Slash. That left a huge scratch on it.

"Take this Crunch!" Raticate announced as his toy bit Bisharp right arm in return. It dealt minor damage. Bisharp grunted as he pulled his arm off from the fangs of the Raticate. Then, he struck back with Iron Head, making Raticate lost his balance.

"My remote!" Raticate suddenly dropped his remote on the ground. This was the opportunity that Jumpluff was waiting for. Currently, she was absorbing sunlight. Her body shined with energy. Now, she blasted a powerful Solar Beam against his toy.

"Damn it!" Raticate yelled in frustration once he saw smoke rising from his toy. He quickly retrieved his remote control and swallowed his pride before he pressed a button.

"Time to use my hidden ability, Run Away! Bye, ugly kids." Raticate fled in the end, losing twice in the same day.

"What an unamiable fellow." Bisharp commented and Jumpluff seemed to agree.

The two got what they were looking for and started the returning trip.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Jumpluff:** "Bisharp look totally cool out there in the battle. Together, we form such a great team!"

* * *

Scolipede wandered around the mountain area, he was close to the intersection. Just a bit more, just a bit longer and he will finish this job. His ears perked up once he detected a noise. A noise of a blazing machine fleeing. Unfortunately, Raticate got his eyes on an easy prey.

"Sorry kid, I need to pick off stragglers like you to recover from my defeats. No hard feelings." Raticate talked before he pressed a button. Immediately, his toy blazed ahead at Scolipede with a Hyper Fang ready for disposal.

Scolipede tried to defend himself by rolling at the toy with Steamroller. However, he looked awfully weak and suddenly halted. This wasn't the usual Scolipede.

"Ouch." Scolipede yelped once the Hyper Fang bit him near the neck. Scolipede tried to counter with Poison Tail but Raticate got a tight lock on him. At this rate, he will faint.

"I can't take this anymore. Ouch!" Scolipede agonized.

"Don't hurt him any longer. Please stop!" Ledyba arrived and desperately pleaded for Raticate to end this miserable torture.

"You again? A two versus one? How unfair. I have enough with all the ganging up, ugly kids. I will smoke you all!" Raticate dropped Scolipede down, who was barely conscious and charged at Ledyba.

"Reflect." Ledyba used a move that reduces physical damage. A barrier formed and lessen the impact.

"Silver Wind!" Ledyba blasted a silvery powder at Raticate himself. This damaged him decently, increasing his rage.

"SOS mode, activate." Raticate prepared to use his final resort. With a single button press, an army of D-type Rattata were deployed from the mouth of the giant Raticate toy.

"Use Bite consecutively!" Raticate commanded an entire wave of Rattata. They all relentlessly swarmed Ledyba and bit here to no end.

"It hurts. Ahhh!" Ledyba screamed as she was outnumbered severely.

Scolipede opened his eyes and tried to get himself off the ground but he failed and ended up collapsing again.

"Scolipede, are you… okay?" Ledyba looked bruised up as she tried to blast all the Rattata away with Silver Wind.

"Look at yourself. Run away!" Scolipede suggested.

"Yeah, kid. Listen to him. Give up. I don't want to hurt you any longer. You are dragging this battle. Just admit defeat." Raticate reinforced.

"No, if I run away then how can you learn to trust? If I don't demonstrate it to you, I'm no better than a hypocrite." Ledyba was determined to struggle through the very end. A Rattata jumped to attack her from the left side and she struck it with her wings, draining her own energy. "I want to break you free from that miserable past. It's not your fault that you are gullible. We can all be gullible sometimes. Please, trust yourself and oth-" Before she finished, she fainted from another Bite attack.

"Ledyba!" Scolipede mustered all of his strength. He remembered all the times she was nice to him in the past. The flashback of her listening to his story, the flashback of her helping him to socialize more. With all of his energy, he prepared one, final attack.

"Rock Climb!" Scolipede climbed up the Raticate toy extremely fast. Raticate didn't even realize that Scolipede was towering next to him in seconds. With a powerful horn strike, Raticate was sent flying through the air.

"I will be back!" Raticate promised as he disappeared high into the sky. The Raticate toy stopped functioning with no controller.

"Ledyba… I'm so sorry." Scolipede wept, he felt like he was responsible for this. He carried her unconscious body and headed to the infirmary. He didn't care about the seasonings anymore.

In the corner of his eye, he noticed a remote controller on the ground. He decided that it will be faster riding the toy around. It was strong enough to support his weight, luckily.

"Scolipede, what happened?!" Jumpluff asked, holding a bunch of seasonings and ingredients.

"Ledyba got hurt, because of me. I will head to the infirmary." Scolipede confessed.

"You should go to see Chef Drapion, he is the one with medical supplies." Bisharp advised. "Lucario will probably rip your horns off if you don't deliver-"

"Who cares?!" Scolipede responded, shocking Bisharp. "I don't have enough time to go and get the seasonings anyways. I rather rely on the infirmary than chef."

"Please don't be emotional. Chef Drapion is a decent doctor. I know that it is hard to believe but… Do you know how to nurse her back to health?" Bisharp stay level headed throughout.

"I agree with Bisharp, Scolipede. Please, just go see Chef Drapion for your and Ledyba's sake. She wouldn't want you to sacrifice your own game." Jumpluff persuaded.

"Fine, what about the seasonings?" Scolipede asked, eyeing what they were holding.

"We can share a bit. Why don't we ride this Raticate and go back together?" Jumpluff suggested.

"Fine. Let's go, the faster, the better." Scolipede decided to strike a deal with them. All four of them returned to the desert town at high speed. During the trip, Scolipede occasionally looked at Ledyba. The things in his eyes suggested many things…

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Ledyba, I promise that I will make you happy from now on."

* * *

Cut back to thirty minutes ago, Nosepass and Wimpod fell down the well with a mysterious Salazzle.

"Ow!" Both of them yelped as they landed on the rough sand at the bottom of the well.

"The Salazzle is still here with us!" Nosepass panicked. The Salazzle pushed herself up.

"Do something." Wimpod trembled in fear.

Nosepass resorted to throw sand all over her face.

"Take this and this and some more of this." Nosepass continued to dig the sand up and spray it all over her. Wimpod started doing the same, lowering her accuracy to no end.

"My eyes." Salazzle rubbed her eyes furiously. "Stop!" She desperately pleaded for them to stop.

"We can't listen to a stranger." Wimpod continued to attack her with sand.

"This is the best that I got other than Tackle." Nosepass didn't have any better moves.

"Please, I'm not a stranger." Salazzle begged for them to stop, sand got into her mouth.

"Liar, you aren't in the credits." Wimpod refused to listen.

Nosepass noticed something, a tear in her left eye. That hit him with a sudden realization. By doing this, he is no better than a bully, beating a helpless victim. She mightn't even be a victim. Perhaps, she refused to attack.

"I think we should stop." Nosepass suggested.

"Why? She might be dangerous." Wimpod doubted. continuing to attack out of fear.

"Look at her, she is defenseless. We are now bullies… the ones that we are trying to avoid. I know it when someone is a victim because I'm a victim. Just like you. We are victims, the weaklings of the society. We live through a tough life that makes us scared to step out of our comfort zone. That's because every time we step out, we suffer." Nosepass paused for a moment.

"I'm not happy with how I play this game. I either submit to the bullies or become paranoid of everything. I'm tired!" Nosepass sobbed. "I don't want to take that chance that she might end up doing something bad to us but we should stop buffeting her with sand. Let's that risk." Nosepass stared deep into the fearful eyes of Wimpod. Both of them were scared but they eventually stopped. They looked at Salazzle, hoping that she won't kill them.

"Thank you, guys for letting me explain. I know that I look like… someone you should avoid but I guess outside appearance kills, huh? I'm not an intern here or anything. I'm an external worker. I'm here to finish installing this restroom." Salazzle explained everything and the two eventually understand.

They finished their business and headed up through the broken ladder. Luckily, the ladder was still high enough for them to stand on top of each other and get up that way.

The Salazzle left to find a replacement ladder, leaving Nosepass alone with Wimpod. Both of them sat on the ground. The water bug breathed in deeply and spoke up about something.

"You know what, Nosepass? I'm a big fan of you in this game. I want you to win because if you win it means that even someone like me can win. It gives me hope, you know? That someone like us will be able to accomplish something in this world. I want to move on from creating the credits. I want to do something even bigger. Maybe, I can be a cameraman" Wimpod revealed his dreams.

"I wish to accomplish something as well… I want to be a mineral extractor." Nosepass revealed his dream career.

"Why?" Wimpod asked.

"Well, maybe it is the thought of waiting for something to be delivered in a silver platter that inspires this dream of mine. When you go into the mine, you wish to strike lucky and suddenly become rich. However, it is more complicated than that. When you find minerals and ore, you need to extract it properly first for you to see the true beauty of it. I want to extract myself, I want to find that inner beauty inside me." Nosepass described.

"That's awesome. I want to be a cameraman to film moments like this. When I evolve, I want to capture all the scenes and keep the contestants safe with my Emergency Exit ability. When someone is in danger, I will save them." Wimpod shared this moment with Nosepass.

"Please win for me." Wimpod had faith in Nosepass. However, the latter didn't know whether or not he should be confident just yet.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** He inhaled and exhaled. After a few deep breaths, he said something. "I'm confident in myself. I can win."

* * *

The customers weren't satisfied with the poor customer service and their empty stomachs. Snorlax was chewing on the table. Druddigon slammed his fist, quaking his drink. Lurantis checked her photo album to pass some time. Shiinotic sipped her drink to calm down. Wimpod waited silently. Grovyle opened the kitchen door to check the grimy atmosphere. He stretched his head out a little, trying to avoid the angry faces of his customers.

"Chef Drapion, I want a refund if there is no food." Trumbeak complained.

"Like Skarmory said, the owner is always right. There will be no refunds. *beep* off if you can't wait!" Chef Drapion swore at his customer. Trumbeak grit his beak before he got off his seat and left.

"Please wait a bit longer. How about we give you pizza dough to chew for free." Grovyle begged, clinging onto his shoulder. Trumbeak slapped his hands off.

"This restaurant is too inadequate. I can't stand it anymore." Trumbeak refused to be swayed. He looked adamant as he made the final decision. Trumbeak flew away, leaving the Crazy Crawdaunt with one less customer.

"Where the hell are Bisharp and Jumpluff?!" Grovyle started to look frustrated.

Suddenly, Lucario slammed his kitchen door opened. He seethed and fumed as he exited the restaurant.

"I will drag those lazybones back here!" Lucario made his presence known with a deafening voice. Looking outside, he saw a strange figure in the distance.

Apparently, the four (three technically since Ledyba fainted) on the giant Raticate heard this.

"Hurry up!" Scolipede hastened the process by raising the speed of the Raticate to the max. After several seconds, they reached the restaurant.

"Scolipede, what took you so long?! Why the hell are you riding this Raticate machine?!" Lucario had many questions ready to be slammed at Scolipede.

"No time to answer. Here, take the items." Scolipede snappily said, delivered all the items to Lucario and rushed toward the chef with Ledyba on his back.

"Chef, she is injured. Please help her." Scolipede said with worry.

"Fine." Chef Drapion grumpily said. He wasn't happy that Raticate failed. The Chef carried Ledyba out of the restaurant to retrieved medical supplies in a nearby building. Scolipede followed him out as well.

Meanwhile, both teams rushed to finish their orders.

"Squeeze that lemon and finish that sour steak!" Grovyle yelled.

"Put salt and pepper on now!" Lucario shouted.

"Heat it up quickly!" Grovyle turned on the oven to its maximum capacity.

"You moron. You don't know anything, don't you?" Skrelp scolded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt:** "After a long day, we finish the food. Hopefully, we win even with one less customer."

 **Cryogonal:** "Scolipede has a lot to explain to us…"

 **Houndour:** "Why is there a Raticate toy outside? It looks creepy."

* * *

The customers mumbled and complained among themselves. Finally, the waiters appeared with a large plate containing servings of food.

"Mister Druddigon, here is your sour steak and bread." Grovyle tried to be polite.

Lucario didn't know what to do when he saw that Snorlax was still asleep. He just placed the food down and hoped that the big guy will wake up soon.

"Here is the bread." Lucario served Wimpod a pretty small piece of bread. The bug didn't dare to complain.

Grovyle nervously stepped toward Lurantis with a burned, black pizza. The cheese melted like lava and the toppings turned into crisps.

"Why is it burned? I want hot and spicy, not this inedible piece of cardboard." Lurantis complained.

"The oven overheated." Grovyle made an excuse. Lurantis didn't seem thrilled.

"I told you to don't put in a lot of cheese. I want there to be 6.5% less. No less or more than that! This restaurant is the most pathetic one I have ever visited. The owner is rude. The waiters are loud and noisy…" Shiinotic bombarded Lucario with criticisms. The professional athlete breathed in and out before he dropped the plate of pizza down and left. His face was red with anger.

"I won't eat this." Shiinotic refused, folding her arms.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "*beep*!"

* * *

The restaurant service was over and it was the time to decide the winning team.

Chef Drapion returned by himself, Scolipede and Ledyba were still somewhere together. He held two boxes with a hole on the top with him.

"Here is how it works. I have two boxes with me. One green for the Flygon and one red for the Crawdaunt. The team the receives the most tip for me wins." Chef Drapion explained and the interns started to get some coins out.

The first one to exit was Wimpod. He put 10P in the box and tried to leave. However, Lucario's deadly glare made him gulped. Wimpod placed an extra 1P coin and ran away as fast as possible. Lucario didn't seem satisfied.

The second one to exit was Lurantis. She donated 5P out of pity to the Crawdaunt. Then, she turned her camera on and started filming the area a bit more.

Shiinotic left without putting anything in the box and stuck her tongue out at Lucario. Obviously, he was very mad.

Druddigon also walked past Chef Drapion without putting anything in the box. The Crazy Crawdaunt frowned at this. They were going to lose at this late. Druddigon suddenly stopped walking and turned around to face the Crawdaunt members.

"You know what? I'm pleased with the events of today. From Raticate getting wrecked, Tyrunt delivering the cameras…" Tyrunt's eyes lightened up as he said this. "… to that tasty sour steak. I should give all of you a reward." Druddigon placed 100P inside the box. The Crazy Crawaunt all looked optimistic. They were confident that they were going to win.

"Don't count your Treecko before they hatch." Grovyle used his saying. "However, Snorlax is still sleeping in this case so we win!" The Crazy Crawdaunt celebrated early.

"Yummy!" Everyone turned to face the source of the voice. Snorlax woke up and feasted on the food.

"Chef, here is my payment." Snorlax squeezed through the door and gave him 500P. The Feckless Flygon thought there were going to win for sure.

"Damn it, we lost again." Jumpluff looked down on the ground.

"All that hard work for nothing…" Tyrunt said pessimistically.

"Don't count your Treecko before they hatch." Grovyle repeated.

"In this specific scenario, I must agree with you, Grovyle." Skrelp reached the same conclusion.

"Snorlax, where is your entry payment?!" Chef Drapion reminded. The Feckless Flygon members were in a state of disbelief. What a misfortune. Snorlax scrambled around for something.

"Where is my 1000P coin?" Snorlax announced that he lost the coin. Lucario kicked the sand in rage.

"It's done. We lost! We *beep* lost!" Lucario can't handle the heat anymore. He reached his boiling point.

"Oops, I left it in the restaurant." Snorlax went back inside and returned with a 1,000P coin. Now, the winning team was decided for real.

"Feckless Flygon wins!" Chef Drapion declared.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Unbelievable!"

 **Lucario:** "I won! Hell yes, I deserve that victory after dealing with ungrateful customers."

 **Drifblim:** "Skrelp has to eat her own words twice today. I doubt that she will talk for a while."

* * *

Inside one of the houses in the desert town, Ledyba rested on a bed with Scolipede by her side.

Gradually, she opened her eyes. She saw Scolipede's eyes. They were filled with anxiety, guilt, relief and many other feelings mixed into a golden color.

"Scolipede?" Ledyba rubbed her eyes.

"Ledyba, why did you throw yourself away for someone underserving of that kindness like me? Do you know how worried I'm about you?! I don't know what I will ever do without you. I l-love you so please don't do that again." Scolipede confessed and blushed immediately afterwards. In a spur of a moment, everything changed.

"L-love?" Ledyba blushed as well.

"I know that you probably don't like someone like me. I guess I'm fine with just being friends. Go ahead, reject and friendzone me." Scolipede assumed. Ledyba laughed at this.

"What's that for?" Scolipede was baffled.

"Silly Skeptipede, I love you too!" Ledyba reciprocated his feelings.

"Really?" Scolipede said with disbelief. Ledyba gave him a reassuring nod.

"Scolipede!" Cryogonal banged the door open and rushed over to strangle him with her snow chains. "What did you do to Ledyba?" Cryogonal jumped straight into action. Scolipede struggled to breathe.

"Stop, Cryogonal. He didn't do anything wrong." Ledyba tried to fix the misunderstanding.

Cryogonal stopped and then laughed uncontrollably.

"What's so funny about strangling me to death?" Scolipede didn't seem amused.

"You two are really gullible, you know? I heard everything. I'm just kidding for fun." Cryogonal revealed that it was an act.

"Hahaha… very funny." Scolipede sarcastically said and the three of them shared a laugh together. They enjoyed this very moment.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "I don't know what I'm getting myself into by being his girlfriend but I will try my best to make him happy."

 **Scolipede:** "I wish for a new beginning and this probably will be my only chance. Hopefully, our love stays strong unlike my past relationship."

 **Cryogonal:** "I wish for them to enjoy their lives together even to the extent of outside the show in a genuine, real relationship."

* * *

Grovyle sat with Dedenne near the bonfire. The elimination ceremony didn't begin yet but they seemed to have a conversation together.

"Grovyle, you look sad. Are you disappointed that we lost?" Dedenne asked.

Grovyle stared into the fiery flames of the bonfire.

"Dedenne, I will always be sad when we lose. It is just that… Dedenne, can you promise me that you won't be mad after you listen to what I'm about to say?" Grovyle said, not sounding lively in the slightest.

"Of course, what is it?" Dedenne was willing to listen.

"I feel overshadowed. I don't feel like anyone appreciates my play style or the type of Pokemon I truly am. They all see me as one dumb dude, you know? Back at home, I'm always the hero. The one everyone look up to. The most confident, the smartest and the strongest. Back here, everything is thrown out of the window. Lucario will always be stronger than me and Skrelp will always be smarter than me. Worse of all, Bisharp will always be a step ahead of me in everything. I feel like I'm treated badly by them. I'm the good guy around here and I deserve better! Do I sound insufferable to you?" Grovyle released his innermost thoughts.

"Aww, Grovyle. You will always be the best to me." Dedenne felt touched. "What do you want me to do then? Vote Bisharp off?" Dedenne asked.

"I need some time." Grovyle stood up and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I want something to guide me to the right place. What should I do?"

* * *

As Grovyle was about to enter the cabin, Drifblim tapped his shoulder.

"Can I have a moment with you?" Drifblim gestured for Grovyle to go into the forest area with her. Grovyle decided to do so after seeing no possible harm.

Once there, Drifblim turned to stare at Grovyle.

"What do you want?" Grovyle asked.

"Leader, I sense how you reacted to Skrelp and Bisharp lately around two days ago. Do you feel disturbed by their presence? Do you wish to get the upper hand against them? Do you wish to know what Skrelp said about Bisharp?" Drifblim's words allured Grovyle.

"What did Skrelp say about Bisharp?" Grovyle seemed to be the most interested by that.

Drifblim leaned closer to Grovyle and whispered. "Bisharp's fatal flaw is Jumpluff." Grovyle widened his eyes.

"Leader, I think of the best for you. In your alliance, how many loyal allies do you have? Only Dedenne, perhaps?" Drifblim planted a seed of doubt into him.

Grovyle averted his eyes, looking nervous.

"I can give you my help, if you did like. However, I'm not in a very good position either. Everyone sees me as Skrelp's underling. Well, that's not true at all. I just temporary seek refuge from her aid since Archeops was voted out. I want to play this game independently but I can't with Skrelp around, bugging me. I only wish to ask one thing from you, leader." Drifblim led everything up to this point.

"What is it?" Grovyle asked, placing his hands on his waist.

"Eliminate Skrelp so everyone will stop associating me with her. I believe that we have the same goal. After a while, Skrelp will approach you about a plan to eliminate Jumpluff. Please discuss things with Dedenne first so she stays by your side." Drifblim said before disappearing.

"Leader, I give you a weapon to use against both Skrelp and Bisharp. Please don't waste it." Drifblim's last words echoed in his ears.

"I won't." Grovyle grinned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "How easy to manipulate. A bit of sweet talking before he was convinced. Like I said in the early days of this island. I will control things from behind the scene. After Skrelp is eliminated, I will take all the credit and supposedly 'turn over a new leaf'." Drifblim winked.

* * *

Grovyle approached Dedenne secretly in the mess hall during the night.

"Dedenne, I made up my mind." Grovyle took a few deep breaths.

"What is it?" Dedenne asked, anticipating the answer.

"We should eliminate…" Grovyle paused a bit. "…Jumpluff."

"What?!" Dedenne couldn't believe it, she stepped back slowly from Grovyle.

"Please listen to me first. I don't want to do this but, there is no other way. Bisharp is manipulating Jumpluff. I know it! I know what kind of Pokemon he is! He manipulates others with fake acts of empathy. If we let her stay here, she will end up drowning in depression. We need to do what is the best for her even if it is voting her off. I'm sorry." Grovyle cried a bit, it seemed genuine, or was it?

"Grovyle, did someone manipulate you?" Dedenne doubted that Grovyle would say something like this.

"No, this is my idea." Grovyle strengthened his resolve. He stood up proud and tall, looking deep into Dedenne's eyes. The little mouse averted her eyes.

"Dedenne, if you don't believe me, I'm willing to eliminate myself after Bisharp and Skrelp are gone so that I can possible save Jumpluff with the redemption challenge!" Grovyle improvised.

Dedenne turned around and saw it, she saw his unwavering convictions.

"Fine… Please don't do something like this again." Dedenne believed in Grovyle.

"Grovyle, are you there?" Skrelp called from the outside. Grovyle signaled for Dedenne to hide under a table.

The grass type opened the door to meet the poison type.

"What do you want?" Grovyle asked.

"I have an ingenious plan. I know that you despise Bisharp. Why don't we make him suffer by eliminating Jumpluff? Both of them are nuisances to you, aren't they?" Skrelp suggested.

"As if I will listen to you. If I'm going to eliminate Jumpluff. I eliminate her because I'm her friend and I thought of the best for her!" Grovyle acted masterfully. Dedenne observed the situation and was fully persuaded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "That impudent imbecile, he eventually agreed but he was so adamant and stubborn about the whole do it for Jumpluff thing. Is he still trying to keep up the 'Good Guy Grovyle' façade?"

 **Dedenne:** "Jumpluff, I'm sorry. I will admit that if it comes down between you and Grovyle… I choose Grovyle. He is… special to me."

 **Grovyle:** "I play many lead roles in school drama. Most of the time, I'm the good guy. I know how to say those things."

* * *

Dedenne headed with Jumpluff to the elimination ceremony. They walked/floated side by side. Dedenne pointed out the Moon to Jumpluff.

"Look, isn't it beautiful? The silver, shining moonlight." Dedenne asked for her opinion.

"Yeah, totally." Jumpluff agreed.

"Does it look this beautiful on loser island?" Dedenne wondered.

"Why are you talking about that all of a sudden? Are you scared of the elimination?" Jumpluff looked a bit confused.

"No, nothing. It is just that I wonder if the loser island will be more relaxing and peaceful. Who knows? You might be able to start a party there." Dedenne indicated.

"Oh my god, that's true." Jumpluff sounded excited. Dedenne felt better from hearing this.

* * *

The elimination ceremony was about to start. The Crazy Crawdaunt members sat in two rows. On the first row from left to right sat: Rhyhorn, Nosepass, Tyrunt, Grovyle, Dedenne. On the second row: Heracross, Skrelp, Drifblim, Bisharp and Jumpluff.

Chef Drapion carried a plate of Leppa Berries to them.

"Alright, If I call out your name, you are a safe loser and you get a Leppa Berry." Chef Drapion explained things in his own style.

"Dedenne" She looked at the berry with bittersweet feelings.

"Nosepass" He looked a lot more confident.

"Rhyhorn" ...

"Heracross" She threw the berry up her mouth and swallowed it whole.

"Tyrunt" Chef Drapion threw it over his head, making Tyrunt frowned.

"Drifblim" She looked excited.

"Grovyle" He shook a little with exhilaration.

"Bisharp" He seemed confident about the result.

"Babababah, the eliminated contestant is…" Chef Drapion created a dramatic pause.

…

…

…

"Jumpluff, you are eliminated." Chef Drapion revealed.

"What?!" Bisharp shouted in disbelief.

"I'm… eliminated?" Jumpluff couldn't believe it herself either.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Well, I guess my time here is over, guys. I'm glad to be able to step out of my comfort zone and make real friends. I guess my team see me as someone useless. Anyways, I'm glad that it isn't Bisharp and instead, me. He deserves to stay here more. I wish the very best of luck to Dedenne, my best friend. We might share a lot of differences but we are still great friends. I like Grovyle and Tyrunt as well. I will say hi to Elekid for you, Tyrunt. Hopefully, I get access to the internet in Loser Island. I want to be able to share this experience with my social media friends.

* * *

"Bye, Jumpluff." Dedenne waved at her, as well as Grovyle. The two eventually left, leaving her with the Lapras.

Jumpluff stretched her head out of the Lapras, expecting someone.

"Why isn't he coming?" Jumpluff started to feel nervous.

"I will depart now." Lapras was about to leave.

"Please, just a moment longer." Jumpluff begged and the Lapras decided to give her extra time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I don't know if I should go and see her… It will make me suffer even more. I'm mad at myself. I should have seen this coming! I know the culprit behind her elimination… It is my fault for being unaware! It is my fault!" Bisharp sobbed a bit. "My fault to… trust _him_."

* * *

Bisharp ran at his full speed to the dock. He accidentally tripped on a rock but quickly recovered and ran as fast as he possibly could. He sweated and panted as he made a last-ditch effort to see her before she left. Once he arrived at the dock, the Lapras already departed but Jumpluff was still in sight.

Bisharp ran over to the edge of the dock and screamed. "Jumpluff, I'm here!"

Jumpluff heard it and turned around. She signaled the Lapras to stop but she refused.

Bisharp jumped off the dock and tried to swim toward her. However, the currents and waves pushed him away.

"Jumpluff, I want to say that-" Water splashed into his mouth. "-I really treasure you as a friend. In fact, I l-" Water splashed relentlessly against him, pressuring him to surrender. It was too late, she was far gone.

Bisharp allowed the waves to carry his lifeless body back to the beach. Looking up, he saw Grovyle looking down on him with that irritating grin of his.

"You!" Bisharp sprang up and strangled his neck. Grovyle didn't flinch at all.

"Big reveal, your little pawn manages to overthrow its king. Now, I guess the throne will belong to the rightful owner." Grovyle talked just fine even with Bisharp strangling him.

"Why the *beep* hell did you do that?! What have I done to piss you off?" Bisharp ragingly interrogated. He knew the culprit but not the motive.

"Think hard Bisharp, think hard." Grovyle refused to answer directly. "What have you done to change Good Guy Grovyle?"

Suddenly, Grovyle got a choking grip on Bisharp as well. The two stared at each other, both with deadly eyes. One with remorse and the other with condescension. The Moon shined at both of them and the episode ended on a cliffhanger.

* * *

 **Votes**

Grovyle: Jumpluff

Dedenne: Jumpluff

Drifblim: Jumpluff

Heracross: Jumpluff

Skrelp: Jumpluff

Bisharp: Skrelp

Jumpluff: Skrelp

Tyrunt: Skrelp

Nosepass: Heracross

Rhyhorn: Heracross

Heracross: 2

Skrelp: 3

Jumpluff: 5 (eliminated)

* * *

How is it? This is the best episode by far in my opinion. One of the plot points that I want to execute well so the future chapters will be easier to write.

Anyways, Raticate's character is inspired by the game Pokemon Rumble. A fun fact for you all.

Did you see some of the foreshadowing? Anything can happen, I might just put it there to trick all of you.

Jumpluff might return. Who knows? Anyone can return really except Oddish. Sorry, Oddish fans.

See you next time. Let me give you a sneak peek since I disappeared for so long. The hunt for the advantage truly begins! Will Lucario and his teammates claim it first? Will Ursaring gets his bonus? Is there someone who eavesdrop on Bisharp and Grovyle? Find out in the next heart wrenching episode of Total Skarmory Island!


	14. Chapter 14

Let's say I hunted for shiny Pokemon for too long so this chapter gets delayed. I wanted to post this on the weekends but oh, well…

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Parousia45**

I'm very pleased that you like this story more than the last one and even use one of my characters as a cameo. I can comprehend the flaws in Desire Tunnel. I'm very inexperienced at that time and my grammar is pretty crippling. Hopefully, I can save the series with the sequel that I planned. Your assessment of my characters is interesting. It seems like there is a trend on the favorites lately. Most viewers also tend to hate on the same characters. Also, you seem to have a lot of knowledge in the VGC aspect of Pokemon. Care for a match with me?

 **OctoRiter**

I want to innovate Total Drama as a whole. While I feel like while the community is pretty creative and can come up with great challenges and twists, the island premise is a bit overused. Therefore, I decided to make the island flexible. For example, if I want an amusement park built. I could integrate it in one of the areas and make the challenge about it. Don't worry about not finishing your story. That is the mistake I made with Desire Tunnel. I focused on finishing it too much that the quality deteriorated. Just do it at your own pace but try to get into the habit of like writing 1000 words a day.

 **Worma-Sir**

Well, there are friendships in this game. Darmanitan and Lucario are friends, Houndour and Ledyba are friends. Rhyhorn and Nosepass are friends. Most of the girls in the Feckless Flygon are friends. It depends on how you look at it. Miltank and Heracross are also friends, althought this one is debatable. Meowth sees most of his teammates as acquaintances. Just because Dedenne betrayed Jumpluff doesn't they can't be friends after the show ends. I'm sure Jumpluff won't hold grudges. The game is a social experiment where different characters have different approaches to the game. Some values friendship, some values money and some values their strength.

 **Dark Arcanine 33**

I never expected to see a very experienced author like you reviewing my story. I'm honored deeply. I used to read your stories but I accidentally saw the spoilers on your profile page so it kinds of pull me off. The other thing is your stories are also kind of too long but I will try and find the time to read if I can. Your review is much appreciated.

 **Sun Demigod**

I wonder if your perception on Grovyle changed on this chapter. I'm very curious to see what you think of him now.

 **Roran the Zoroark**

Skarmory is obviously great. He is my favorite Pokemon, I can't potray him in a negative light, can I?

* * *

 **Episode 14** **:** **Bewear the Ursaring**

The once cheery, ditzy and brimming sunlight elapsed into oblivion as the dark fell upon the (mostly asleep) contestants. Left in the daunting night, Bisharp and Grovyle eyed each other intensely with contrasting feelings. Today's shocking elimination was still fresh and vivid in Bisharp's mind like the bittersweet taste of Leppa Berry.

Each side held each other throats, yet they didn't do anything more violent than that. Bisharp's grip waned. Despite his pained expressions, he couldn't assemble enough rage or willpower to strangle Grovyle. On the other hand, Grovyle relaxed his muscles. He looked comfortable, or was it an act?

"Why?! Why?" Bisharp continued to question him after their stare down.

Grovyle returned a look, flaunting that he knew the answer. "Why? When I entered this game, I know that I need a strategist, an alliance to propel myself further in this game. I thought that I can rely on you. However, you left me. Now, you are only an obstacle toward my success. Sorry, old friend. It is just a game. I don't hate you personally like Skrelp." Grovyle revealed.

"Is that all? Is this all just a game to you?!" Bisharp snapped angrily, he started to lose control and his grip tightened.

"Calm down. You will get over it. You will see her later, alright?" Grovyle consoled a bit patronizingly.

Bisharp slowly removed his hands from Grovyle's neck and limped away slowly, lifeless as ever. He didn't seem to have any energy left to fight with him any longer.

"I can't believe that I thought you are trustworthy…" Bisharp regretted, looking down at his own foolish self.

"Take it easy, man. I used to play a bit rougher back at the countryside. Back there, I'm considered as a 'Good Guy'. A strategist like you get it, right? Just a game move. Now, I'm the smart one." Grovyle insisted on talking. Bisharp scoffed and slowly left to sleep.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "I get it now… Skrelp and Grovyle both knew _it_. Instead of eliminating me, they want me to suffer even more. You want to play it _strategically_ with me? Two can play the game, Grovyle. How about three? Throw Skrelp into the mix as well… I will return this agony, twice as cold and thrice as merciless." Bisharp laughed hysterically, his eyes widened and demented.

* * *

Grovyle was left alone on the dock. He stood still for a moment, looking at the horizon of the sea momentarily before he left like Bisharp. However, on his way...

He caught a glimpse of a fleeing figure rustling through bushes.

"What's that?" Grovyle tapped his chin.

"Oh, late bird gets the worms and early bird bites the dust. That must be it." Grovyle shrugged it off.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** **:** "Bisharp can hate me all he wants. The only one that I need is Dedenne. She is the only one that matters beside the million. I will make sure she gets second place."

* * *

Silently, Shedinja floated moderately slow to his cabin. His spiritless eyeholes purely fixed toward the destination. As a result, he didn't notice someone.

"Where did you go out every single night? Lucario isn't going to be happy." Cryogonal warned, questioning his action. Shedinja simply ignored her and continued to move.

"I know that we aren't the closest friends out here and you have no reason to trust me." Cryogonal said, trying to be approachable. "I just thought that you might want to share it with someone."

Shedinja turned around, not responding at first in any manner. Things started to look awkward.

"There is literally no reason to care. Talking to a rock will be more exciting than knowing what I _did_." Shedinja drawled before he entered his cabin.

Cryogonal didn't look too satisfied with the answer she got.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "If he doesn't want to say it, I might need to see it for myself."

* * *

Grovyle entered the cabin to see one Pokemon missing. Who? He looked around a bit before he yawned. He couldn't bother with that right now. He needed his sleep. Grovyle covered himself with a blanket and turned sideways.

The door creaked and a rocky reptile emerged. He closed the door quietly before he went to bed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt** **:** "I want to say goodbye to Jumpluff as well but the situation got a bit murderous…" Tyrunt trembled, he could feel a chill down his spine. His eyes were filled with fear and uncertainty. "I don't know what to do anymore."

* * *

The camera captured the sight of the Sun, signaling the start of a new day. However, there was also something else…

A grand cruise ship with our host, Skarmory. He returned to save his show's ratings from Chef Drapion. Flying out and landed gracefully, he faced the camera immediately.

"Ah, my beautiful island. Nice to see you again. Anyways, I return here swiftly because I can't afford to neglect my own job, can I?" Skarmory explained. "Chef Drapion sent me the footage of yesterday's episode. I watched it on my way here."

"Last time, our contestants met a rude awakening, thanks to the blatantly loud professional athlete. Feeling sleep deprived, they were forced to suffer from the scorching heat of the desert area. Still, Chef Drapion had no mercy. He used dirty tactics to spike up the difficulty and his own monetary gain. Wow, nice going, chef. The viewers, interns and the contestants sure are going to like you." Skarmory recapped, ending it on a sarcastic note.

"What will happen in this exiting episode of Total Skarmory Island? Find out and don't close your screen yet!" Skarmory sipped his coffee before the camera finished recording.

* * *

Lucario rallied all of his teammates early in the morning to discuss about the matter of the advantage. This time, he woke them up a bit later and nicer as well due to Darmanitan's suggestion. They all seemed to be in a better mood than yesterday with fully-awake looks on their faces. Well, with one exception, Shedinja. He was still sleeping in the cabin.

"Attention, team!" Lucario gained their attention. "Before we start, I will make this clear and I won't say it twice. Shedinja shall be excluded from the use of the advantage in case we find it because he decided to sleep late. He did this to himself." Lucario didn't have any sympathy in the slightest.

"Our main objective is to secure the advantage at all costs! I expect everyone to try their best with all their vigor, effort and energy. No slacking off! My plan is to split up into three groups of three. Each group will cover one of three different places. From my past experiences, Ursaring usually appeared in the forest area, the mountain area and deep inside Skarmory Cave." Lucario informed, glancing around to make sure everyone pays attention. "Any objections?"

"Do we get to form our own teams?" Houndour asked.

"No, I prefer to match a weak member against a strong member for safety reasons." Lucario shook his head, sounding strict.

" _Weak_ member, _strong_ member, who dictates that? You? I think you are looking down on us a bit too much." Scolipede argued.

"Said the helpless weakling that depended on a girl to beat Raticate." Lucario retorted. "I believe that you have no right to say anything when you can't even protect yourself." Lucario admonished, tarnishing his pride and confidence.

Scolipede averted his eyes and gritted his teeth, humiliated and disappointed in himself. Ledyba looked at him with worry, placing one of her arms on his back.

The other Flygon members looked a bit uncomfortable at the situation. Some seemed like they want to say something.

"Homie, maybe you should let them form their own teams. I mean it helps to work with someone you like to work with. They will feel more motivated that way." Darmanitan suggested.

"I know what's best for them. They will end up getting themselves hurt if they don't listen to me." Lucario argued, stubborn and strong-headed.

"Who are you to dictate our freedom like this? If this is how you want to do it, then I quit." Cryogonal left, not turning back. Lucario scowled at this, his face heating up with anger.

"Her loss. Nothing matters as long as we get that statue. I don't care about the method. Just beat the bear up and get it over with already." Miltank seemed tired of the discussion.

Lucario exploded. "You know what?! I'm done. I'm tired of all of you ungrateful brats! Do whatever the hell you want!" Lucario abandoned them and ventured to find the advantage on his own.

"Homie, wait." Darmanitan followed him hurriedly.

"There goes his fanboy. I'm going to get that advantage for myself as well. See you, Slowpokes!" Miltank ran out of the camp area as well.

"Err… We could still try and get it together. I know the way inside Skarmory Cave pretty well." Houndour suggested.

"No thanks. I want a rest." Scolipede said, dragging himself inside his cabin. Ledyba looked at him anxiously and turned to face Houndour.

"I want to go with you but…" Ledyba hesitated.

"I understand." Houndour nodded in understanding. "I guess that leaves the three of us Treasure Trio members."

"Sorry, I have no agenda in acquiring the advantage or at least for now." Meowth rejected. Duosion looked a bit surprised by this and observed Meowth a little.

"Alright, no problem dude." Houndour was left with Duosion. Meowth got a sly smile on his face.

Five hunted for the advantage, five stayed behind. Will Ursaring came out on top?

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "Meowth has been a bit distant lately. I guess he wants to leave the Treasure Trio. Perhaps, he thinks that staying with us paints a target on his back."

 **Lucario** **:** "Can't the team just listen to me obediently?! I'm doing what's best for them!"

 **Miltank** **:** "It is actually better for me that Lucario's plan gone down the drain. Because now, I can share the advantage with Heracross."

 **Scolipede** **:** "I feel so useless. Gah! I can't do anything yesterday other than watching her getting beaten up."

* * *

Nosepass smiled brightly, waddling out of his cabin.

"Yay, I didn't have a nightmare. Woo-hoo!" Nosepass exclaimed. Briefly, he spotted Rhyhorn heading to the intersection in a hurry.

"Again? Better go and check." Nosepass tried to run but he was so slow that there was no way that he could catch up.

Once he reached the intersection, Rhyhorn was far, far gone…

"I want a Trick Room to help a poor, slow and handicapped rock type like me." Nosepass complained, sweating.

Bisharp passed Nosepass without saying a word, his eyes sought for something malicious.

"Creepy." Nosepass shivered a bit.

Suddenly, Meowth approached Nosepass after Bisharp was gone, holding his hands behind his back.

"My dear customer, may I help you in anyway?" Meowth talked sweetly.

"Oh, I'm just so scared of many things here. I want something to help me feeling less scared." Nosepass told.

"Oh, I see. Well, my business does sell repels to keep scary Pokemon away." Nosepass looked a bit hopeful. "However, I'm afraid that I didn't bring them here." Meowth admitted. Nosepass lowered his head.

"However, do not fret. I might be able to offer something else. I'm currently developing a brand new, secret product. Can I ask you a few questions to complete my survey?" Meowth asked, rubbing his fingers together.

"No problem. What is the question?" Nosepass wondered.

"What troubles you in the other team?" Meowth revealed the question.

"A lot of things. Rhyhorn told me to not trust Heracross, Skrelp, Drifblim, Bisharp or Grovyle. They are all dangerous and we shouldn't side with them. In addition, Bisharp seems to be… very mad lately. Maybe, he was mad about me because I didn't vote with him." Nosepass explained.

"Jumpluff is eliminated from what I see. Are they very close?" Meowth asked for details, his eyes intrigued.

"They seem to be close. However, it looks like Grovyle betray him or something." Nosepass explained, albeit a bit unconfident. Meowth nodded.

"Alright, thank you for the survey. I will make sure to keep the information safe. As a token of appreciation for your cooperation. I present this to you." Meowth handed Nosepass ten Skarmory tokens.

"Wow, thank you." Nosepass happily returned to his cabin, free from all kinds of worry after he got the tokens. Meowth grinned as he watched Nosepass.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** **:** "Information is key in the success of a business. Knowing what or when things are in a trend or patterns in a market can be very useful. I'm preparing myself for the merge. All the customers will swarm over me and I will shower in millions and millions of P!" Meowth laughed, he went crazy for a moment. He then stopped and coughed. "Oh, fear not, I will donate half of it to charity."

 **Nosepass** **:** "Look at all this wealth." Nosepass showed the tokens. "If I get paid every time I do a survey. I will do surveys for a living instead of working hard endlessly."

* * *

Scolipede lay down on his bed with his face buried on his pillow.

"You look like Grovyle in prison." Shedinja made a random comment.

"Don't talk to me." Scolipede didn't sound pleased.

"Fine, I will go and talk to a rock instead. You can talk to your pillow." Shedinja drawled before he left the cabin.

Scolipede made a somewhat scornful, suppressed laugh.

"Scolipede, you want to talk?" Ledyba asked from the outside. Scolipede lifted his head up and crawled over to her, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't take what Lucario said seriously. He didn't mean to hurt your feelings. He just wanted to disprove your point. Everything will be alright. You got me by your side." Ledyba consoled.

"I feel so ashamed and humiliated. Lucario belittled and degraded me. It really pierces on the inside. I feel like that was a very cheap shot against me. Worst of all, it makes me feel like I can't do anything to protect you." Scolipede turned to face Ledyba, looking emotionally weak. He didn't cry by any means yet it seemed like he was on the verge of tears.

"Aw, don't feel sad, Scolipede. In my eyes, you did everything that you could. You defeated Raticate and transported me over to the town safely. I love you." Ledyba hugged Scolipede.

"Thank you for always being by my side. You only see the good in me. I owe a lot to you. I will try to fortify myself mentally so that you don't need to worry about me again." Scolipede embraced her affectionately.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "Ever since that incident, I have always been weak and paranoid. I'm scared that others will talk behind my back and betray me. I'm scared that I won't be strong enough to stand against them. That made me push away Ledyba so many times. Yet, she somehow saw something inside me. I will make sure to treasure our love."

 **Ledyba** **:** "I want him to live a better life, free from that traumatizing past. Scolipede can be a really kind-hearted Pokemon on the inside. I'm confident that nothing can get in the way of our relationship." Ledyba beamed.

* * *

Lucario rushed ahead at full speed to the mountain, blazing through the stairs, reaching the very peak of the mountain.

"Ursaring, you coward! Come out and fight me like a real man!" Lucario screamed to the top of his lungs, hoping that Ursaring will accept his challenge.

"Homie, wait!" Darmanitan shouted from below, climbing up as fast as he could with his arms and legs. Lucario didn't seem to hear; he was absorbed in his hunt.

Lucario squinted his eyes, trying to find any sign of Ursaring. At the same time, Darmanitan progressively got closer to him.

"Homie, you need to be a bit open-minded when it comes to their opinion. They all walk from a different path of life, far different from yours. Be a bit understanding and less aggressive so they will get the message." Darmanitan advised. Lucario didn't seem particularly interested.

"I will only lead a team that is obedient to me. Otherwise, I have no room for any of them." Lucario persisted on getting his way.

Darmanitan couldn't think of anything else to say. Regardless, he wouldn't say anything when a figure blasted through the sky, completely airborne. Any guesses? The right answer was Ursaring with a jetpack. Resting on his shoulder was a bazooka. The advantage was nowhere to be found.

"Challenging me when I'm about to have a picnic with the other interns? That is very narcissistic of you, Lucario. I will literally give you tasty knuckle sandwiches as a punishment. The bonus will be mine and none of you will get it unless you want to face my wrath!" Ursaring roared and started to blast sandwiches out of his bazooka. (This is to prevent lawsuits.)

Lucario dodged them by jumping down the stairs. Darmanitan did the same but he nearly got caught in the blast.

Lucario turned back to look at Ursaring, he couldn't find any trace of the advantage.

"This is a trap. Run!" Lucario told Darmanitan and the two tried to flee.

"Take this and that and this and that." Ursaring repeated as he fired more and more sandwiches at them. However, he kept missing. Lucario performed many acrobatics flips and masterful maneuvers while Darmanitan tried to zig-zag around. Ursaring started to groan in frustration.

"Is that all you got?!" Lucario taunted and Ursaring seethed. Lucario smirked, he was looking for this opportunity.

"I'm going to get you myself!" Ursaring dropped down from his jetpack and tried to blast Lucario at close range. However, the professional athlete just ducked and swiftly struck the bazooka off his hand with Bone Rush. In quick succession, he slammed the bone onto his left shoulder.

"Ouch." Ursaring yelped, he took some damage from the attack. Once Darmanitan heard the voice, he turned back and thought about helping. However, Lucario signaled for him to not intervene.

"You make me mad!" Ursaring tried to counter with Hammer Arm. Slamming his fist on… the ground as Lucario jumped up high into the air.

"I nearly forgot that the homie got first in acrobatics." Darmanitan admitted, scratching his head.

Lucario landed behind and secured a lock on Ursaring's neck. The bear struggled to break free but he failed.

However, Ursaring had a last resort. He jumped up and stomped heavily onto the ground to create an Earthquake. Lucario was forced to let go and leaped into the air, landing on a rock high up on the mountain.

"I'm not done yet. I will show you that you aren't invincible." Ursaring grabbed a nearby rock and threw it at Lucario.

Lucario punched the rock, breaking it. Afterwards, he charged at Ursaring with a blinding speed.

Due to the speed drop from Hammer Arm, Ursaring wasn't prepare for the next move.

Lucario punched rapidly with his Bullet Punch. It was a blur as Lucario dealt a multitude of blows to Ursaring, who can't do anything but howled in pain.

"That is his egg move, I heard that it was passed down for generations. Awesome, homie!" Darmanitan fascinated as he spectated the battle. He cheered as one of Lucario's biggest fan.

Ursaring looked like a mess with bruises all over him, dropping down to his knees. However, he didn't plan on giving up yet. Lucario dropped his guard down and smiled victoriously. Unexpectedly, Ursaring rose up from the ground for one final time.

"You aren't done yet?" Lucario looked surprised.

"I want to at least hit you once!" Ursaring desperately grabbed hold of Lucario's arms and pushed them both toward a rock.

"Take Down!" Ursaring rammed them both against the rock. Lucario took minor damage due to resistance. On the other hand, Ursaring knocked himself out due to recoil.

"You don't know when to give up, don't you? Go and find yourself a worthy opponent of your skill level." Lucario disrespected Ursaring.

"At least, he tried his best." Darmanitan looked at his unconscious body with sympathy.

Lucario looked around in case the advantage was nearby. However, there was nothing to be found. Lucario kicked a sandwich flying in frustration.

"Chill out." Darmanitan tried to calm him down.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "That dishonorable coward! He hid the advantage!"

 **Darmanitan** **:** "It is very tough to make the homie chill out even with my zen power. His temper is even more explosive than a bomb."

* * *

Time passed by relentlessly as the hunt continued, Miltank and Heracross foraged through some bushes, trees and rocks to no avail.

"Where the hell is that advantage?!" Heracross said angrily, punching a tree.

"Wait until I get my hands on that damn bear, I will beat him into a pulp and show him who's boss!" Miltank asserted.

Their stomach grumbled.

"Let's grab some lunch. I need to fill my stomach with some grub." Heracross suggested and Miltank agreed.

"Yeah, better than drinking my own milk." Miltank revolted at the thought.

Soon enough, the search started to die down after the challenge was about to begin, except for a certain couple.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross** **:** "I need that advantage. With those bunch of jokers in my team, I don't know who will get the boot next."

 **Miltank** **:** "I personally don't like the move Milk Drink, it is like sacrificing my strength to heal myself. Very counterproductive."

* * *

Houndour and Duosion reached the underground with mountains of garbage once again. The smell was rotten and disgusting as ever, forcing them to slow down their breath.

Houndour cautiously glanced around at his surroundings, ensuring that nothing bad will happen once again. Damp patches of sewage water irritated his feet, every time he accidentally stepped on them. He seemed very uncomfortable with this place, yet his eyes seemed invited oddly by the sight of a garbage can rolling on the uneven slope of the foul and toxic mountain.

"Are you uncomfortable? If you want, you can wait on the upper floors while I search alone. Psychic types beat poison after all." Duosion suggested, seemingly worried.

"No, this place isn't that bad. I want to keep on searching with you. I will be alright." Houndour assured. Duosion looked much more at ease. Her eyes seemed to follow Houndour's, viewing the unstable garbage can. The two didn't seem serious about getting the advantage.

"That is very reminiscent of the time you saved me. You are very heroic, Houndour." Duosion said lovingly.

"Really? You are more heroic in my eyes. You aren't easily scared of this cave like me. You are very brave and rational. You even beat Raticate! I couldn't ask for more from my girl." Houndour praised with admiration and respect.

"That is sweet of you. Hopefully, we will last on this island together for a very long time." Duosion smiled, looking very happy. Once Houndour heard this, however, he froze suddenly. Duosion turned to him, confused.

"Duosion, I can wish for only one thing. Can you promise that to me?" Houndour asked seriously. Duosion nodded slowly.

"If I'm gone sooner than expected, please stay strong, alright? I don't want you to look sad like when you did after the prison challenge. We owe a lot to Machoke for saving us. However, I can't rely on others to protect me all the time. It isn't right. Can you promise me?" Houndour held her gelatinous body pleadingly, staring deep into her soul. Duosion averted her eyes a little.

"I'm not confident about that… Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" Duosion replied, hoping inside that it was just a joke. How can he be eliminated soon?

"You need to. I believe in you." Houndour encouraged, pressuring her a little.

"Is it Lucario, again?!" Duosion sounded scornful.

"It isn't his fault. He has every right to believe what he wants to. It is partially my fault as well." Houndour tried to calm her down.

"I'm sick of him! I'm sick of how he treated you!" Duosion snarled. "Initially, I don't want to rebel or oppose him because he is our leader but I will if I must in order to protect you."

"Please calm down. This is what I'm worried about. If I'm eliminated, don't hold any grudges against him, please. I can't leave this island with ease if you end up like _that_." Houndour expressed his concerns.

"You are just too kind... Your heart is too pure and forgiving. Even self-proclaimed heroes in ancient times bathed in blood to accomplish their great plan." Houndour grew more anxious. "Okay, I will." Duosion promised in the end, wanting him to feel unburdened.

The two continued to search a bit more. Duosion floated slowly behind Houndour, her eyes a bit teary. Houndour dragged his feet across the ground, no longer feeling energetic.

They reached the end of the floor. Awaiting them was… a stinking pile of garbage. Torn-up newspapers covering old collections of bottles and boxes. Next to all the junk was a half-eaten honey jar.

"Hmm…" Duosion looked a bit deep in thought. "The smell of the honey is still fresh. This is very fishy." Duosion analyzed.

"Well, it is getting late. We should hurry back to grab some lunch." Houndour suggested and the two decided to leave. At the last moment before they climbed/floated up the ladder, Duosion couldn't help but turned around to look at the room one more time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "I will try and find a way to keep him safe even if it means that I need to plot up some sort of scheme." She looked very determined.

 **Houndour** **:** "It is nice if I can get the advantage but even if I have it… I don't think I will use it against Lucario. Despite what most of our teammates usually said about him, I think he works really hard for the team. I have mad respect for the dude." He seemed sincere.

* * *

In the mess hall…

Tyrunt gradually ate his plate of sludge with his head down, not complaining peculiarly to his standards.

Grovyle entered the mess hall, walking nonchalantly, humming to himself. Tyrunt kept his head even lower.

While Grovyle grabbed a plate of food from the chef, Tyrunt sneaked up to look at his back. His eyes filled with fear and disbelief. Instantly, he returned to his original position after Grovyle turned around.

"Hey, Tyrunt. How's your day?" Grovyle greeted and Tyrunt lifted his face up slowly.

"Alright." Tyrunt replied, acting natural to the best of his ability.

"Great." Grovyle sat next to him, making the gamer feel more uncomfortable.

Grovyle and Tyrunt didn't say much to each other. They just focused on the food. Until… Dedenne joined them.

"Hey guys, let's eat before the challenge starts." Dedenne said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yeah, let's win this time. Crazy Crawdaunt, we can do this." Grovyle motivated, raising his fist up. Dedenne lightened up while Tyrunt nodded with a small smile.

Bisharp entered, not bothering to look at anyone or say anything. He grabbed a plate of food and sat alone in the corner.

"Geez cold, I guess he is mad that his 'pawn' got eliminated. Lately, he gave me these threatening glares." Dedenne told.

"What a jerk. Don't listen to anything he said. We are all pawns to him. Now that he realizes we don't have a birdbrain, he is coming after us." Grovyle brainwashed.

"Grovyle, flying types aren't stupid. Please don't make an insensitive comment like that." Dedenne scolded.

"Oops, sorry. It is just a saying." Grovyle apologized.

"It is alright, everyone can make mistakes including me." Dedenne looked a bit guilt-tripped by the events of yesterday.

"Grovyle, can I ask a question?" Tyrunt asked.

"Yes, spill it all out." Grovyle allowed.

"Why do you hate Bisharp now all of a sudden? I thought you two were… friends." Tyrunt questioned.

"Here is the thing, he used to be my friend until I realized that he is a master manipulator. He sided with Skrelp in the beginning of the game and voted Pokemon like Farfetch'd, Helioptile and Elekid out. The viewers can confirm that." Grovyle explained.

"A-alright." Tyrunt reluctantly agreed. He glanced at Bisharp, who looked sorrowful and heartbroken before turning back to Grovyle, who looked jolly and relaxed. Tyrunt doubted Grovyle's integrity.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt** **:** "Bisharp is actually sad that Jumpluff left but Grovyle… How could he act like that? I'm so naïve."

 **Dedenne** **:** "I'm really starting to regret what I did." Dedenne smacked her own forehead. "Oh, Dedenne you can't second guess yourself. You made your choice. Grovyle over Jumpluff."

* * *

"Contestants, the challenge is about to begin! Meet me at the usual place, my shop. I also have a special 'guest' today. He is very mad at one of you." Skarmory announced.

Eventually, all the contestants arrived. They seemed much more pleased without Chef Drapion in charge.

"Why back so soon? The ratings dropped? Ran out of ginseng tea?" Drifblim said wryly. (The show doesn't even air yet in their world. Drifblim was just joking.)

"Hahaha…" Skarmory laughed it off. "Anyways, meet a familiar face, everyone. Ursaring is here with a vengeance." Skarmory stepped sideways and Ursaring appeared with bandages all over him, glaring at Lucario. The professional athlete wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"Before you ask, he doesn't bring the advantage with him neither is it already taken. However, here is the thing. He wants revenge against someone. Therefore, I decide that it is a great idea to let him come up with a challenge of his own. Take the spotlight, Ursaring." Skarmory gave him an opportunity to speak.

Ursaring walked up to the contestants and spoke loudly. "Today, we will play Ursaring Games! Here is how it works, we play a set of games that gives me an advantage. Both teams will compete against me. Each round, some contestants may be eliminated if they fail the challenge. After three rounds, the team with the most members win. Here is the twist…" Ursaring paused. The contestants looked excited with the exception of a few like Bisharp and Shedinja.

Skarmory revealed instead. "Since the merge is pretty close, I decide to give all of you a taste of it. If you survive through all of the three rounds, you get individual immunity." The contestants looked exhilarated at the thought of individual immunity.

"Skarmory, it can't be that easy, right? There must be some sort of catch." Drifblim said, it sounded too good to be true for her.

"Indeed, very insightful of you. Here is the catch, getting the individual immunity might divert you from the team aspect of the challenge itself." Skarmory indicated. Lucario didn't look pleased once he heard this.

"If you get the team immunity, the individual one doesn't stack in case someone is wondering. You don't get it for the next elimination and can't give it away either." Skarmory explained further. Meowth shook his head slightly.

"Alright, we will now start the first game." Ursaring got the attention back. "It is called Fill the Honey Jars." Duosion's eyes widened up once she heard the name.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "I think I might have a clue to the location of the advantage."

 **Heracross** **:** "Individual immunity is what I want. Now, I don't need to carry all the dead weight in the team."

 **Lucario** **:** "I want everyone to focus on the team immunity. I hope nobody falls into that trap."

 **Houndour** **:** "I will try my best to help the team. Hopefully, Lucario sees it."

 **Skrelp** **:** "The inclusion of the individual immunity will entice many to abandon the concept of collective identity. What intrigues me the most is how Lucario will react to it. Hopefully, he throws a hissy fit of rage and subsequently gets eliminated. Bisharp is a weak foe, Lucario is the real threat in this game."

 **Drifblim** **:** "As a super fan, I'm very excited. Getting individual immunity would be like ticking off a box in my list of things to do here."

 **Meowth** **:** "If individual immunity can be offered to others, this will be an ideal twist. Engaging in a transaction over these goods is what I look forward to the most." Meowth rubbed his hands together.

* * *

Ursaring stood near the stall of Skarmory Shop, which was currently filled with empty honey jars.

"I will explain it simply so we can get start fast. Both teams need to fill five honey jars and bring them back here. Interns are scattered around somewhere in this island. Approach them and they will fill your jar. There are two types of interns, a Combee intern and a Vespiquen intern. Vespiquen interns have more honey but are rarer. Male interns can be a Vespiquen. They wear either a Combee hat or a Vespiquen hat so distinguishing between them shouldn't be difficult." Ursaring drank some water to hydrate himself.

Ursaring then continued with the rules. "Now, here is where I come into play. My job is to eliminate as many contestants as possible. If I catch you, you are eliminated for good. There are two ways that you can make me stop chasing you. The first way is to complete the mission. The second is to smash your own honey jar like a selfish, little brat." Ursaring looked around at the contestants, enjoying the current atmosphere.

The members all looked at each other with uncertainty in the air. Can they really trust each other? This challenge will be a test of that.

"Lastly, Skarmory gave me these three chance cards to make my life a bit easier." Ursaring showed the empty, white colored back of the cards to the contestants and smirked. He didn't want to spoil the surprises yet. What kind of nasty effects will they bring to the game? The contestants watched Ursaring with anticipation.

"I will give you a grace period of five minutes. Start now!" Ursaring declared.

Lucario dashed straight to the stall first and collected many jars. He handed them off to Darmanitan, Miltank, Meowth and Ledyba to help the team.

The rest soon collected theirs except for Bisharp, who was trailing behind Shedinja and Nosepass. He seemed lost in thought.

"Are you alright?" Tyrunt asked, handing Bisharp an extra jar. Bisharp raised his head up slowly and grabbed it.

"Tyrunt, can I talk to you later?" Bisharp uttered quietly. Tyrunt was surprised to hear this but nodded nonetheless.

"Yay, I get to collect all the sticky, gooey stuff." Shedinja drawled, taking the last honey jar.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** : "I think I can trust Tyrunt enough to share my plan with him." His eyes lightened up again with the fire of revenge. "Eliminating them isn't enough anymore…"

 **Lucario** **:** "I will keep my eyes on everyone. If one of them decides to smash their own honey jar. I swear I will…" The confessional got cut off because it was too brutal.

* * *

Lucario and many others headed to the intersection. The professional athlete himself opted for the gym area. Darmanitan and Miltank followed him. The two Feckless Flygon couples went to the forest area. Cryogonal aimed for the snowy area while Meowth and Shedinja searched around the camp.

On the other team, Grovyle led Dedenne to the forest area. Nosepass followed Rhyhorn to the forest as well. Tyrunt and Bisharp stayed close to the beach. Skrelp, Drifblim and Heracross headed to the haunted area.

"Contestants, I'm ready to maul all of you!" The grace period was over.

Ursaring headed to the gym first, he suspected that Lucario would be there.

"Time to use my chance card…" Ursaring smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring** **:** "Are you ready for a payback, Lucario? I vow to eliminate you at the very least. My pride as an intern is on the line."

* * *

Lucario sprinted through the gym, scanning each room. The dodgeball court had none. The basketball court had none. The track and field had Snorlax, who held a full jar of honey. He wore a yellow hat with a beehive creature design, composed of three hexagonal honeycombs.

"Give me honey!" Lucario demanded, thrusting his jar forward. However, instead of giving him the honey, Snorlax did something predictable to his species. He ate all of it in one gulp.

"This is against the rule! What the hell!" Lucario fumed.

"Oh, sorry." Snorlax gave a sheepish grin.

"Gah!" Lucario left the gym in a flash. Snorlax dug through his left ear and retrieved an earpiece out.

After Lucario was gone, Darmanitan appeared. He looked confused about all the commotion.

"Homie, can I have some honey?" Darmanitan approached Snorlax and asked politely.

"Yes." Snorlax vomited all of it out as Darmanitan cringed in disgust.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "Can't blame the big guy for eating. He was probably hungry."

* * *

Ursaring cornered Miltank in the infirmary. The cow placed her honey jar down, showing that she won't go down that easily.

"I will beat you up, Ursaring." Miltank prepared to fight, she clenched her fist and started to throw a few solid punches. Ursaring tilted his head and stepped back a few times before he successfully caught one of the punches.

"I catch you and you are out." Ursaring said, looking smug. Miltank groaned as she left.

"First victim down." Ursaring updated as he left for another prey.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank** **:** "That's it? I'm eliminated like that?! The first one eliminated?! This doesn't sit well with me. I will make sure to punch a hole through his face next time and then I will sit on him and break his spine!"

* * *

Ursaring headed to the forest area next. He prowled through the forest, searching for preys. He eventually arrived in a clearing with the entrance to Skarmory Cave. There, he saw Houndour and Duosion filling a honey jar together, courtesy of Trumbeak (Combee).

"Who wants to go down first? Also, no using Psychic on me." Ursaring seemed to have a lot of advantages.

"Duosion, take the honey and run!" Houndour shouted as he prepared a defensive stance to take on Ursaring. The canine spread his legs, readying himself.

Duosion looked back and forth between Ursaring and Houndour for a moment before she nodded and escaped through a narrow path of trees.

"I believe in you." Duosion's words fueled Houndour with motivation and strength.

"Come at me." Ursaring wanted to trick Houndour into attacking him. However, Houndour merely covered the path Duosion took so Ursaring can't follow after her.

Ursaring ran quickly to Houndour, hoping to make up some time to catch Lucario. However, Houndour maneuvered through small gap of trees, which Ursaring struggled with. He needed to either destroy the trees or squeezed himself through slowly. Either way, it will take a long time.

Suddenly, there was an announcement by Skarmory. "Attention, Ursaring and contestants! Here are the standings. One for the Feckless Flygon and two for the Crazy Crawdaunt."

"What?! The contestants are that fast?" Ursaring said in disbelief and sweated. The pressure was on.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "My species are generally slow so it would be smarter for Houndour to take the jar and leave me with Ursaring. However, it seems like it he acts from his heart, which is very… nice." Duosion blushed. "I believe that I'm a fool for doubting that our love won't go well in the first place. I want to love him unconditionally from now on, regardless of history or probability. However, I fear that Lucario will ruin everything."

* * *

Moments ago...

Ursaring barely encountered Grovyle and Dedenne, if it wasn't for the fact that he chose to head to the gym area instead.

"Hang on my back." Grovyle carried Dedenne as he swung from vine to vine.

"This is awesome!" Dedenne felt the adrenaline rushing through her body.

"A good old exercise, like back at home." Grovyle commented as he headed deeper into the forest at a rapid speed.

"What is your home like? Is it abundant with nature from what I assume?" Dedenne asked.

"Very abundant, yes. Although, there isn't a lot of technology. Pokemon just live like Pokemon, you know? Sometimes, there are petty conflicts over berries and stuff. General stores have shortage of batteries occasionally and the birds are pretty annoying." Grovyle described.

"Why are they annoying?" Dedenne asked as Grovyle ventured deeper into the forest.

"Well, they steal berries. However, that isn't really wrong. It is a special, unique custom back at home where the resources of the nature are ownerless so you can do whatever you want as long as you got the skills." Grovyle explained.

"Wow, that's deep. It is like the survival of the fittest, huh? I don't know if I can live like that." Dedenne frowned.

"Well, it isn't that bad. There are schools and authorities and stuff so you should be pretty safe. I just want to win the money so I could buy an electronic heater to cook some meat without those pesky fire types. Oh yeah, a new house would be nice. The old shack is getting old." Grovyle shared his background.

Dedenne hugged Grovyle, embracing his warmth. "Grovyle, I want you to know that even though many of us here doesn't know you that well, at least I know. For you to live through that kind of life and help most of us here is certainly admirable." Dedenne praised, making him smiled.

"You even said that you will eliminate yourself to save Jumpluff. I wish you the very best of luck in doing that." Dedenne reminded and Grovyle dropped a sweat.

"I will." Grovyle said, trying to sound confident.

"You also need to return, alright?" Dedenne said, sounding worried.

"Definitely." Grovyle went along with it.

"You are the best." Dedenne's words made Grovyle feel even more flattered.

The two soon arrived at the long-forgotten berry garden. Grovyle saw Druddigon (Combee) near the 'meatball' fountain and got a jar of honey. Dedenne got nothing because Druddigon got none left after he gave it all to Grovyle.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** **:** "Maybe I should just eliminate myself and save Jumpluff. Although, I prefer to stall this out and keep myself safe. My fans will be worried if I make a reckless move like that." Grovyle made excuses.

 **Dedenne** **:** "I know that Grovyle is selfless and virtuous enough to do it. It will be a move that brings back faith to all good and fairness in this world."

* * *

After Bisharp got his honey jar, he headed to the beach straight away. Ran across the bonfire place with great agility, it seemed as if he tried to avoid something or someone. He halted, however, when the beach area appeared to be vacant. Tyrunt followed shortly after him, holding his knees and panted heavily.

"Can you please run a bit slower? I can't catch up." Tyrunt whined, sweating horribly.

"There appears to be no interns around these parts. We should return. If Ursaring comes here, our only escape route will be blocked." Bisharp alerted. There was only one path leading back to the camp and that was through the bonfire.

"Bisharp, wait." Tyrunt stopped him before he left. Bisharp turned around to face him, expecting something significant.

"You know that I didn't vote for Jumpluff yesterday, right?" Tyrunt said, his voice soft and reserved.

"Yes, it might be a bit hard to believe but…" Bisharp was about to tell Tyrunt.

"It was Grovyle. I knew what happened yesterday… in the night." Tyrunt acknowledged.

Bisharp widened his eyes, caught a bit off guard. "Oh, I'm sorry for acting a bit exasperated and provoked yesterday. You must be scared." Bisharp apologized.

"Well, it isn't that scary. What is really the relationship between you and Grovyle? I don't understand." Tyrunt wanted an explanation.

Bisharp sat down on the beach, gazing upon the sea.

"Well, we started off as alliance mates in the early game. Initially, I… I will come clean and honest with you. I merely think that all of you are just pawns to be utilized in order for me to advance further in this game. I sided with Skrelp multiple times, trying to mask myself as the master manipulator archetype in Total Drama with Grovyle as my minion. However," Bisharp suddenly sobbed, shocking Tyrunt. His eyes viewed the sea waves with bitter grief and nostalgia.

"I bonded with Jumpluff here and she changed my perspective on a lot of things. Even though, she had many troubling issues of her own… she still spared the time for someone like me. I changed my approach and attitude about this game. However, apparently Grovyle was turned off by that. He was the one using me… In reality, I'm just a foolish puppet strategist that he tried to take advantage of." Bisharp emotionally recalled his fondest and worst memories.

Tyrunt sat down next to him, trying to share the moment. However, the sand beneath him collapsed and two sandcastle arms grasped him.

"Help!" Tyrunt desperately cried for help.

"Don't panic, Tyrunt." Bisharp advised as he scrutinized the sand around him. The sand moved on its own as if some sort of ghost or spirit controlled it.

"Palossand, show yourself." Bisharp figured it out. Emergently, Palossand rose up with a honey jar and a Combee hat.

"Want some honey and free hugs?" Palossand asked, squeezing poor Tyrunt.

"No thanks. Just the honey." Bisharp refused the offer. Tyrunt struggled in the arms of the Palossand.

"Help, I can't breathe." Tyrunt pleaded for the Palossand to let go. His face was turning purple. After some persuasion, Palossand freed Tyrunt and Bisharp got some honey. Combee interns can only fill one jar of honey so Tyrunt got none.

"I will go and deliver the honey. Do whatever you wish Tyrunt, but be careful of Ursaring." Bisharp cautioned before he left.

Tyrunt looked at his empty jar and placed his hands on the hips. "What will I ever do?"

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt** **:** "I want to help Bisharp but all of this is just too much for a gamer like me, you know? I'm used to being the protagonist in the game with all the cool, awesome, unrealistic talents. Out here, I'm just Tyrunt. I'm a puny and weak gamer. If I help Bisharp… It means that I'm making an enemy of Grovyle and I'm scared." Tyrunt looked away. "I can't even find honey on my own."

* * *

The score was two against two after Duosion delivered her honey jar. Ursaring started to feel the heat after he chased Rhyhorn and Nosepass to no success.

"Stop running away!" Ursaring yelled, close behind Rhyorn and Nosepass. They were fast approaching a detour.

"I will distract him, go and find some honey." Rhyhorn told Nosepass, who was on his back. Nosepass nodded as Rhyhorn dropped him off and took the detour. Nosepass scrammed with all his might and took the other path with two honey jars. One his, another Rhyhorn's.

Ursaring stopped and thought for a moment, tapping his chin.

"On one hand, I hate that persistent trapper Rhyhorn. On one hand, Nosepass is an easy prey. I will go for Nosepass." Ursaring chose to chase after Nosepass.

Once Rhyhorn realized that no one followed him, he quickly made a U-turn.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn** **:** "I didn't expect that."

* * *

Scolipede and Ledyba searched together through the forest. Scolipede took the lead, making sure that the path ahead was safe.

"Look, there are strange looking shrubs. They might be poisonous, we should avoid it." Scolipede was very cautious.

"I think you are overreacting. Their color is green like all the other ones." Ledyba stated.

"Well, I don't want you to get hurt. Nature is elusive and dangerous. I remember the time when a Kecleon jumped out of nowhere and attacked me." Scolipede's eyes darted from place to place, squinting at any signs of threat. Ledyba sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Help!" They heard a scream from nearby. The two rushed over to a clearing close to them. In the middle of the clearing was a giant tree. There, they found three things. First, they found a Wimpod with a Vespiquen hat. Beside him was a giant container filled with honey. Second, they found Nosepass close to the Wimpod with two honey filled jars. Third, they found an unwelcomed guest, Ursaring.

Ledyba nearly flew into the clearing until Scolipede held her back.

"Don't get involved, he is on the other team." Scolipede whispered, keeping his voice low. Ledyba seemed a bit hesitant when listening to him but agreed in the end.

"Rawr!" Ursaring intimidated Nosepass with Scary Face. Nosepass' legs shook like marbles, which shouldn't be possible for a rock type like him. Wimpod spectated, clearly looking scared as well.

"Don't hurt me." Nosepass pleaded as Ursaring got closer and closer.

"Eek!" Nosepass screamed and smashed both honey jars with cowardice. Ursaring snickered. Wimpod frowned at this.

"Man, you should look at your own face. Selling your team out that easily? What a coward." Ursaring mocked before he left. Nosepass looked red in embarrassment.

"Why did you do that? You should just get eliminated out of the challenge so your team won't be mad at you." Wimpod seemed disappointed.

"I'm scared." Nosepass defended himself.

"You won't win at this rate. You promised me that you will win. Please try harder." Wimpod tried to encourage Nosepass but the opposite seemed to happen instead.

"I guess I'm just not brave or good enough." Nosepass left with his head down. Rhyhorn arrived and instantly realized the situation upon seeing broken honey jars. They two left, looking disappointed.

Scolipede and Ledyba appeared. Ledyba in particular looked at Nosepass retreating figure with sympathy.

"We can't save him. Let's go and fill our honey jars." Scolipede nudged. Ledyba nodded as she followed Scolipede to fill in their honey jars.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba** **:** "I feel very bad for Nosepass. Everyone just seems to pick on him for being a coward. There's nothing wrong with being scared. He just needs that supportive push to get over it."

 **Scolipede** **:** "My biggest concern with her is that she is too nice, kind of like Houndour. Maybe, that's why the two get along so well. I know that she means it genuinely and sincerely but it might end up hurting her someday. There is no way I will let something like that happen to my girlfriend."

 **Nosepass** **:** "So what if I'm a coward? Nobody cares about me anyways."

* * *

Drifblim got a honey filled jar from Lurantis (Combee) inside the auditorium and left to meet up with the other two.

"Girls, I hit jackpot and got some honey!" Drifblim said fanatically.

"Insignificant, the individual immunity portion counts the most. We should just concentrate on hiding from Ursaring and claim victory that way." Skrelp said selfishly.

"If everybody in the world thinks like you then nothing works." Heracross made a point.

"Fortunately, this world is filled with enough of those blue-collar morons for the world to function." Skrelp argued.

"Blue-collar moron? Are you talking about me?!" Heracross looked offended.

"I'm surprised that imbeciles like you even know the literal definition of blue-collar." Skrelp said in a condescending tone. Heracross grabbed her up by the neck.

"Say that again!" Heracross dared.

"Girls, please just calm down. Can't you just enjoy the game?" Drifblim intervened, luckily.

"Say that to her, she just likes to pick fight with others. Can't even believe I'm stuck with you." Heracross growled.

"You clearly have no choice. If you leave the safe sanctuary that I provide for you, feel free to be eliminated by the likes of Lucario." Skrelp grinned, thinking that she has the upper hand.

"You think that I have no other allies?" Heracross asked, staring straight into her face.

"Are you referring to your obvious affiliation with Miltank?" Skrelp revealed and Heracross grit her teeth. Unknown to the both of them, Drifblim was already gone. Her presence replaced by a bear leaning next to them.

"Done talking yet?" Ursaring sneered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim** **:** "Oh, why must those two always pick a fight with each other? Very wise indeed, making loud noises so Ursaring can maul both of them." She sarcastically mocked.

 **Heracross** **:** "I can't believe I'm eliminated because of her!"

 **Skrelp** **:** "The blame is entirely on Heracross' end. I control the volume of my voice to the extent that it should be inaudible to Ursaring."

* * *

The score was updated. It was now four to three with Flygon in the lead. Surprisingly, there was one Pokemon with an empty jar, Lucario.

"I swear Ursaring is setting up some sort of prank on me." Lucario started to doubt the fairness of the challenge.

The professional athlete blazed through the forest area with an insane speed. He eventually reached a small grove with a moss rock centered.

"I haven't seen this place before." Lucario looked around a bit, trying to get familiar with the surroundings. Like a fated meeting, he saw a certain mushroom Pokemon with a Vespiquen hat behind the moss rock.

"Nice to see you again, Lucario." Shiinotic greeted sarcastically, twirling her jug of honey.

"Just give me honey." Lucario said simply, he didn't want to deal with her.

Shiinotic gestured for Lucario to come closer and tilted her jug slightly so that only a few droplets of honey fell into his jar. Lucario face started to redden but he didn't complain at first. Ungenerously, she stopped after several droplets.

"What the hell?" Lucario yelled deafeningly, frustrated and angry.

"You should know that honey has high viscosity. It takes time and energy." Shiinotic made an excuse. Lucario used this opportunity to try and steal the jug by force. However, Shiinotic dropped it on the ground.

"Oops." Shiinotic whistled, trying to act innocent.

"This is unfair! I demand a compensation!" Lucario protested but Shiinotic ignored him.

"Hahaha…" Suddenly, there was a laughter behind Lucario. The professional athlete turned around to see Ursaring rolling on the ground. Soon after, Shiinotic joined in as well.

"I can't believe that you couldn't figure it out. I used my first chance card on you." Ursaring revealed, flipping a card with the words 'Public Enemy' for Lucario to see.

Lucario snatched the card and read the effect. "Choose one contestant to mark as the public enemy. All the interns must do everything in their power to stop the public enemy from succeeding the mission. The effects last throughout the whole game. Note: it can only be used once in one of the three games." Lucario looked very furious after he finished.

"Hahaha…" Both interns continued to laughed and pointed at him childishly.

"Yes, you can stop me so laugh all you want but you can't stop me from helping my teammates to win this instead!" Lucario indicated before he sprinted away, back to the camp.

"Hey, I'm not done laughing at you yet and I still need to eliminate you." Ursaring pushed himself off the ground and tried to catch up with Lucario.

Lucario boosted himself with all of his energy, running faster than anyone can imagine. With a trail of smoke behind him, Lucario reached the camp in a short moment of time. Once there, he saw Meowth with an empty jar of honey.

"I can explain, Lucario." Meowth said, sweating a bit.

"Perfect, get on my back." Lucario said something totally unexpected to Meowth. The cat went along with it and caught a ride on the Lucario Express.

"Woah." Meowth hung on to the best of his capability as Lucario piggybacked him to the moss rock. Ursaring stopped running after him fruitlessly and decided to call it quits for now.

Shiinotic dropped her jaw once she realized what Lucario did.

Lucario handed his honey jar to Meowth. The business man got into the action immediately.

"Miss, a jar of honey please. You can keep the changes." Meowth purchased the item as Shiinotic still got some extra reserve of honey left and the Feckless Flygon finished their mission.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring** **:** "Well, time to go for the Crazy Crawdaunt." He sounded disappointed.

 **Lucario** **:** "Make me the public enemy? I can still win. That's how good I'm unlike you losers."

 **Shiinotic** **:** "I despise immature Pokemon like Lucario. Just because you are a successful professional athlete doesn't mean that you deserve to be treated above everyone else. He looks down on others and dictates his team. No matter how strong you are, Lucario. I bet that you got the least emotional intelligence in this island, maybe even less than the likes of Larvitar and Meowstic."

* * *

In the Delibird Workshop, Smeargle (Combee) was spotted by two Crazy Crawdaunt members: Grovyle and Dedenne.

Grovyle filled Dedenne's honey jar for her. The little mouse seemed delighted as the two returned safely.

Along the way, Skarmory made another announcement. "The Feckless Flygon completed their first mission. Hurry up, Crazy Crawdaunt."

"We need one more." Grovyle told Dedenne and the two nodded.

* * *

Tyrunt sat with Palossand, looking at his empty honey jar.

"I don't think I can find any interns, Palossand. I'm such a loser." Tyrunt insulted himself.

"Aw, don't say that. Want a hug?" Palossand offered but Tyrunt declined by shaking his head.

Gradually, a figure descended down from the sky. It was a pelican with something in its pouch. Tyrunt and Palossand looked up at the Pelipper with baffled expressions.

"Ahem, is this Skarmory Island?" Pelipper asked.

"Yes." Tyrunt answered, unsure of the situation.

"I have a special, delivery package for Mr. Ursaring." Pelipper took a brown package out from his pouch and placed it down.

"Can you please sign this?" Pelipper asked, holding a pen and piece of paper out for one of them to grab. Tyrunt and Palossand looked at each other. The gamer looked nervous.

"I will sign." Palossand volunteered and signed something without Ursaring's permission. Pelipper accepted the signature nonetheless, his job was now done.

"Please remember to use the Pelipper Mailing Service again or PMS for short." Pelipper said his parting words before he flew away.

"What's in the package?" Tyrunt asked curiously as the Palossand started to unbox the package.

The two saw… a jar of honey inside.

"Hey, can I take this? Is that against the rules?" Tyrunt asked, hoping that he will get lucky.

"No, it's not if I give it to you. However, I will only do it if you give me a hug." Palossand really wanted that hug.

Tyrunt gulped. "F-fine. Don't hug me too hard." Tyrunt hesitantly walked up to the sandcastle and open his arms. Palossand squeezed his body painfully once again…

"It hurts. Ouch." Tyrunt yelped as Palossand continued to hug him tightly.

"Is this how love feels?" Tyrunt wondered as he remembered the Archeops situation.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for Tyrunt, the moment was cut short because the package owner arrived.

"Hey! What did you do with my honey?! Are you trying to steal it?!" Ursaring accused.

"Sorry, gotta go." Palossand quickly disappeared leaving Ursaring with Tyrunt.

Ursaring gasped once he saw that the package was opened, giving Tyrunt a deadly glare.

"What did you do?!" Ursaring interrogated.

"Well, we signed the package for you so you can get it faster." Tyrunt tried to sound like he was helping Ursaring.

"You are dead." Ursaring said these three simple words in a serious, deadly tone. Tyrunt was terrified and petrified.

Ursaring stomped toward Tyrunt slowly as the gamer gulped and prayed for a painless death, or rather beating.

"Tyrunt, what happened?" Nosepass appeared behind Ursaring, oblivious. He was just searching for honey.

"Bwahaha, the coward again? You know, some might smash one honey jar. But you, the biggest coward of all time, smash two! I can't believe that you sell out your Rhyhorn friend so easily." Ursaring poked fun of him. Nosepass looked down on the sand.

"You are just Larvitar's minion. You can never stand up for yourself." Ursaring continued to berate him. Nosepass started to feel the boiling anger inside his rocky body. He seethed. Tyrunt looked at him with pity.

"I might be a coward…" Nosepass spoke and the two widened their eyes. "I might be weak and pathetic but at least, I will put up a fight! I'm tired of this insufferable life!" Nosepass resolved. He dug up a handful of sand and threw them at Ursaring. The bear wasn't prepared for this.

"My eyes." Ursaring rubbed his eyes.

"Run, Tyrunt, run!" Nosepass shouted for Tyrunt to run. Immediately, the gamer fled as fast as possible.

"Take more of this sand." Nosepass threw more sand at him. However, Ursaring blocked it. Nosepass retreated backward, dreaded the worst. Ursaring stepped threateningly at him with a dark expression, raising his claw up to… clap for Nosepass.

"What?!" Nosepass was shocked.

"Nosepass, you got guts to stand up and I respect that." Ursaring complimented, walking closer to him. Nosepass' eyes filled with distrust.

"Can you please step back a little, I feel uncomfortable." Nosepass reverted back to his fearful self.

Ursaring scratched his head, struggling to understand him but did so regardless. Nosepass gestured for him to step back even more and he did until there was a clear escape route.

"Bye." Nosepass quickly ran away.

Ursaring shrugged, clearly confused.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "He is tricking me, I know it. He is going to say nice things about me and then maul me with those sharp claws. I'm smarter than that. I don't trust Pokemon like him especially when he blocked my attack. Unlike Salazzle, he is too strong and threatening."

 **Tyrunt** **:** "That was very brave of Nosepass. He was braver than me…"

* * *

The first game came to an end and Ursaring gathered everyone around the mess hall for the second one.

"The second game is very simple. You race with me to eat a jar of honey. If you finish before me, you are safe. If not, you are eliminated. Here is the thing, you can choose to help your teammates eat but then you are risking yourself to be eliminated as well. I will eat three honey jars to make it fairer. If nobody beats me, the challenge ends and both teams go to elimination." Ursaring finished explaining and most of the contestants looked anxious.

"My diet is very important. Honey is too sweet." Lucario complained.

"Ursaring, are you aware of many precarious effects of overdosing honey such as stomach cramps and diarrhea?" Skrelp informed. Many of the contestants now revolted at the thought of eating an entire jar of honey.

"I eat it often and I'm still fine." Ursaring argued, using his own personal experience.

"Ursaring, your body functions differently from us." Duosion explained.

"Then, what are we going to do for the challenge?" Ursaring didn't want to cancel this delicious challenge.

"I suggest eating my special delicacy." Chef Drapion interrupted.

Many looked at the chef as if he was crazy.

"Do you still want to torture us, chef?" Dedenne frowned.

"My body can't handle any more of that delicacy. My stomach is feeling numb lately." Tyrunt told.

"Chef, you aren't in charge." Scolipede pointed out and many nodded. Chef Drapion started to grumble to himself.

Suddenly, Skarmory made an announcement. "Yes, that's true. Chef isn't in charge. I'm in charge so I get to decide. We will change the challenge from eating honey into eating Chef Drapion's special delicacy to avoid any lawsuits from honey. Enjoy." The announcement ended.

It was decided. Instead of eating all that sweet honey, the contestants get to torture themselves some more with the purple edible, somewhat healthy sludge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring** **:** "Thanks to them, I'm now stuck with three plates of special delicacy." He folded his arms.

 **Tyrunt** **:** "I miss my homemade spaghetti."

 **Heracross** **:** "I'm eliminated so I get to sit out. The jokes on them, not me."

* * *

The challenge started and the contestants ate their special delicacy at different speeds.

Shedinja didn't bother touching his food, he just spun his fork around in a circular motion. "I'm too dead to eat this." Shedinja said, monotone and careless.

As a poison type, it was an easy task. Scolipede lifted his plate up and shoved all of the sludge inside his mouth. He was now done. Immediately, he helped Ledyba to eat hers.

"Thanks, honey." Ledyba was grateful. "Try to eat slowly though."

Grovyle didn't bother with all the forks and spoons. He ate the unconventional way by grabbing the sludge with his hands and slammed them down his throat. Food spewed over around him, hitting Dedenne accidentally.

"Please clean yourself. This is so messy and impolite." Dedenne criticized.

"Sorry." Grovyle apologized but he was done.

Ursaring feasted on his first plate of special delicacy. He lifted his plate up and used a spoon to push all the sludge inside his mouth. He used the same tactic for the other two plates.

Darmanitan ate slowly and politely. He was nearly halfway done. Meowth, Duosion and Dedenne ate politely as well but at a much slower pace.

Tyrunt struggled to force the sludge inside his mouth. His face turned into a nasty purple colour.

Rhyhorn chomped on all the food and he was done as well.

"The food sucks." Nosepass complained as he forced another spoonful of sludge into his mouth. Some of the food got sucked into his nose. "Ew! Bleh." Nosepass vomited in response. He didn't seem to be in a position to compete.

Cryogonal tried to ate hers quickly but failed once the revolting taste of the sludge touched her taste buds.

Ursaring finished his second plate and the pressure was on.

Grovyle helped Dedenne ate and the two were soon done as well.

Bisharp ate at a very steady pace and was done seconds after Grovyle and Dedenne.

Ursaring gobbled half of his last plate down and turned to check on Lucario. The professional athlete just finished his and was about to help Meowth. This was the chance for Ursaring to eliminate him. He rushed through the final stretch.

Cryogonal was done with her plate of sludge.

Darmanitan nearly lost but managed to overcome the odds despite eating with manners.

Houndour finished his last bite.

Drifblim celebrated her success.

The last one to finish was…

Meowth with the help of Lucario. Ursaring was one second too late.

"Damn it!" Ursaring said, annoyed and frustrated at how close he was to beating Lucario.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring** **:** "I got two more chance cards for the final round."

 **Skrelp** **:** "Watching these Pokemon mannerlessly gobbling down their food was repulsive to the very standards of society."

 **Lucario** **:** "Ursaring thinks he can take me down? I will show him who is wrong."

* * *

Contestants left in Ursaring Games exited the mess hall and gathered around Ursaring, anticipating the final challenge.

"We will now start the final game. This game is called Ursaring Hunt and it is very simple. You need to run away from me but you can't exit the camp area or else you are automatically eliminated. My goal is to throw all of you into the mess hall. After five minutes, the team with the most members left standing wins and the other survivors from the other team get individual immunity. Will you save yourself or your teammates? We shall see." Ursaring explained the concept of the final game.

For the Feckless Flygon, the following were still in the game: Lucario, Meowth, Darmanitan, Houndour, Scolipede, Ledyba and Cryogonal.

For the Crazy Crawdaunt, the following were still in the game: Grovyle, Dedenne, Drifblim, Bisharp and Rhyhorn. They were clearly in a disadvantageous position. Can they turn this around?

Ursaring blew a whistle and the contestants scrambled around to avoid him immediately.

Cryogonal thought of a sneaky idea and tried to hide in the girls' restroom but failed because it was locked.

"Well prepared, Ursaring." Cryogonal complimented. She floated behind the Crazy Crawdaunt cabins instead.

Ursaring glanced around at the contestants, enjoying the panicked expressions in their faces once he tried to chase after them. However, he didn't make a real attempt to hunt anyone down yet for the first ten seconds. After that? Well, he did something.

"Chance card number two, Robot Ally!" Ursaring announced and raised the card up in the air. Right there and then, there was a sound of a terrible machine. A sound of a terrifying dark beast roaring and driving straight into the camp.

It was Raticate with his Raticatebot D-type, the machine looked like it was fixed after the damage from yesterday.

"Ugly kids, I can't directly put all of you in the mess hall but I sure can help Ursaring get his smoking revenge and mine as well. Also, you can't attack me." Raticate told before he pressed the button and started to chase after his victims.

Raticate got his eyes on Scolipede and Ledyba. He pressed a button and released a horde of D-type Rattata to attack both of them.

"Chew those ugly kids up." Raticate commanded and the Rattata swarmed Scolipede first, biting his back, his face, his rear. Basically, his entire body.

Ledyba tried to knock some of the Rattata off but they pounced on her instead.

"Run away!" Scolipede suggested, giving her an assuring look.

"No, I want to help you." Ledyba refused to leave him.

"Gotcha." Ursaring captured them thanks to his robot allies and tried to drag them both inside the mess hall.

"Not so fast." Lucario intercepted Ursaring once he nearly reached the mess hall. Since the professional athlete couldn't hurt him, he pulled Ledyba away from his claws instead. Leaving Scolipede as the only to be eliminated, minimizing the casualties. Ursaring wasn't mad, strangely.

"Oh, you are so getting it, tough kid." Raticate crashed into Lucario when he was unaware and tried to force him into the mess hall.

"You fall into my trap, Lucario." Ursaring grinned victoriously.

"Ugh." Lucario grunted as he tried to push the Raticatebot back but it was too powerful even for the professional athlete. Although, it didn't seem like Ursaring wanted to finish him off yet.

"I will save you for last, there are other preys to catch." Ursaring left for the other contestants, leaving Lucario occupied with Raticate. During this time, Ledyba managed to escape. She looked worried as she flew away.

Grovyle and Dedenne stayed on the top of the Crawdaunt boys' cabin, feeling safe until a ladder slammed against the cabin. Ursaring climbed up quickly and approached the two.

"High places, pretty smart." Ursaring commented.

"Hold on to me." Grovyle instructed and Dedenne did so.

As Ursaring was about to threw his arms around the both of them. Grovyle jumped across to the Crawdaunt girls' cabin. Ursaring sweated as he observed the gap between the two cabins.

"This isn't over." Ursaring climbed down and slammed the ladder against the Crawdaunt girls' cabin, climbing up again… Only to see that Grovyle leaped back to his original cabin.

"Enough!" Ursaring was frustrated and left for the other contestants.

"That's awesome, Grovyle." Dedenne praised.

"Of course, I'm awesome." Grovyle nodded, feeling complacent yet again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim** **:** "Surprisingly, this place is unlocked. As a result, I'm hiding here from Ursaring." There was a knock on the door. Drifblim vanished instantly.

Ursaring opened and let a Rattata enter.

"Do your job." Ursaring ordered and the Rattata started sniffling around before it jumped up and bit Drifblim's arm.

"Good game, Ursaring." Drifblim seemed impressed.

* * *

Drifblim was eliminated. Soon after, Darmanitan was also eliminated as Ursaring cornered him near the benches.

There was about two minutes left. Back near the mess hall, Lucario wasn't the only one struggling.

"Ugly kid, your old man is here to make you pay." Raticate ordered a bunch of his Rattata to chase down Houndour.

Houndour tried to zig-zag around them but they were simply too many to maneuver around.

"Here goes nothing." Houndour tried to jump over them. At first, he seemed successful until Ursaring rushed in to grab him by the neck.

"You are done as well." Ursaring said as he threw Houndour inside the mess hall. Afterwards, he checked up on Lucario, who was still ramming against the Raticatebot. His feet started to slide backwards a little.

"How are you feeling?" Ursaring asked, holding the chin of the professional athlete up.

"Better than you. There are still many contestants left uncaptured." Lucario retorted.

Ursaring realized that the clock was about to run out and left to hunt for more contestants.

"Rhyhorn, I still have unfinished business with you." Ursaring chased Rhyhorn, who circled around Skarmory Shop. Ursaring didn't bother wasting any time and summoned more Rattata to surround the rock rhino.

Rhyhorn didn't say much, rather he tackled through all the Rattata and cleared a path for himself.

"Come back here!" Ursaring shouted as he chased after Rhyhorn. He was about to run out of time.

One minute left… Bisharp hid under the stall of the Skarmory Shop. Meowth hid under the bed inside his cabin. Ledyba hid inside her cabin as well, fortifying herself with pillows and blankets.

Ursaring jumped, soaring through the air and gripped Rhyhorn's horn, turning him around toward to the mess hall. With the combined efforts of all the Rattata and Ursaring himself, he got Rhyhorn inside successfully.

"Yes!" Ursaring seemed proud at his accomplishment. Still, it was too early to celebrate. He brought his final chance card out and spun around before raising it into the air.

"Teleport to Grovyle!" Ursaring announced as he was teleported to the roof with Grovyle and Dedenne through the help of a certain psychic. Ursaring didn't hesitate to grab both of them and raced to the mess hall.

Ten seconds left…

Ursaring was only a few metres away.

Nine seconds left…

Grovyle resisted, trying to break free from the clutches of Ursaring.

Eight seconds left…

Lucario dropped down to his knees after the Raticatebot overwhelmed him.

Seven seconds left…

Meowth got out of under his bed.

Six seconds left…

Ledyba looked outside her cabin.

Five…

Bisharp sneaked out of under the Skarmory Shop quietly.

Four…

Grovyle and Bisharp made an eye contact. They both knew of the consequences if one of them got individual immunity.

Three…

Ursaring arrived in front of the mess hall. Pressing both of his legs against the capturer, Grovyle broke free.

Two…

Grovyle knocked Dedenne out of Ursaring's reach, leaving himself vulnerable.

One…

Ursaring quickly hauled both Grovyle and Lucario inside.

"Feckless Flygon wins with a score of three to two!" Ursaring announced, beaming with joy at his accomplishment.

Astonishingly, a crowd of interns (with the exception of Alakazam, Smeargle and Wimpod) came to carry Ursaring and threw him up into the air.

"You beat Lucario, you beat Lucario!" They all shouted with joy as they carried him away.

"*beep!" Lucario swore and slammed his fist on the ground.

"Chill out homie, you lost to a machine. You put up a valiant effort struggling for so long." Darmanitan consoled.

Lucario didn't look like he was about to calm down anytime soon.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** He started to throw temper tantrums and swore for a while.

 **Skrelp** **:** "Bisharp is immune, which is the worst-case scenario. Perhaps, it is time to eliminate my anathema."

 **Dedenne** **:** "Grovyle, he saved me. He is the sweetest and nicest guy ever."

 **Grovyle** **:** "I need to keep Dedenne by my side no matter what. She is the only one that matters."

 **Tyrunt** **:** "This is my turn to stand up just like Nosepass. Elekid, I hope this makes up for what I did."

 **Bisharp** **:** "This is the first step toward my revenge. His move is well-made but mine will be better."

 **Nosepass** **:** "Like always, vote for Heracross. That's what Rhyhorn always said."

* * *

Tyrunt met up with Grovyle in the forest area. Tyrunt took countless deep breaths, solidifying his confidence.

"Why do you want to meet me here?" Grovyle asked.

"Grovyle, I will give you a chance to admit everything. If you have something that you hide against me, please tell me now." Tyrunt said, looking determined.

"Well, I got one thing to tell you. Tyrunt, I'm sorry for yelling at you after you talked to me about the Houndour thing. I'm very, very sorry. Please forgive me for that." The sincerity of Grovyle's words were ambiguous.

"That's all?" Tyrunt asked in a disappointed tone.

"Yes. Why would I lie to you?" Grovyle assured, placing his right hand on Tyrunt's left shoulder. Tyrunt removed it and Grovyle started to suspect something.

"I guess that's all." Tyrunt went along with it.

"Tyrunt, you don't trust me?" Grovyle said, feeling hurt.

"Grovyle, I will reveal it myself then." Tyrunt didn't hold back any longer. "You eliminated Jumpluff! Not only that but also Elekid and the others! You are the traitor all along! You tricked all of us into believing that you are the good guy! In the end, Bisharp was the one that was in the right! I can't stand for this! I will reveal everything to Dedenne!" Tyrunt threatened, his voice aggressive unlike his usual self. Deep pain was inflicted into Grovyle, his eyes were teary.

Tyrunt turned away, prepared to leave. Until… Grovyle fell down into his knees and cried, holding Tyrunt legs with desperation.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Everything is my fault! I'm just too greedy and selfish but I just want a better life, god dammit! My life isn't easy like yours like all the homemade food and video games. Back where I live, I need to sell even used batteries to earn an income! Please, just don't tell Dedenne. Anything but her! I love her!" Grovyle begged, he sounded so genuine and sincere. His voice was covered with honey. Could he lie? Was that even possible?

Tyrunt looked at his pitiful figure with sympathy. However, he wasn't about to go easy on him.

"I will give you some time so that you can tell Dedenne yourself." Tyrunt won't negotiate further. He pulled his legs away and left. Grovyle was still in the same spot crying for some time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt** **:** "That's all I could offer him. I believe I did the right thing."

* * *

The elimination ceremony was about to begin, Grovyle was rocking back and forth in his puddle of tears.

Suddenly, Drifblim appeared, shaking her head at the sight of the broken gecko.

"Oh, leader. Don't feel defeated and crestfallen. They won't see our ingenious plan coming. Heracross, don't you agree?" Drifblim gestured for Heracross to step out from behind a tree.

"Indeed, I rather replace that stupid seahorse with you, Grovyle. You are miles better than her. We should vote together from now on." Heracross suggested.

Grovyle slowly rose up and smirked.

"Good Guy Grovyle won't go down that easily."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Tyrunt** **:** "I don't know if I should go for Grovyle or Skrelp. Both of them are bad in their own ways."

 **Drifblim** **:** "I'm excited for the voting tonight. It will be interesting for both the viewers and me."

* * *

Skarmory appeared with a plate of Leppa Berries once again. Everyone took their usual seat. Not much changed except for the fact that Tyrunt and Bisharp distanced themselves from Grovyle a bit but not too much to look suspicious.

"Alright, if I call out your name, you get a Leppa Berry and you are safe. It is nice to say this again." Skarmory said, absorbing the atmosphere of the elimination ceremony.

"Sure, you only miss one day." Drifblim remarked. Skarmory shrugged it off as he was used to it.

"Anyways, Bisharp and Dedenne are both safe with individual immunity." Skarmory presented them with an extra, large Leppa berry that they can get to enjoy. Tyrunt looked at the two with envy, licking his lips.

"Drifblim"

"Rhyhorn"

"Nosepass"

"Heracross" Skarmory didn't give her a berry despite calling her name.

"Just give me the dang thing already." Heracross sounded tired and bored.

"Your team could see you as a physical threat. Your attitude in general can also annoy them. However, you will survive for now." Skarmory handed her the berry.

"Skrelp, you are possibly the biggest strategical threat in this game. Yet, you are also cold toward others and you aren't the most social Pokemon around here. Today, you are safe." Skrelp didn't seem surprised.

"Tyrunt, while you look like an ordinary gamer, you have a lot more undiscovered potential." Grovyle looked anxious when his name wasn't called up. "For a kid that got forced on the show by his parents, it is impressive that you last this long. You outlast an alpha female like Archeops." Tyrunt didn't seem pleased when he heard the name.

"However, Grovyle got less votes so you are eliminated." Skarmory revealed the result out of the blue. Tyrunt looked shocked but then he shook his head and rose out of his seat. Some like Dedenne looked a bit shocked as well.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I made that mistake. I voted for Skrelp instead of Grovyle because he looked so sympathetic and seemed genuine about his feelings for Dedenne. Should have known that he will backstab me the first opportunity he gets. I feel sorry for Dedenne, she is going to suffer so much once the truth was revealed. Well, hopefully, I can make things less awkward between me and Elekid. Archeops as well, I guess. Finally, I want to thank my parents for giving me this opportunity to make new friends and learn more about myself.

* * *

Bisharp watched as Tyrunt departed, waving at him. The gamer also waved back at him.

Dedenne came as well but it was too late. Once she realized that Bisharp was there, she stared at him with distrust. Bisharp stared at her back with cold, empty eyes.

"You voted him out, don't you? Along with Skrelp and the others?" Dedenne accused.

"You will soon know the harsh truth and your world will be torn apart." That's all Bisharp said before he left silently.

"What are you trying to say, I don't understand." Dedenne looked puzzled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "Tomorrow, I will show how a real strategist plays this game." Bisharp closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Gradually, he opened his eyelids. His eyes looked powerful and formidable.

* * *

Nosepass exited his cabin for a trip to the restrooms until he saw Rhyhorn out there, travelling to the intersection. This time, he walked sluggishly without any fear.

Nosepass decided to follow him. This might be the time for him to find out the truth.

Rhyhorn never turned to check behind him so things were made more convenient for our amateur spy. There are occasions where Nosepass stepped on some leaves and make a few noises but Rhyhorn didn't hear them. Nosepass sighed in relief.

Rhyhorn finally arrived at the mountain area. He looked around him a bit. Nosepass immediately hid behind a rock around his size. Rhyhorn now felt safe, safe enough to ram into a rock beside the stair leading up to the peak of the mountain. Underneath the rock, was a giant hole descending down to the secret base.

"Those powers-that-be will suffer! Just a bit longer. Hahahaha…" Rhyhorn laughed maniacally unlike his usual silent self. This spooked Nosepass a lot but he remained quiet. After Rhyhorn entered his secret base. Nosepass followed stealthily.

"I'm starting to feel scared, especially in the night." Nosepass' fears started to get the best of him. "But I need to know what is up with Rhyhorn." He mustered all of his courage and descended down the hole as well.

Nosepass heard some noises.

"Lucario, I hate you with a passion. When you lose, you throw tantrums. When you win, you deride all of us."

Nosepass trembled, trying his best to move his stiff legs.

"Skrelp, are we all just imbeciles to you? To us, you are a cold, heartless *beep*!" Rhyhorn swore, this startled Nosepass even more.

"Duosion, you are also smart. I will be keeping my eyes on you. I don't trust any psychic types since that incident."

Nosepass made no comment.

"Meowth, the only thing that matters to you are those sales figure, I know it. Don't even start your public relationships *beep*. I don't buy it!"

"Bisharp and Grovyle. I see the two of you together a few times. Neither of you can trick me."

Nosepass trembled more and more, he started to breath heavily.

"Heracross, you are on the top of my list. From the way you speak to the way you act, I can't find any redeeming qualities about you."

Nosepass was about to see what Rhyhorn had been hiding all this time.

"Nosepass…"

Nosepass dreaded the worst.

"You are like the brother I never have. Your weakness and cowardice… I want to protect you from all the dangers of the outside world but… I'm not in the right state of mind to do so. I'm sorry…"

Nosepass was shocked to hear this as he stepped into the light. His vision blurred for a moment before he saw a room filled with traps. Ranging from trapwires to beartraps… A room filled with large sheets of paper with something written all over in a very unorganized manner. A room with Rhyhorn staring back at him, astonished.

"Nosepass, why are you here?"

* * *

The scene was cut to where Skarmory stood on the dock with his coffee mug.

"Well, the gamer was eliminated. What's next? Did Nosepass make the discovery of his life? I already know all of that a long time ago since Rhyhorn scattered bear traps all over. Let's say Ursaring hold some grudges. Next time, we have a cool and ghetto challenge, yo! Find out in the next episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode off.

* * *

 **Votes**

Rhyhorn: Heracross

Nosepass: Heracross

Tyrunt: Skrelp

Dedenne: Skrelp

Grovyle: Tyrunt

Drifblim: Tyrunt

Heracross: Tyrunt

Bisharp: Grovyle

Skrelp: Grovyle

Heracross: 2

Skrelp: 2

Grovyle: 2

Tyrunt: 3 (eliminated)

* * *

Interesting, isn't it?

The merge is about to arrive, everyone. Just a couple of episodes away. Place your bets. Who will win? Who will return? What is the power of the advantage?

I will work hard to post the next chapter on Christmas to give all of you a little present. (No guarantee!)


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry for finishing this chapter late again. The holidays are pretty busy for me. I should have known that there is no way I can find enough time to finish without rushing. I don't want to rush so I take my time. Hopefully, this chapter delivers.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

I will try my best to get the past tense correct. Most of the time I just put the -ed at the end, which can be wrong in certain cases.

 **Parousia45**

I'm glad that you notice Tyrunt's character development. He has grown a lot since the beginning. While Grovyle is by no means a hero or a good guy, he isn't all bad. Some of the things he said has weight to them. You can kind of see what drives and motivates him. Yet, he is pretty selfish at the end of the day. Rhyhorn is a very interesting character, isn't he? He is reserved but observant. You see… Sometimes, I use foreshadowing to trick others. Sometimes, I don't. A shame that you couldn't play with me but that's fine. I'm quite busy anyways.

 **Yuka Ayna The Being of Balance**

I'm grateful that you like my story despite its flaws. I will try my best to improve even though it will take some time.

 **Sun Demigod**

At the beginning of the game, isn't he a bit suspicious? Right out of the gate, he wants an alliance. He hides behind Bisharp most of the time and thinks of himself highly. That should be enough of a red flag.

* * *

 **Episode 15** **:** **Graffiti Gods**

Rhyhorn gaped at the sudden intrusion of Nosepass. "How did you get in here? Did you follow me? Why did you do this without my permission?!" Rhyhorn asked, demanding a proper reason.

Nosepass looked agitated. "Um, err… I-I just…" Nosepass stuttered, his mind was completely blank. The cowardly intruder scratched his head, struggling to come up with a good answer.

Rhyhorn stared sternly at Nosepass, pressuring him to hasten up.

"I'm curious." Nosepass forced out an answer from his mouth, anticipating the response nervously. "Sorry." Nosepass apologized, hoping that it will tone down his anger.

"Let me guess, you don't trust me, huh?" Rhyhorn assumed and Nosepass turned away, not wanting to face him. Rhyhorn sighed in disappointment.

"You always ran off without a word. I guess you don't trust me as well." Nosepass countered. For a moment, Rhyhorn looked like a hypocrite.

"Nosepass, that isn't why I didn't tell you… I-" Rhyhorn tried to explain himself.

"What's else the reason? I'm a weak coward? Too innocent and naïve to understand anything?!" Nosepass snapped. Rhyhorn took a step back, surprised at his sudden outburst.

"No." Rhyhorn replied straightforwardly. "I don't want you to associate yourself with me. You don't know what you are getting yourself into, Nosepass. Deep inside, both mentally and psychologically, I'm not the Rhyhorn you know. Let's say, I'm insane." Rhyhorn clarified, sounding serious.

"Insane? How could you be insane?" Nosepass said bafflingly.

"Look all around me! Booby traps, tripping wires, sharp saws and incomprehensible writing! Does someone who hides in this kind of place look sane to you?" Rhyhorn questioned, raising his left eye.

Nosepass' body slumped down in defeat. "Who am I going to depend on now when the only Pokemon that considers me a brother won't even be there to protect me?" Rhyhorn looked a bit guilty as he heard this.

"Rhyhorn, I'm truly scared to the bottom of my heart. I thought about this many times… I thought about what would happen if you weren't there to protect me from Larvitar. I probably would continue to be his minion and do bad things to others out of fear." Nosepass admitted.

Rhyhorn averted his eyes. "I'm sure there is someone else to protect you."

"Someone else? Rhyhorn, do you know why I'm always scared? Let me tell you. In school, I'm bullied every single day and there's nothing that I can do about it! The teachers brushed my problem aside as if I'm not worth their time. My parents stood there idly like passive observers. I got no one to rely on." Nosepass told in a depressing tone. Rhyhorn widened his eyes in shock, gaping as he listened.

"I don't know what is the point of my life anymore. Why do I wake up, dreading the day? Why do I sleep, dreading tomorrow? I signed up for this show, hoping that I will get stronger and earn some money to hire bodyguards. However, that doesn't seem likely now. Rhyhorn, please protect me. Who cares if you create all these traps? All I know is that you are like the big brother I never have." Nosepass persuaded.

Rhyhorn gritted his teeth, struggling to make a decision. "Nosepass, you will end up even more scared with me in the long run than without me. Are you still sure about this?" Rhyhorn asked, concerned and worried.

"I'm sure. However, can you please remove the traps now? They scare me." Nosepass replied, not reassuring to Rhyhorn in the slightest.

"We should sleep for now." Rhyhorn suggested and the two eventually headed back to sleep.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn** **:** "Nosepass has no idea what he is getting himself into. I don't want to have something to protect either. It will make me crazier."

 **Nosepass** : "Wait until you see those sharp edges on the bear traps for yourself. Hopefully, Rhyhorn throws them all away. I need him, I really need him."

* * *

Cryogonal couldn't convince herself to sleep. She grew restless every single passing second. Changing her sleeping position by turning sideways didn't help either.

"Why can't I sleep? Is it because of Shedinja? Come on Cryogonal, it is probably nothing. You will end up embarrassing yourself if you try to snoop around his private business." Cryogonal tried to put it out of her mind like a flickering flame before it escalated into a grand blaze. Her body suddenly heated up, forcing her to remove her blanket.

"Why is it getting hot all of a sudden?" Cryogonal wondered. "Screw this, I will head outside and see... a little." Cryogonal glanced around the cabin, making sure everyone slept before she headed out to satisfy her burning curiosity.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "I don't usually do this but there is just something so intriguing about him. He reminds me of myself a bit."

* * *

Shedinja rested on a branch of a giant tree in a middle of a clearing. He gazed upon the shining moon with dead, unenthusiastic eyes.

"They wish for my death. Yet, here I'm on a famous reality show. Oh, their intoxicating agony is so meaningless. I'm dead on the inside. Happy now?" Shedinja talked to himself or the moon?

"Both of you used to bring me out every night to teach me the ways of being a Ninjask. Should've known that neither of you consider a Shedinja as a son. Meh, I don't really care either way." Shedinja drawled, flat and emotionless. There was no sorrow or affection in his voice. He was completely desensitized.

"Today marks my eighteenth birthday, why don't we celebrate?" Shedinja asked apathetically. "I will sing both of you a song. Oh, I almost forgot Ninjask, I bet both of you are showering him with presents right now. You three can listen. A fair warning though, it is boring."

Shedinja started to sing, his prolonged pronunciation made it sound like he was drawling instead.

"The long-forgotten days fading through time."

"My feelings of nostalgia banished."

"Nothing feels the same."

"All three of you hope for me to vanish."

"A talented boy once had many friends. He was cherished dearly by those he called 'family'."

"Nobody treated him like a bug. They surrounded and gave him a hug."

"The long-forgotten days fading through time."

"My feelings of nostalgia banished."

"Suddenly, everything changed. The boy evolved, shedding his broken shell."

"His parents adored him even more. The shell was ignored, living through hell."

"My feelings of nostalgia banished."

"Nothing feels the same."

"There's only enough room for three."

"There's no living for free."

"You all tried to act oblivious."

"I know you all want me to cease into oblivion."

"Meh, not like I care."

"The long-forgotten days fading through time."

"The sentient shell banished all trace of nostalgia."

"A talented boy once had many friends. One by one, 'friends' left him."

"He was dead, better go to bed."

"No Wonder Guard could save him from that terrible fate."

"To them, he was outdated."

"To him, they all perished from his heart."

"Who are they again? The boy couldn't remember."

"I hope for you three to vanish. However, I will leave a farewell present."

"There's enough room for one in Total Skarmory Island."

"I stole your audition tape and broke it."

"I created a new one and sent it."

"The producers thought they found a special bug. However, there will be no hugs for him."

"Meh, not like I care." Shedinja sang to the end, completely emotionless despite what the lyrics made him sound to be.

"I name this song, 'With Spite From Shedinja." Shedinja declared, not noticing or caring about an approaching Pokemon.

Cryogonal gently floated to Shedinja, sympathy filled her eyes. As a comforting gesture, she wrapped her snow chains around him. However, Shedinja didn't seem to appreciate this.

"How presumptuous and impudent of you to be eavesdropping. Have you ever tried asking for permission?" Shedinja pushed her away, distancing himself from her with a disgusted look.

"I just-" Cryogonal was interrupted.

"I want to help. I understand your situation." Shedinja mimicked mockingly. "As if I care or want it."

"Shedinja, I can relate when it comes to family issues." Cryogonal told. "I know how it feels."

"Do you think I feel lonely or in need of empathy?" Shedinja asked, glaring at her patronizingly. Cryogonal was baffled at how he easily rejected her consolation. "There are Pokemon that suffer far worse. My plight is nothing special. I don't care anyways. In the end, I'm glad that they abandoned me." Shedinja said flatly.

"Then why did you sound so sad and miserable singing that song?" Cryogonal pointed out. "There is no need to hide or suppress your feelings, Shedinja."

"Sad and miserable? Ha." Shedinja chuckled. "More like apathetic and lifeless. I think you misunderstood. I sang out of boredom. I slept late because I worked on night shift outside of this game." Shedinja corrected, amused by her assumptions.

"Really? You don't care at all? I doubt that's possible, Shedinja." Cryogonal didn't believe him despite what he said. "To be honest, I'm an orphan. When my father abandoned me, I cried every night, wishing all the pain to go away. I acted disobedient, sarcastic and cheeky to annoy the hell out of the lady who worked in the adoption center so that she would find my father. I can feel your unimaginable pain." Cryogonal empathized.

"That's you, not me." Shedinja drawled before he floated away. Cryogonal watched his sluggish movements with worry.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "His song, I think it hides his true feelings somewhere. I can feel it. Ugh, only if I can remember the entire damn thing."

* * *

Skarmory eyed the camera and cleared his throat before he started the opening.

"Yo viewers, the whole island is about to get artsy. Get what I mean? Anyways, last time, tension rose between Grovyle and Bisharp as they were literally at each other throats. Lucario destroyed Ursaring in his quest for the advantage. Fear not, Ursaring fans, our honey-loving intern got his sweet revenge at the end. Speaking of endings, our gaming bib boy got a game over. What will happen this time? The merge is fast approaching. Stay tuned to find out in Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory recapped.

Meowth woke up early, rubbing his groggily eyes before glancing around the room. Lucario and Houndour were both outside while the others continued to have their rest. Placing his feet down, Meowth got out of his bed and checked outside. Houndour exercised by running around the cabin.

"Good morning Meowth, you woke up early." Houndour greeted immediately at the sight of the businessman.

"The same to you." Meowth returned. "Did you spot anything interesting while hunting for the advantage yesterday?" Meowth inquired.

"Oh, Duosion thought that it was weird for a honey jar to be inside the cave, man." Houndour informed, not withholding any information from him.

"Thanks for your cooperation. I greatly appreciate that." Meowth left instantly after he got the information.

Houndour shouted behind Meowth, as he was about to walk away.

"Hey, want to go inside the cave with the two of us?! Like the good old Treasure Trio days." Houndour offered.

Meowth turned around, scratching his nail. "You see, I'm busy. My schedule is filled. Maybe, next time." Meowth rejected.

"Alright…" Houndour said, sounding a bit disappointed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** **:** "Treasure Trio is a failing subsidiary of mine. It is giving me diminishing returns compared to what I can gain from Lucario. Do you know what I do to failing subsidiaries?" Meowth asked rhetorically. "I shut them down." Meowth smirked.

 **Houndour** **:** "I guess Meowth doesn't want to be with us anymore…"

* * *

Inside the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin, Ledyba hummed quietly but happily to herself. Duosion and Miltank just left moments ago, leaving Ledyba with the still asleep Cryogonal.

"Usually, she wakes up around this time. Oh well, I can afford to wait longer." Ledyba talked to herself, unexpected to see her friend dozing off like this.

The light shined through the window, beaming upon the ice type's face. Cryogonal twisted around a little, turning her back against the rays of sunshine. Eventually, she started to gain consciousness and yawned.

"Finally, I waited for you so that we can go and grab breakfast together. You slept longer than usual." Ledyba indicated.

Cryogonal remained quiet, not giving out a response. Ledyba started to look worried.

"Are you… alright?" Ledyba checked up on her closely, touching her head a little.

"I'm fine. No need to do this." Cryogonal removed Ledyba's hand. "I'm not sick. I'm just thinking about something." Cryogonal clarified.

"What is it?" Ledyba asked.

"Do you think it is possible for someone to hate their own relatives? Not the usual kind of hate, but the deplorable kind that sinks deep into the very bottom of your heart." Cryogonal asked. Ledyba frowned immediately once her brain registered the question.

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." Cryogonal said without any sort of pressure.

"No, it just reminds me of something. I already told Scolipede about this but I think you also have the right to know. I had a Zorua friend who hated his parents for ignoring him. Therefore, he committed many evil deeds so that they give him attention. He was stuck in depression for the longest time ever until one day I befriended him because he was crying all alone. At first, I didn't like him. However, he started to share his story with me gradually and then we became real friends." Ledyba paused pensively.

"He told me that he would commit suicide without me by his side! Those words of his, they made me realize that I can make a difference in this world. Even an ordinary bug girl like me can improve someone's life. It also taught me to never judge someone at first sight." Ledyba retold her story, smiling at the end. "Potentially, this is also why I want Scolipede to trust others more. This world isn't all black and white."

Cryogonal was stunned by the story, listening attentively without interrupting.

"I'm touched by this story and all but did he get along with his parents in the end?" Cryogonal asked.

"Well, he didn't specify it to me but I guess he did." Ledyba answered unconfidently, shrugging a little. Cryogonal nodded.

"Another question." Cryogonal asked further. "Why isn't he your boyfriend? After that kind of story, anybody would expect the two of you to hook up. Am I right?" Cryogonal teased. She nudged Ledyba playfully, narrowing her eyes.

Ledyba blushed red. "Well, we don't see each other in that kind of way." She covered her face in embarrassment.

"Did you cheat on him?" Cryogonal joked.

"Hey, I already have a boyfriend, alright?" Ledyba looked annoyed. The snowflake snickered as her friend folded her arms in a huff.

"Just kidding. Alright, since you tell me your secret. I tell you mine. Ledyba, I'm an… orphan." Cryogonal revealed, shocking Ledyba.

"That's horrible. I feel sorry for you." Ledyba looked down on the ground.

"It is all in the past. I got adopted and things turned out great. Let's go and grab some breakfast." Cryogonal gestured for them both to leave and Ledyba lightened up immediately once she saw the quick recovery of her friend.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "I don't like my father and I still can't forgive him but I… I still feel like there is some sort of bond between us. I guess Shedinja's situation is just on a completely different level of severity.

 **Ledyba:** "I'm glad to be able to share a lot of stuff with Cryogonal. It will bring both of us closer. Hopefully, I can do the same between Scolipede and Houndour."

* * *

Meowth strode excitedly to the cave, money signs (P) flashing in his eyes.

"I'm about to be rich. Another step toward a world of unlimited wealth." Meowth daydreamed. "There is nothing wrong with the rich getting richer. The development gap can widen for all I care." Meowth thought that nothing can go wrong.

However, there were two unexpected guests in front of the Skarmory Cave: Heracross and Miltank. Meowth hid behind a tree.

"Are you sure the advantage is inside here?" Miltank doubted, glancing at the cave. "Lucario explored here before."

"Where else could it be then? In my opinion, the only place that we didn't explore is inside this dang cave." Heracross stated her opinion.

"What about the damn desert area? That place is new." Miltank suggested.

"Your choice, girl. We better get that advantage and use it on that stupid Shedinja and kick his butt out of here!" Heracross shouted, raising her fist gleefully.

"He is just a lonely, self-repressed bug. Look at how he isolates himself from everyone. No point going for him when he isn't even that great at challenges." Miltank rationalized. Deep inside, she grew tired of Heracross moaning about Shedinja. Although, she didn't want to say it straight to her face.

"Whatever. Let's go." Heracross led the way to the desert area, allowing Meowth to enter the cave.

"That was close." Meowth muttered, sighing in relief.

The business cat entered the gloomy and vile cave. The sharp rocks protruding from the ceiling threatened first-timers. However, Meowth was a veteran explorer, the entire area was mapped inside his head. He navigated carefully, avoiding traps like pressure plates. Without Duosion, the task was difficult like running a business without employees.

"The advantage is within my reach. Just a little further." Meowth motivated himself. He twiddled with his hands, the sheer exhilaration started to get on his nerves.

Reaching the end of the first level, he delved further down. His legs pressed firmly against the ladder and descended down at a speedy pace.

Droplets of water fell from the ceiling, drenching the shiny, golden amulet coin on his forehead slowly. Meowth scowled at the ceiling, wiping it off.

"Wait until I renovate this dumpster, I will turn it into an excavation site for ores and minerals. Free of charge for the public to view." Meowth affirmed.

Eventually, he arrived at the floor filled with mountains of garbage. How did they manage to erect themselves?

"Where is it?" Meowth wondered, a bit lost.

He dug through a pile of garbage, tainting his own hands with gooey, slimy green liquid and black soot.

"What the hell are these unsellable materials?" Meowth revolted as he tried to brush them all off against the floor, only to scratch his own hand with the rough surface.

"Ow." Meowth yelped. Luckily, he didn't bleed. Groaning, he searched thoroughly the floor until he came across a honey jar at the end.

"Hmm…" Meowth pondered as he found nothing. "It must be somewhere around here." He started to scurrying around anxiously.

Seeing nothing else, the cat tried his luck by lifting the old collections of bottles and boxes. Suddenly, a silver gleam reflected against the golden grime on his forehead. His body might be blackened and corrupted by all the garbage, but the sight of a silver bird on a platform purified his spirits. Meowth found the advantage.

"My monopoly! Oh, my monopoly!" Meowth exclaimed before he noticed a note alongside.

"The Silver Skarmory Statue whipped you a second wind or in this case a second elimination. After someone has been eliminated, you can give that Pokemon the much-needed company by playing this statue. It triggers a double elimination where you will be safe. During the second elimination, you also have the power to inspect the votes and remove one that you dislike." Meowth chuckled darkly, grinning at his fortune.

"Did I hear something down there?" A voice echoed inside Meowth's mind, the voice was Houndour's. Fear and panic settled and Meowth hid himself by diving into a garbage mountain, shaking the entire structure up.

"Houndour, it should be right around there." Duosion indicated. The two searched around the honey jar but found nothing after quite a while.

Duosion looked perplexed and frustrated. "I swear the advantage is somewhere around here." Duosion insisted on searching.

"Well, there's no guarantee. Maybe we should stop, it isn't a big deal anyways." Houndour said, not taking the advantage seriously.

"Houndour, the advantage might be your only life saver! Did you see how Lucario react around you lately? He looked like a general preparing himself for war!" Duosion alarmed, trying to get the point across.

"Duosion, even if we get the advantage, the effect might not be that useful. Besides, I already made myself clear that I don't want to vote out Lucario." Houndour reasoned.

"B-but." Duosion persisted hopelessly until Houndour pressed his lips against her, calming her down.

Meowth peeked his head out of the mountain and covered his mouth at the sight of passionate love. He immediately squeezed his head back inside, accidentally knocking down a bottle.

The raucous sound of the shattered glass ruined the moment, alarming them of a potential threat.

"What's that?" Houndour looked around only to see bits of broken glass.

"I don't know either." Duosion looked deep in thought. "Given that a garbage can randomly fell down before without any influences we know of, I doubt it's anything really." Duosion ignored the slim chance that Meowth hid under the garbage mountain.

"Alright, we should return now." Houndour motioned for both of them to leave. However, Duosion was hesitant, she didn't move from her spot.

"Come on, we should head back. Don't worry about me so much, we should just focus on winning the challenge." Houndour said reassuringly. Duosion sighed.

"I guess you are right. The probability of you staying should theoretically be high." Duosion stated, with a slight hint of optimism. Houndour smiled at this and the two left.

Meowth slowly got out of the garbage mountain, careful to not make any noises or impulsive movements. He removed a banana peel from his head and retrieved the statue.

"Time for the grand reopening of Meowth & Co. Ltd." Meowth smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Statistically, assuming the challenge favors both side equally, we have a fifty percent chance to win. In addition, Houndour got ties with many members in our team like Ledyba, Cryogonal and hopefully Meowth. All of this does equates to a higher than average odds, hopefully…"

 **Houndour:** "She shouldn't worry about me too much. Everything should be alright."

 **Meowth:** He looked as clean as ever after a long shower. "My next business strategy is to form connections with the other team. The matter of the advantage can be saved for a later discussion."

* * *

Bisharp sat on a bench, basking under the melancholy sunlight. The cogs of his brain were turning and gearing up for his revenge. He lifted himself up, before he headed to find someone with a brooding expression.

In the corner of his left eye, he spotted Grovyle and Dedenne laughing together. Bisharp scoffed and sneered at them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "My parents… They want me to destroy and clown the competition. I guess… they will be getting what they want after all."

* * *

Meowth treaded the Crazy Crawdaunt's territory, trying to find someone. As of right now, he headed to the benches. Coincidentally, he walked past Bisharp and both of them exchanged glances.

"Meet me in the forest area." Bisharp whispered, acting natural as Grovyle was nearby. Meowth nodded slightly.

The two parted ways for the moment, they shall reunite with each other soon enough.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I think I should throw a small party for my new employee. Welcome to Meowth  & Co. Ltd, Bisharp."

* * *

Meowth sat on a wooden stool with a wooden table in front of him, waiting patiently for Bisharp to arrive. On the table, there was a Soda Pop and two wine glasses.

Bisharp walked over sullenly, but with resolution. He gave a weak smile at what Meowth prepared for him.

"Surprising? I paid Skarmory a hefty sum of tokens for him to prepare this." Meowth told, opening the Soda Pop cap. "Personally, I want to pour you an expensive glass of wine. However, this is all I can offer in this remote island." Meowth poured the Soda Pop into both wine glasses and handed one to Bisharp as he sat down.

"Cheers." Meowth collided his wine glass with Bisharp's and the two drank the soda heartily. Bisharp didn't seem fond of the taste but drank it as a polite gesture nonetheless.

Meowth held his hands together. "I assume we have the same goal in mind, creating a partnership between us." Meowth started the talk.

"Indeed, do you want to know why I choose you?" Bisharp poured some more soda into Meowth's glass.

"Why, if I may ask?" Meowth was curious.

"Because you are the type that will agree with my plan." Bisharp revealed, observing the businessman.

"Understandable. I accept every kind of deal, whether good or bad. Unlike someone like Houndour, who refused to work with me in that kind of… _business_. I'm dejected when he refused to accept my deal and hold hands with me. What about you? Will you accept the hand that I have given you?" Meowth sipped the soda, eyeing Bisharp carefully.

"Nothing is free to you, Meowth. I can comprehend your business mentality. You want something in return from me but did you do your research about what I truly want?" Bisharp questioned, lifting his eyes at Meowth.

"Of course, you want revenge against Grovyle for eliminating Jumpluff." Meowth answered, his sharp eyes pierced through Bisharp.

"And you want my vote and information." Bisharp shared the same gesture. Both of them smirked identically.

"Here is my plan, Meowth..." The conversation got cut off.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I didn't tell him about the advantage…yet. I prefer to keep that little secret to myself."

 **Bisharp:** "Grovyle and Skrelp, both of you won't last for long."

* * *

Skarmory called everyone to meet him near the second intersection with his megaphone. Once they gathered there, they eyed two boxes next to the host with curiosity.

"Contestants, we are about to have our next challenge. Let me explain. Like the seventh challenge, each team will be given either an attacking role or a defending role. Before I tell you everything, let me show first." Skarmory used Steel Wing to slash both boxes upon. Inside one box were graffiti cans. The other held cleaning sprays and pieces of cloth.

"This is how the game works. The attacking team needs to paint graffiti in the form of another contestant's face and their name down to eliminate that contestant right away. However, you will need to keep your artwork protected from the defending team and it must look clear enough to me. The objective of the defending team is to erase all the graffiti until time runs out so they get to attack afterwards. Here is the thing, there are only three special walls that you are allowed to paint on. One in haunted area, another in snowy area and the last in desert area. Each wall can only eliminate three contestants in each round." Skarmory sipped his cappuccino before he continued to explain. Drifblim shook her head at this.

"The Feckless Flygon will get to attack first since they won the last challenge. However, to make it fair, their first attacking period will be short. Any questions?" Skarmory asked, glancing around at the contestants.

Lucario raised his right hand up first. "Can we knock the other team out cold?" The Crazy Crawdaunt members glared daggers at him.

"No. You can fight but don't use moves or do any serious damage to maim the other team." Skarmory disallowed. "We don't promote graphic violence here in Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory said, just in case.

Skrelp raised her right fin up next. "Will the locations of the special walls be revealed exclusively to the defending team?" Skrelp brought up a good point.

"Nope, both teams will know it but the defending team will start near the walls." Skarmory explained.

Dedenne raised her left hand up next, frowning. "Skarmory, I believe you are promoting vandalization through this challenge."

"Indeed, how unprofessional of you." Drifblim agreed, nodding her head. Skarmory seemed annoyed, very annoyed.

"Hey, think positively. Both of you are only thinking about the attacking side. Cleaning all the graffiti is a good thing." Ledyba pointed out, to Skarmory's pleasure.

"I agree. That advocates positive actions in the society. Good on you, Skarmory." Houndour supported and Skarmory nodded profusely.

"Dedenne and Drifblim, I appreciate both of your concerns but I believe both of you are being a bit too cynical. Try to learn from the other two." Skarmory responded, chiding both of them. Both Dedenne and Drifblim seemed taken back, widening their eyes in complete surprise.

"We will now start the challenge." Skarmory announced.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Did I just got a burn by Skarmory?"

 **Dedenne:** "I never realize that. Am I cynical?"

 **Nosepass:** "Lucario is such a jerk. Is that brute trying to kill me?" Nosepass quivered.

 **Ledyba:** "I feel like Drifblim picked on Skarmory too many times so I defended him. He isn't a bad host in any way."

 **Grovyle:** "Back at home, my friends also call me the 'Graffiti God'. I will get to show the viewers my coolness in this challenge." (Painting graffiti is cool?)

 **Lucario:** "The merge is close. I need to keep my team strong by winning this challenge."

 **Duosion:** "I wonder how neat the painting needs to be. I'm not exactly the most artistic girl but I think I can manage to paint a simple picture with geometric shapes."

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt already split into three groups, heading to their respective locations. Meanwhile, the Feckless Flygon discussed about their strategy in the intersection. A box full of graffiti spray cans was there, next to Lucario.

"I have a plan and it is a simple one. We send one weak member to distract our opponents. A strong member will then block the pathway to the wall while the final member paints the graffiti. I suggest to eliminate the defender that is the closest to you. Any objections?" Lucario addressed all of his teammates, trying to listen to them despite the grumpy expression on his face. Scolipede frowned, compressing his lips. Seemingly, he was dissatisfied with something Lucario said.

"Here we go with all the _weak_ member, _strong_ member again. You degrade us too much, Lucario! Just because you are a professional athlete doesn't mean you are superior. All of us are sick of how you blow up and publicly shame us. Your temper and lack of sportsmanship is contemptible. I don't understand how your reign of iron fist manage to bring your team to the top. I'm done with a dictator like you!" Scolipede vilified, ranting on and on.

Lucario breathed heavily, clenching his fist. If it wasn't for Darmanitan holding him back, there could be a few casualties…

"Chill, chill…" Darmanitan repeated. "They will listen if you talk to them politely."

"Scolipede, why did you say all of those things? Lucario isn't that bad." Ledyba held Scolipede tightly by his arms. She glanced at how Lucario reacted, deeply mortified and terrified.

"I can't see someone like him caring about us. He only cares about victory and winning." Scolipede replied. Upon seeing the look in her eyes, he started to feel a horrible feeling urching up his stomach.

"All of you are so sensitive and emotional!" Everyone turned to Lucario as he started his response. "I'm only trying to maximize your chances of winning. Is that so wrong?" Lucario asked rhetorically. Scolipede averted his eyes a little.

"I expect everyone to be able to put their personal matters aside and focus on the game just like doing a job. Winning means doing your job well and losing means failing at your job, get it?' Lucario asked, raising his chin up. Meowth nodded.

" _Weak_ member, _strong_ member? Those words don't hold any weight in my eyes. It is all about effort. How much dedication, hard work and time are you willing to put into your training to get stronger! After my training sessions fell into ruins and shambles, I thought that none of you want to get stronger. I can't bring this kind of team to the top. There used to be a glimmer of hope. Now, all of you just crush that little faith and hope I have left." Lucario walked away, motionlessly. His teammates looked at him guiltily.

"Let's go, Darmanitan. We can go to the snowy area. I need some time to chill out." Lucario called his fan over. Darmanitan hesitated at first but quickly followed him soon after, bringing two spray cans with him.

"What about the rest of us?" Houndour asked.

Lucario didn't turn back to face them. He just said something quietly, unlike his usual self. "Do whatever you want." Houndour's ears drooped as he heard this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "Scolipede doesn't see what kind of Pokemon Lucario truly is. That guy really cares about his team. I guess it is just like when I first met Zorua…" Ledyba looked a bit sorrowful. "Well, I'm his girlfriend so I must try my best to show him the light." She lightened up at the end.

 **Houndour:** "I feel really bad. Lucario tried his best to improve the health and well-being of our team and we returned only animosity toward him."

 **Scolipede:** "Lucario is overbearing. He thinks that by being the leader and contributing the most in challenges, he earns the right to do whatever he wants. Did I owe him anything? No. He did this to himself."

 **Miltank:** "Did you all see how Lucario treated Darmanitan compare to the rest of us? I know for sure that he will keep Darmanitan over me any day. I ain't staying in his little group so that he can milk me up for sale. Nobody here is going to get my Moomoo Milk."

* * *

The rest of the Flygon members excluding Lucario and Darmanitan were still in the intersection, trying to formulate a plan. Unfortunately, they couldn't come up with anything better than Lucario.

"I will go to the desert area. Anyone wants to come with me?" Houndour invitingly looked at his teammates, asking them to join him.

"Obviously, I will go with you. One hundred percent chance." Duosion stated. Houndour smiled at this.

"Scolipede, we should go with him." Ledyba proposed the idea, nudging her boyfriend to go along with it.

"Sorry, I rather go to the haunted area. Three should already be enough. Have _fun_ with him." Scolipede eyed Houndour coldly, turning left to separate from them. Both Houndour and Ledyba frowned, heading to the right. Duosion stared at Scolipede with slight distaste and disapproval before she left.

"Alright, see you then." Ledyba mumbled with sadness in her voice.

"What are you doing? Go with her!" Cryogonal slapped Scolipede's side with her snow chains mightily.

"Ow, what did I do wrong?" Scolipede gave a grimace of pain.

"Why did you left her?! Don't tell me that Houndour is the only reason. You are such a petty man." Cryogonal scolded, hitting him again.

"Hey, stop. It hurts." Scolipede pleaded. "I just don't want to be a bother, alright? Ledyba will have an easier time around Houndour without me."

Cryogonal stared at Scolipede criticizingly, upset and not impressed by his defense. Scolipede looked tired and irritated.

"Er… I will take my leave then." Meowth felt uneasy at the situation, slowly walking away from the group.

"I will check how homie boy is doing." Miltank minded her own business as she left.

"There's enough room for three. Let's go." Shedinja drawled and Cryogonal's mind switched to him.

"Room for three? Is that-" Cryogonal was about to say something until Shedinja gravely glared at her. He glanced sideways at Scolipede before heading inside the gloomy and dark forest. Distorted wines wrapped around dead trees, sucking its soul and decayed fiber. Yet, nothing appeared to be more lifeless than an empty husk of a discarded shell.

Cryogonal shut up and followed after him solemnly while Scolipede raised his eyes in confusion.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Shedinja… I think he is trying to suppress his feelings by shrugging it off and trying to act all emotionless. This is just my opinion but I believe that he signed up for this show to get some sort of recognition from his family just like Zorua. Poor him."

 **Meowth:** "An urgent meeting suddenly came up. The challenge can queue up behind the advantage. Wait in line, my dear customers…"

 **Scolipede:** "Why is everyone suddenly mad at me? I'm just not ready to face Houndour yet, alright? Here's why…" Scolipede paused, embarrassment creeping up his face in the color of pink. "I don't know how to apologize to him… I realize it now that he is a genuinely nice guy but I don't want to admit it. That is just embarrassing. I started to trust him alongside others like Cryogonal all because of Ledyba but… It's hard to admit that you are wrong sometimes. It is so out of my character to suddenly apologize. Argh! Don't laugh at me, alright?"

 **Houndour:** "Maybe, things will be better if I'm eliminated. Some Pokemon will be happier that way but then some will be sad if I leave."

 **Duosion:** "Statistically, distrust is commonly presented in someone with a lot of insecurities. I don't want to assume but Scolipede got a problem and I'm not happy with that, especially if he tries to vote Houndour off."

* * *

Nosepass paced around nervously in the haunted mansion. The door was barricaded with tables and chairs stacking up from the kitchen. Up the double, grand staircase hung a gigantic, bronze frame with no picture. Apparently, this was the 'special wall' Skarmory was referring to.

Rhyhorn guarded the stairs so that no one can reach the frame, which was the first thing you would see going up the stairs.

Drifblim suddenly turned visible. "Are you boys having a great time?" She asked, pretending to ignore Nosepass' obvious fearful tendencies.

"No! Why am I stuck here?! I'm scared." Nosepass whined.

"Well, you didn't want to face the heat or the cold, remember?" Drifblim reminded him of his decision.

"Hopefully, Lucario doesn't come here." Nosepass prayed.

"…" Rhyhorn didn't say much. Although, he seemed to listen the conversation.

"Knock, knock, pizza delivery." Shedinja suddenly drawled behind the door and all three Crazy Crawdaunt members got into their position. Drifblim turned invisible, trying to attack the invaders by surprise.

Shedinja floated through the door to see Nosepass throwing kitchen cutleries at him. It didn't do any damage.

"Get out of here. You are scaring me." Nosepass squeaked.

Shedinja got directly in front of Nosepass and said something in a very deadpan manner. "Boo."

"Ah!" Nosepass screamed and hid himself in the kitchen. There was a sound of a door getting locked. Rhyhorn observed the situation but didn't move from his spot.

"Easier than I thought. I guess I look like a ghost to him." Shedinja drawled.

Suddenly, Drifblim appeared and carried him away with her arms, through the ceiling and out of the mansion.

"It takes a ghost to beat another ghost." Drifblim said, sounding proud at her accomplishment.

"Yeah, Rhyhorn is now alone." Shedinja pointed out.

"Oh, I'm sure the big guy can take down at least two members." Drifblim looked confident. Shedinja didn't seem to care.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I'm not a fan of ghost types. Especially one that is bug as well. Even though I'm a rock type, I can't do anything against them with my Tackle." He looked disappointed in himself. "Not like using moves is allowed anyways."

 **Drifblim:** "Shedinja is interesting. I wonder why he is in this show. He got the normal 'bored and boring guy' persona yet something sets him apart from the others."

* * *

Lucario and Darmanitan braved through the snowy area. They didn't waste a second to storm the Delibird Workshop with graffiti sprays in their hands until...

"Hey, homie. You know that you still got me by your side, right?" Darmanitan reassured his loyalty as they went past the Christmas tree, closing in to the workshop.

Lucario stopped running for a second and replied. "Yes, but not everyone else. What did I do wrong? No, they are wrong! My method works with the Aura Beast but not with this group of lousy losers!" Lucario yelled, baffled.

"Maybe, you should try to be nice like the Houndour homie. Chillax and they will listen to you." Darmanitan suggested.

"Houndour? He is too soft-hearted! He is one of the reasons why our team isn't functioning as well as I hope. Our team is uncompetitive because of him!" Lucario insulted and blamed Houndour.

"Homie, he isn't that bad. He-" Darmanitan shook his arms, trying to reason.

"Enough, we should focus on the challenge." Lucario shook the graffiti spray can and faced toward the door. Since they wasted so much time rambling on about the team, the Crazy Crawdaunt utilized the opportunity to barricade the door with ten tables, six gift shop shelves, twenty chairs and a wide array of old machinery.

Lucario groaned in frustration.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Wait until I get inside, they will all rue the day they use such cheap tactics." He slammed his fists together.

 **Darmanitan:** "It is hard to persuade the homie when he sets his mind on something. Well, maybe it is also partially my fault. Maybe my reasons aren't convincing enough. My bad." He scratched his head, looking at the camera apologetically.

* * *

There were only two Crawdaunt members in the desert area, Bisharp and Dedenne. They stood distantly from each other in Chef Drapion Grill. Inside the restaurant was a horizontally long whiteboard, it appeared to be the special wall.

Bisharp leaned on the half-opened door, performing a reconnaissance task.

Dedenne looked bored as she wiped the whiteboard pointlessly with a piece of cloth.

The two didn't say much to each other, awkwardness filling the air around them.

"I wonder whose idea it was to pair us together." Dedenne frowned.

"No one but yourself and coincidence. Grovyle allowed everyone to choose wherever they want to go. However, you picked late and desert area was your only choice." Bisharp answered in a matter-of-factly tone.

"That is presumptuous of you. I never ask you a question in the first place." Dedenne didn't seem satisfied with his company one bit.

"Then why did you ask in the first place? The nature of the question doesn't seem rhetorical." Bisharp countered.

"I want to be with Grovyle, not you." Dedenne expressed her contempt and true desire. Bisharp chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Dedenne asked.

"Even if I say it, you won't believe me. Therefore, you need to see it for yourself. Don't you think it is a bit strange that the numbers never go your way?" Bisharp raised these questions up, staring at her confused demeanor. Dedenne scratched her head.

"You chose Grovyle over Jumpluff. Please remember that to the bottom of your heart. You are also equally guilty." Bisharp's words stung deep into Dedenne. The mouse turned her back toward him, not responding.

"You don't understand anything, Bisharp…" Dedenne whispered under her breath.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "My first objective is to plant that seed of doubt inside her head. The second objective will be done soon." Bisharp smirked.

 **Dedenne:** "I'm guilty, I know it but… I thought that it was the best for her to get eliminated. She will end up suffering in the end if she stays here. I did the right thing, right?"

* * *

Grovyle looked through the window of the workshop, scanning the area for any intruders. Suddenly, two figures approached the area. Grovyle squinted his eyes to see the blue beast of Pokeathlon himself, Lucario.

"Code red, Lucario. Code red!" Grovyle panicked.

"Well, time to set up the barricade. Want to help, bookworm?" Heracross said, looking at Skrelp. The water type sipped a glass of hot chocolate in the café.

"Haven't I done my part as a strategist? Both of you can deal with Lucario." Skrelp refused to cooperate, lifting her glass up for another rich sip.

"Thanks, having you here is a joy." Heracross said sarcastically.

"Just ignore her and help me. Your leader is over here, struggling" Grovyle ordered, trying to push five tables all at once to the door. Surprisingly to him, Lucario didn't barge in through the door yet. Rather, he was arguing about something with Darmanitan. Or at least, that's what Grovyle thought.

The two got enough time to set up a barricade, making Grovyle sighed in relief.

"That was too close for comfort." Grovyle remarked. "Still, we better be on our toes."

The door shook rapidly all of a sudden. Heracross and Grovyle pushed the barricade, trying to stabilize the situation. However, they were met with the cruel reality once the door broke open.

Lucario rammed through the entire barricade with a Christmas tree, piercing through the papery thin shield the Crazy Crawdaunt had.

"Surrender now and I will let all of you go easy." Lucario offered, placing the tree down alongside Darmanitan, who was overshadowed behind him.

"Well, we can settle this peacefully, can't we?" Grovyle stepped back, sweating nervously.

"I take on Darmanitan, you take on Lucario. Sounds good? Alright, let's do it." Heracross decided straight away without giving Grovyle the chance to argue. She rushed at Darmanitan, leaving the two leaders to face off.

Grovyle gulped as he retreated until his back was cornered against the door of the storage. Lucario stomped toward him slowly and intimidatingly.

"Where is the 'wall'?" Lucario asked 'civilly', cracking his knuckles.

"Err… In the s-storage?" Grovyle stuttered, sounding unsure.

"Let me see!" Lucario demanded and Grovyle opened the door for him. Once Lucario stepped in to take a closer look, Grovyle pushed him inside and tried to close the door. However, Lucario slid his feet in between, blocking the door and leaving it open.

"I'm just helping you to get a closer look." Grovyle gave him a thumb up, lying hopelessly. Lucario lifted the gecko up and threw him inside the storage.

"Argh. Ow, my head." Grovyle whimpered in pain as his head collided with a steel shelf of toys. Plushes of various Pokemon fell down on his head.

Lucario entered the storage as well, slamming the door shut.

"Where is the wall?!" Lucario asked aggressively.

Grovyle lifted a plush of Lucario up for the real Lucario to see. "Want one?" Grovyle tried to change the topic. Lucario slapped the plush away and lifted Grovyle up by his neck.

"I'm willing to do anything. The wall is inside the gift shop! There I tell you! Please just don't hurt me." Grovyle begged, his eyes were apprehensive and his legs trembled in fear. He looked very pathetic in the eyes of Lucario.

"Anything? How about betraying your team in the merge?" Lucario asked, testing Grovyle. The gecko stared into the devilish red eyes of Lucario. His black pupils consumed him like a black hole.

"Yes, even that." Grovyle submitted cowardly, nodding profusely.

"Good, you better do it." Lucario dropped Grovyle down and he scrambled away quickly.

"Attention contestants, the roles will now be reversed!" Skarmory announced the end of their first attacking period.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Grovyle is pathetic. I won't keep someone like him for long."

 **Grovyle:** "Lucario, you might win this battle but I will win the war." Grovyle used a correct saying for once. "I just want you to underestimate me. I don't cower in fear l-like that." He sounded a bit nervous at the end.

 **Heracross:** "Hah, I stopped Darmanitan. The guy can't even move a step."

 **Darmanitan:** "I gotta admit that Heracross is pretty strong. You deserve that victory, Heracross. Props to you."

 **Miltank:** "Homie boy got thrashed. The fight was spectacular. Heracross knocked him down to the ground with her fists. Bam! One-hit KO! Then, she hurled his defeated body away with her horn. Well, I could help him but nah, he can take care of himself."

* * *

Noticeably, Houndour, Duosion and Ledyba arrived at the desert town. Bisharp was alarmed by their presence and shut the door tight.

"Well, I will try to keep Bisharp occupied. Any of you girls can spray paint efficiently?" Houndour asked.

"I can. I'm pretty good at it." Ledyba volunteered.

"I can't do much to block the Crazy Crawdaunt members without my psychic moves. I fear that I won't be much of help in this challenge." Duosion expressed her concerns.

"Well, you can help Ledyba. I will try my best to block all of them. I'm itching to get into the action, let's do this!" Houndour said excitedly and impatiently.

The three decided to invade Chef Drapion Grill right away. Houndour tackled the door open and allowed the two girls in. Bisharp grabbed hold of him immediately and threw him outside.

"Nice try but you need more than that." Bisharp commented.

"Well, try to catch me if you can." Houndour challenged as he sprinted around the restaurant, trying to go through the window of the kitchen.

Bisharp caught on to this and headed straight away to intercept him.

"Don't vandalize!" Dedenne scolded, unhappy with the graffiti.

Duosion sprayed with the color green to create an oval-shaped body with stick-shaped arms and legs until Dedenne sprayed her cleaning liquid all over it and wiped it clean. However, this gave opportunity for Ledyba to paint freely.

"Finish!" Ledyba exclaimed, impressed with her own work. She painted with the color red, forming a circular body with two eyes and two ears. On the cheeks were antennae. A tail was also included alongside the name of the contestant.

"Hey, I don't look like that!" Dedenne looked offended at the image. "I look out of shape. The eyes were too small as well." She continued to criticize.

"Attention contestants, the roles will now be reversed!" Skarmory announced. "If I call out your name, you are eliminated…" The footage cut to the confessional before he could finish.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne:** "I'm too small. This is so unfair! How am I supposed to wipe all of it clean when my arms struggle to even reach the board?"

 **Ledyba:** "I did what Lucario said. Eliminating the closest opponent to me. Sadly, the time ran out too soon for me to paint someone else."

 **Duosion:** "I'm trying to paint a picture of Bisharp to help Houndour. However, it looked so horrible. Art isn't in my area of expertise."

 **Houndour:** "I'm so close to the board. Only if the time didn't run out first… I want to paint something too."

* * *

Rhyhorn stood still like a sacred statue guarding the stairs. Eventually, the door was forced open. Cryogonal and Scolipede entered, both seemed confident as they outnumbered Rhyhorn.

"You take left, I take right." Cryogonal designated and Scolipede nodded. The two rushed to their respective stairs. Since there was one guard and two staircases, Rhyhorn was met with a dilemma.

Stop Scolipede and let the crafty Cryogonal pass? Or… Stop Cryogonal and let the speedy Scolipede pass?

Rhyhorn decided to block Scolipede and allowed Cryogonal to head upstairs.

"If you don't move, she will eliminate three members easily." Scolipede indicated as Cryogonal got closer to the frame.

Rhyhorn was heavily pressured. The success of the team might solely depend on him. His choice was made for him, however.

"I'm tired of hiding!" A cry was heard from the kitchen.

The door to the kitchen was unlocked and Nosepass ran out, swinging a frying pan around blindly, Luckily, he hit Scolipede on the head as the bug couldn't dodge fast enough.

"Ouch." Scolipede yelped as he got knocked down.

"Go after her quickly!" Nosepass shouted and Rhyhorn didn't hesitate to chase after Cryogonal.

Nosepass stood bravely with a frying pan, stalling Scolipede from getting up.

"I want to at least do this for my big brother…" Nosepass mumbled. Scolipede didn't seem to understand or hear it even.

Rhyhorn charged straight at her with a piece of cloth on his horn. Cryogonal floated out of the way as he erased a poorly drawn semi-circle with a horn and legs. It was a picture of himself.

Cryogonal painted a new one near the top right corner of the frame so that Rhyhorn struggled to erase it. However, she was met with another surprise.

It wasn't Nosepass, Drifblim or Rhyhorn himself but it was Skarmory.

"Attention contestants, the roles will now be reversed!" Skarmory announced. "If I call out your name, you are eliminated. Dedenne… and that's it. Impressive yet expected for a short attacking turn. Please head to the intersection, Crawdaunt members. Flygon members will have some time to plan their defense." Skarmory ended.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "One?! Argh!"

 **Meowth:** "Well, I surprisingly didn't get caught for playing hooky. I just lied by saying I trailed behind Miltank and got a bit lost. Time for some exclusive content for the viewers, I hid the advantage somewhere in case someone tries to search around my bed. I need to keep my silver statue locked in a safe, of course."

 **Cryogonal:** "I'm very close to eliminate Rhyhorn. Only if our advantage is a bit better."

 **Dedenne:** "Well, a bit shameful to be the only one eliminated. But hey, I don't want to paint graffiti anyways."

 **Nosepass:** "I hope that Scolipede isn't angry at me for hitting him on the head. What if he seeks revenge against me? Oh Nosepass, what have you done?"

* * *

Skrelp took charge in the planning phase. Many didn't seem like they want to listen to her but they had no other choice when Groyvle couldn't really come up with anything plausible. Heracross scratched a tree out of boredom, not paying much attention.

"I scrutinized the challenge and came up with an effective, dominating strategy. Since we have less members, we should stick together and decimate one of the three areas. Due to the limit on each area, we should eliminate the three biggest threats first. Lucario, Darmanitan and Miltank are all viable candidates. This strategy prioritizes a safe and stable gameplay over short-term aggressive approach." Skrelp elaborated.

"Alright, let's do it guys. We have no time to waste." Grovyle speeded the process up and carried a box with graffiti cans over to his teammates.

Each member picked ones with the color they wanted such as Rhyhorn picked grey and Drifblim picked purple. However, the slower ones didn't get to choose…

"Hey, why am I stuck with pink?" Heracross complained.

"I figure that an uncivilized, thick-skull brute like you feel threatened by a mere visual perception of a predominantly feminine color. Psychologically, you link the color with dainty and delicate traits, which threaten your masculinity in the end. How predictable." Skrelp scoffed.

"You, enough of this." Heracross growled, pointing at her threatening with sharp claws.

"Wait, I want to change. I don't want black. Pink is better to me." Nosepass intervened, luckily.

"See, even a coward is more likable than you." Heracross turned to face him and exchanged the sprays, smiling at her new one.

Rhyhorn gazed upon the situation silently. Everything resolved in the end and they initiated their plan.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Skrelp likes to get under my skin for some reason. I'm tired of her constant boasting about her superior intelligence. She is just unbearable!"

 **Dedenne:** "See, not all girls like pink. I hate generalization in general even though it is something hard to avoid."

 **Rhyhorn:** "Calling my little brother a coward?"

* * *

Meowth acted natural like a cashier in a gift shop. Literally, he stood near the counter and started scanning the barcode of each item. Ranging from Delibird scarves to plush of all sort, he placed all the items neatly in a plastic bag and gave it to Darmanitan.

"A total of 1,530P please. Our shop gives a free carton of Moomoo Milk every 1,000P purchase. Would you like a recommended item to reach the target?" Meowth persuaded.

"Yeah, homie. What is it?" Darmanitan accepted the deal.

Meowth got out of the counter to retrieve a hat with Stantler horns. Unfortunately, their little roleplay was interrupted by the sound of the Bronzong Bell.

Cryogonal rushed inside the giftshop, looking alarmed and anxious.

"Look outside!" Cryogonal pointed, showing an army of Crazy Crawdaunt members.

"Where is Lucario?!" Meowth uttered the only thing he could.

"Homie, he is in the haunted area." Darmanitan broke the bad news to them.

"Attack!" Grovyle ordered loudly for all the Flygon members to hear.

Straight out of the gate, Heracross slammed the door open and thrusted her horn toward the giftshop. The three defenders tried to push her back. At first, they successfully did so but…

Inevitably, reinforcements arrived. Grovyle pushed Meowth out of the way and pulled Darmanitan leg so he stumbled down to the ground. Drifblim lifted Cryogonal away, leaving the wall surrounded by red plastic tape at the back vulnerable.

Heracross, Skrelp and Nosepass painted the names of Lucario, Darmanitan and Miltank respectively. At the same time, Bisharp and Rhyhorn protected them. Meowth grabbed his cleaning spray and rushed to the wall. However, Bisharp pushed him back.

"It won't end like the dodgeball challenge. Not this time." Bisharp toughened, clearly remembering his past failures. Despite the alliance between the two, they weren't about to let each other win that easily.

"Grudges, huh? Let's forsake that for the sake of business." Meowth replied, grunting as the two fought for dominance. Don't underestimate Meowth's fragile look. He packed some muscles.

At the bottom-left corner, Heracross painted an oval in the middle, two arms and legs stretched out as sticks. A spike poked out of the chest. An angry looking face with sharp triangles as teeth and two triangle ears.

At the middle, Skrelp painted a green giant circle with fiery eyebrows, two stocky arms and legs. She also included the mouth and the eyes.

Nosepass painted in the right corner. He sprayed in a circular motion to create a body. Furthermore, he used dots to signify an udder. Legs and arms are horribly short and straight. Horns and other details were missing and the painting looked messy.

"Lucario and Darmanitan eliminated!" Skarmory announced. Darmanitan disappointingly walked away, allowing Grovyle to help Nosepass finish his painting.

"Let the graffiti god handle the job." Grovyle took the spray away forcibly and started to spray around randomly. As a result, the painting turned into a circle with messy lines stretching out. Nosepass recoiled at how horrible it was.

"Miltank eliminated." Skarmory announced astonishingly. Grovyle seemed proud of himself. However, his dreams were crushed once he saw that Heracross painted a better one that at least resembled a proper Miltank.

"I used to watch some Pokemon paint graffiti when I'm bored. Not the best painter but at least it works." Heracross told. "The black paint stands out with the white wall as well."

"Of course, I don't paint graffiti because I don't vandalize. Me, a graffiti god? Pff. No way. I just like the Triple G, you know what I mean? Graffiti God Grovyle." Grovyle explained. Nosepass and Skrelp rolled their eyes.

"What are we going to do with those two?" Bisharp pointed to Meowth and Cryogonal. Both of them tried to sneak out of the gift shop but the Bronzong Bell gave away their movements.

Both of them eyed each other nervously as the Crazy Crawdaunt members slowly approached them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "He stole my work. What a jerk. Now, the team will think that I'm useless."

 **Lucario:** "I'm eliminated?! Are you kidding me?! *beep*!"

 **Meowth:** "I got tied up like a hostage. How vicious of them to treat a generous business owner like me heartlessly. I offered them to take whatever they want in the gift shop. Yet, they rejected the offer. Unacceptable!" He seethed.

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt attacked the haunted mansion next. With the combined effort of all seven members, they destroyed the barricade and tied all three Feckless Flygon members up in the kitchen.

"This is uncomfortable." Duosion moaned as the rope was tied very tightly.

"Indeed." Ledyba agreed.

"Well, I guess this is what we deserve after we tied them up in the seventh challenge." Houndour reminded.

Heracross beamed as she painted a halo on a head of a bug. She was about to finish the painting until Skrelp wiped the name and the entire thing away.

"What the hell?!" Heracross roared with rage.

"This isn't what we agreed on Heracross. What you are doing is based on personal feelings not logic. Eliminate Houndour instead." Skrelp said coldly, disregarding her emotion without any hesitation.

Heracross took a few deep breaths before she looked at Skrelp again. Her claws twitched, begging to strangle her. In the end, she didn't and eliminated Houndour instead.

"Houndour, Duosion and Scolipede are all eliminated." Skarmory announced.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp:** "It is just illogical to eliminate Cryogonal and Meowth since their movements are restricted. The same can be argued for Duosion and Houndour. However, they are far more dangerous than someone like Shedinja."

 **Heracross:** "Skrelp, *beep* you!"

* * *

The Crazy Crawdaunt members were in cloud nine. They dominated the challenge, reversing the history of their bitter defeat in freeze tag.

"We should be close." Grovyle stated as they got closer to the desert town.

"Easy victory. Shedinja is the only one left." Heracross said confidently. However, her expression changed immediately once she remembered that incident. She clenched her fists at the thought of being fooled by him twice.

Eventually, they reached Chef Drapion Grill. Heracross entered the restaurant first, expecting a surprise attack by Shedinja. However, there was no sign of him. The whiteboard was left completely unprotected. There was something out of place though. Many chairs fortified a table near the whiteboard, obscuring something (if there was anything it all) underneath the table.

"A sneaky ghost like him might be hiding in the kitchen. Let me go and check." Drifblim cautioned, floating inside. She came back moments later, shaking her head.

Seeing no harm in sight, the Crazy Crawdaunt started to paint graffiti. They let their guard down.

Suddenly, three Pokemon sprung out of the table, through the chairs. Shedinja, Cryogonal and Meowth struck them by surprise.

"Protect the graffiti!" Grovyle shouted, alarming his teammates. Meowth aimed for the graffiti cans, forcing them out of Skrelp and Nosepass' grasps and threw them away. This disrupted their progress fairly well.

"I will need to confiscate your illegal products." Meowth used his lingo as usual.

"We aren't going down that easily. You should eliminate us when you can because Shedinja freed us." Cryogonal revealed what happened, erasing an image of a blue hexagon that resembled herself.

"Done!" Bisharp showed an image of two red circles with smaller circles as arms and legs. The head got whiskers and a coin at the top.

"Meowth is eliminated. Seven to three, Feckless Flygon are losing really badly." Skarmory updated.

"Done as well." Heracross grinned at her work. It was a black bug with wings and a halo. "How does it feel now? I beat you again!" Heracross got up in front of Shedinja's face, mocking him.

"You forgot the name." Shedinja said monotonously.

Heracross widened her eyes and rushed back to finish while the other members blocked the Shedinja and Cryogonal from cleaning it.

"Time's up." Skarmory announced, ruining Heracross' chance.

"Darn it!" Heracross yelled, holding her head as if she got a headache.

"We did it, Shedinja! Isn't it great and awesome?" Cryogonal asked giddily.

"Whatever, we are going to lose anyways." Shedinja said pessimistically, ruining the joyful mood. Cryogonal frowned at his reaction.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I'm this close." Heracross contracted her claws together, leaving a small gap. "*beep*!"

 **Cryogonal:** "I believe that Shedinja can live a happier life if he releases all of the repressed emotions. He deserves better than how his 'family' treated him. He just needs to cry and let all of it go like a flow of river."

* * *

In the Feckless Flygon's second attacking round, Ledyba was immediately captured by Bisharp when the three tried to trespass into the Delibird Workshop. Luckily, Cryogonal and Shedinja escaped and the two decided to head to the haunted mansion.

"Shedinja, I know that your family didn't celebrate for your birthday so how about we celebrate with our team instead?! We can invite everyone including Lucario and-" Cryogonal presented the idea to the best of her ability but…

"Not interested." Shedinja wasn't interested one bit.

"What are your childhood days like?" Cryogonal asked.

"Forgot." Shedinja simply replied in an unenthusiastic and careless manner.

"Do you ever like anyone?" Cryogonal insisted on making him opening up.

"No." However, it failed just like that.

"Come on! When will you stop acting like this?!" Cryogonal couldn't take it anymore, looking infuriated.

"Stop acting like a special snowflake. You already did enough damage eavesdropping me." Shedinja drawled, anger surprisingly not presented in his voice. Cryogonal looked down on her snow chains.

"Did I hurt him even more?" Cryogonal wondered.

The rest of their journey was filled with awkward silence. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the two to reach the mansion. In front of the entrance, Drifblim and Grovyle stood as guards with long pieces of rope in their hands.

Drifblim stretched her rope. "Same battle, same result." She stated before she floated hastily toward them.

"Good Guy Grovyle is here to tie you all up!" Grovyle lunged at them.

Needless to say, they got tied up and their attacking turn ended.

The next turn, they got tied up again in the haunted mansion… Since they got tied up for the majority of the game, Skarmory edited most of the footage out.

"Haha! Take that! You all suck!" Heracross jeered at the restrained trio, rolling on the ground. Shedinja didn't show any emotion. Cryogonal scowled at Heracross while Ledyba looked miserable.

The Crazy Crawdaunt finished the last of the graffiti. The artworks consisted of a blue hexagon, a brown circle with wings and a halo. Last but not least, a bug with six arms and dots on the wings. The last thing left for them to do was waiting for Skarmory.

"Wow, complete destruction for the Feckless Flygon. The Crazy Crawdaunt win!" Skarmory declared the winning team.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "This is how it is supposed to end. The good guys tie the bad guys up and they live happily ever after. I got my revenge against those Flygon jerks."

 **Lucario:** "This challenge is so unfair! I didn't get to do much of anything. How is this balanced?! *beep*!"

 **Heracross:** "I finally got my revenge against that stupid bug, before the merge even."

 **Miltank:** "I know that she is my friend and all but she needs to calm down with the Shedinja thing, alright? She got eyes on her now."

 **Ledyba:** "I fear the worse for Houndour. He might get eliminated today. Hopefully, I can convince Scolipede to vote with me."

 **Duosion:** "I will do everything I can to save him!"

 **Houndour:** "I don't know what to do anymore…"

* * *

Houndour and Duosion sat together on the beach, gazing upon the sunset.

"Houndour, I told Cryogonal and Ledyba already. Both of them will vote with us. If we can get Scolipede and Meowth on our side, we should be able to do this." Duosion informed.

Houndour continued to gaze upon the sunset. "That's great but… who are we going to vote for?" Houndour asked, dreading this part.

"Lucario." Duosion answered and Houndour removed his eyes from the alluring sunset.

* * *

Ledyba sat next to Scolipede on a bench. Scolipede twiddled with his centipede arms. Ledyba stared deep into his eyes, seemingly determined.

"Scolipede, I have something to tell you." Ledyba started to speak.

"I know what you are trying to say… You want me to vote with Houndour." Scolipede spoke quietly.

"You don't need to if you don't want. I will stay by your side no matter-" Ledyba was interrupted.

"I know, Ledyba. I trust you. I know that you will never leave me." Scolipede eyed her passionately and Ledyba reciprocated.

"I'm sorry for how I reacted today. To be honest… To be honest…" Scolipede gathered his courage and Ledyba anticipated the answer.

"I'm truly envious of Houndour, he is just so kind-hearted. Too kind-hearted for me to believe just like you." Scolipede complimented, making Ledyba blushed.

"I'm starting to trust him now but I don't want to admit it… I did so many things to hurt his feelings... I-I wronged him in so many ways." Scolipede sobbed a little. Ledyba caressed his back softly and slowly.

"It's okay. It's okay. I understand." Ledyba reassured.

"I don't know how to face him. Perhaps, it is too late for that…" Scolipede said, sounding depressed.

"You got me by your side, remember? We can do this together." Ledyba reminded. Scolipede looked at her with gratitude.

"I know. Thank you for… everything." Scolipede pressed his lips against hers, engaging in a passionate kiss.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "That made me feel so much better…" He looked stupefied, his face a bit red.

 **Ledyba:** "For both my relationship and Houndour's." She looked extremely pleased.

* * *

Lucario juggled some weights in the gym until the door squeaked and Meowth entered.

"Is everything proceeding as planned?" Meowth asked.

"Absolutely. Grovyle will be our pet in the merge. If I command for him to bark, he will bark. That guy is pathetic. He got no backbone." Lucario told.

"Perfect." Meowth gave a small smile. "Onwards to the elimination. Is it Houndour?" Meowth asked.

"Obviously." Lucario confirmed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I'm slowly setting my buildings up. Soon enough, I will have a hotel." Meowth smirked sinisterly.

* * *

Lucario and Houndour met on the dock before the elimination. The sunset was already gone.

"Must it really be me?" Houndour asked, sadness evident in his eyes.

"It must in order for our team to be competitive. I need to set up an example so that none of them will cross me." Lucario said, unwavering.

"There's beauty to this game other than winning… I hope you will see that." Houndour responded.

"This is why I can't have someone like you on my team. Your values contradict mine. I can't allow that even if you are a useful member." Lucario conveyed the message across.

"I see… I'm not competitive enough and everyone looks up to me. They rather listen to me than you. I understand it now… Lucario, I have a lot of respect for you. I hope you know that. You don't have any ulterior motive, that's for sure." Houndour stared at him, nodding confidently.

"My only wish is for someone in my team to win. It doesn't need to be me. In order to do so, our team needs to be strong. They need to learn how to cope with loss and despair and endure it all. Houndour, despite everything, I want to let you know that you are one of favorite members in this team." Lucario stared at him, his eyes seemed a bit sentimental.

"What if I return?" Houndour asked.

"Then, I will accept you for real regardless of how you play this game. You have two choices, Houndour. Eliminate yourself and return as a hero or eliminate me and then I will return to destroy all of you!" Lucario made it clear. Houndour resolved as the voting was about to begin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Houndour:** "I have made my decision…"

* * *

Skarmory arrived with a plate of nine tasty Leppa Berries. One of them will get eliminated today. In the first row from left to right sat: Scolipede, Ledyba, Houndour, Duosion, Cryogonal. In the second row: Miltank, Darmanitan, Lucario, Meowth and Shedinja.

Duosion held Houndour tightly.

"Alright, all of you are probably used to this by now. I will start giving out Leppa Berries." Skarmory started the elimination ceremony right away.

"Darmanitan" He looked pretty chill as he threw it into his mouth.

"Cryogonal" She glanced at Houndour, then Shedinja.

"Miltank" She swallowed the entire thing, not nervous at all unlike the others.

"Duosion" She wished the best for Houndour.

"Scolipede" He ate it, looking a bit tense.

"Ledyba" She sighed as Houndour didn't get his berry yet, holding Scolipede arms in worry.

"Meowth" He looked very confident.

"Shedinja" He looked bored.

"Lucario and Houndour, heard of 'There can't be two Sun or Moon in the sky?' Both of you are very talented in your own ways. Eventually, both of you need to compete for dominance. Who is eliminated? Let's see…" Skarmory built up suspense.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Houndour, you are eliminated." Skarmory finalized the result. Duosion broke down into tears.

"Duosion, don't cry. Everything will be alright." Houndour consoled her, rubbing her back slowly.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Well, I had a blast here. At times, things were a bit slow and I got impatient. Otherwise, this island is great! I like building a snowman in the snowy area with Duosion. Helping Tyrunt carry cameras in the desert area. Facing my fear inside Skarmory Cave. I made so many memorable memories here. I couldn't list them all! Well… I want this to be a happy farewell, alright? My fans out there, please don't be sad. It is just a game. Don't be mad at Lucario as well. Alright? Bye!" Houndour speeded out of the confessional to the dock.

* * *

Everyone in the Feckless Flygon came to the dock to bid their farewells except for Miltank and Shedinja. Duosion was in tears as Houndour hugged her, caressing her consolingly.

"I will try my best to return here but if I can't… Stay strong, alright? We will see each other eventually." Houndour assured.

"Why didn't you vote for Lucario?" Duosion questioned with her teary eyes.

"I can't bring myself to do that. Sorry." Houndour said apologetically.

"Homie, I give you much respect for doing that. Good game to you." Darmanitan offered a handshake. However, Duosion hissed at him, repelling him back.

"You only said that because you are Lucario's fanboy! You voted him out!" Duosion snapped angrily. Darmanitan looked hurt, slumping slowly.

"Duosion, why did you say that? He didn't mean any harm. This is what I was worried about. Please don't act like this again. Forget and forgive." Houndour scolded tenderly.

Duosion wiped her tears away with Psychic and sniffled. "Sorry, I will try to control my emotions." She turned to Darmanitan, who averted his eyes. "Sorry for that." She apologized.

"It's okay. Apology accepted." Darmanitan forgave and Houndour shook his hand.

Ledyba suddenly pushed Scolipede toward Houndour.

"I'm ready yet." Scolipede hesitated. Ledyba gestured for him to talk with Houndour. Scolipede sighed, slowly forcing his eyes to look at Houndour.

"Scolipede, I know that you don't like me…" Houndour spoke up first.

"No, Houndour. Here is the thing. I never met someone like you before and I got hurt in the past for trusting someone. You get that right?" Scolipede said worriedly and Houndour nodded.

"I'm envious of you. You are selfless and… benevolent. It sounds too good to be true at times… What I want to say is that I'm sorry for distrusting you for so long. I'm a fool to think that." Scolipede apologized.

"It's alright. I would probably do the same thing in your position. Take it easy alright?" Houndour nudged him. "We are friends now." Scolipede smiled in reply.

"Houndour, see you later. I wish you the very best of luck!" Cryogonal waved as Houndour got on the Lapras.

"Have a great time!" Ledyba said her parting words.

"Buy a few souvenirs for us." Meowth waved as well like the others.

Lucario was the furthest away from Houndour. The professional athlete folded his arms, staring at him a little. Unlike the others, Lucario didn't look sad, his eyes were solid like steel. Through his gestures, Lucario implied something that only Houndour could understand. He then left before everyone else.

Duosion still looked distraught and depressed no matter how she tried to hold her tears.

"Duosion, let me give you a farewell gift." Houndour leaned out for a kiss. Duosion looked much more at peace as the two indulged in it.

Everyone watched, a few like Meowth covered his mouth in disgust. They were all touched as Houndour left, parting to their dismay. He waved at them for the final time as the Lapras transported him away.

Skarmory landed on the dock once everyone disappeared.

"After a long, heart wrenching episode, Houndour was eliminated. He sacrificed himself like Machoke. Will Grovyle sacrifice himself next? I bet no because this is the last episode before the merge! Next time, we shall have a redemption challenge. Some will rise and some will fall. The only thing that matters is they all need to win my special card game to return. Stay tuned until next time for another episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode.

* * *

 **Votes**

Duosion: Lucario

Ledyba: Lucario

Scolipede: Lucario

Cryogonal: Lucario

Lucario: Houndour

Darmanitan: Houndour

Miltank: Houndour

Meowth: Houndour

Houndour: Houndour

Shedinja: Cryogonal

Cryogonal: 1

Lucario: 4

Houndour: 5 (eliminated)

* * *

We finally reach the halfway mark! Things are about to get intense. Bisharp got his gun ready to fire at both Grovyle and Skrelp. Grovyle will do anything in his power to come out on top. Skrelp got a few strategies left...

Most importantly, Lucario will be a true beast in the merge. The biggest threat of all time. What about Drifblim? She seems like the 'true final villain' after all.

On the contrary, Jumpluff and Houndour will compete to get to see their beloved ones again.

I foreshadowed the alliance between Meowth and Bisharp through the business talk between Jumpluff and him. Did anyone catch it? Meowth and Co. is revived! Mwahaha...

Finally, let me spoil a few things about the next episode, or should I? Nah, I will leave it for a surprise.


	16. Chapter 16

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Yuka Ayna The Being of Balance**

I don't want to spoil things yet. Wait to see if you are right about your theory. Shedinja x Cryogonal, is it possible? Maybe, Shedinja didn't seem very fond of Cryogonal though. Why don't you read this chapter and see if Houndour will return? Don't lose hope yet. Anyways, thanks for another review.

 **Sun Demigod**

Houndour is probably the most popular character so I'm pretty sure everyone feels the same. I like him but well not everyone can be a winner. It is tough for me to decide thirty-one losers when every single one of them is worthy in some way. Except Oddish, she is probably my least favorite character, given the fact that I create her moments before chapter one. Hey, Lucario can win. He just needs to… Um, win every single immunity challenges. He is the strongest contestant. However, intellectual challenges will be the death of him though. Only if he is a bit more socially likable…

 **Octoriter**

Hey, I slacked off to play Pokemon Sun too. No need to apologize. You like the Meowth & Co. alliance. Interesting choice. Yeah, Shedinja is a real surprise. I wouldn't see it coming either unless I'm the author. Challenges take time to create. Don't worry. It can sound good on paper but end up being horrible so you need to test it out. Imagine yourself competing. Is it exciting? Is there any flaws or loopholes? Try your best.

 **Roran the Zoroark**

It takes time to come up with creative challenges. I'm a gameshow fanatic so I have a broad knowledge on this subject. You can take inspiration from some of mine and modify it to your own version.

 **Parousia45**

Your analysis is pretty spot on. Lucario doesn't show his weakness because he can't afford to. In the Aura Beast, everyone look up to him as being invincible. He needs to present himself as a strong and (sometimes) heartless leader for the sake of his team. Lucario cares about Feckless Flygon like he cares about the Aura Beast. However, he won't hesitate to make a ruthless decision. Eliminating Houndour is one of them. Back in episode two, when Houndour shared noodles to his team, Lucario took note of that. Yet, he is also aware of something. Houndour is too nice and might eventually rebel against his plan. Lucario has been shown to embrace dirty tactics at times like in the berry challenge. Houndour isn't very fond of that. Their relationship is truly a special one. Anyways, it is up to your interpretation. You can see Lucario as a pure, selfish jerk and you will still be right as long as you got evidence to back it up.

 **Dark Arcanine 33**

Yeah, I noticed that but probably forgot it by now. I'm not trying to follow the pattern but it just happened. Houndour is too obvious to be the winner. I don't feel like he is competitive enough to win either. I can imagine him saving his competitor in the finale and cost himself the million. I agree with you, Shedinja has issues. But I think he also deserves some sympathy. Lucario needs to win all the challenges like you said. No one is going to keep him until the finale and get absolutely destroyed. Except Darmanitan.

* * *

 **Episode 16** **:** **Rise and Fall? Fall and Rise** **!**

The scent of the sea salt wafted into a small motor boat, entering the nose of a certain armored bird. He took a deep breath and relished upon the smell of defeat as an island appeared on the horizon.

The raw power of the engine sliced the blue surface into half, splashing the now pale white liquid around. Murmurs could be heard from the local Alomomola and Basculin as they glared at the inconsiderate speedy boat.

The host stretched his head out of the boat, spreading his wings as a breeze passed by. He gazed at the expanding island, unveiling itself slowly. Retracting himself back into the boat, he eyed a camera with a smile.

"Viewers, we are about to reach Loser Island. Excited? This is where fifteen losers gathered around to cry and moan about their 'unjust' defeat. By now, their salty tears can fill up the ocean! Just kidding of course, the situation there is much more tamed. Maybe it is because we never show them any footage of the episodes. They only have witnesses to pry for information. Let's pay them a visit, shall we?" Skarmory interacted with the viewers while Chef Drapion controlled the engine. He pulled a lever and the boat halted to a stop near the beach.

The island was by no means luxurious. Comparably to Skarmory Island, it was much smaller and less… preserved. Sights of Pyukumuku and some rubbish littered the beach. A few trees collapsed, probably from a storm. Sounds of wild Oranguru, Passimian and Mankey disturbed the peace. Not isolated but rather wild like a random island with no clear authority.

Despite all of this, a moderately adequate building settled in front of Skarmory. The host observed it without any familiarity. His eyes absorbed in the surroundings as if it was his second time here; his talons pressed down on the sand carefully to avoid the hazards of Pyukumuku.

"Hey! Skarmory is here, everyone!" Archeops shouted, notifying ex-contestants about his presence. The prehistoric bird then eagerly flew down stone stairs to the meet the host on the beach.

"Finally, I will get my chance to return to the island and win!" Archeops exclaimed, flapping her wings erratically.

Upon seeing a fellow flying type, Skarmory facepalmed himself.

"I could fly and that will be a lot easier…" Skarmory mumbled quietly to himself.

"Pardon?" Archeops asked, arching her brow.

"Oh, nothing." Skarmory brushed the question off. "Looks like the others are coming." Skarmory noticed the other contestants behind Archeops.

Houndour speeded down the stone stairs excitedly with Jumpluff tailing behind him. Machoke jogged down carelessly without looking at his steps, nearly tripping himself but recovered by holding the rails.

"Phew. That was close." Machoke sighed in relief. However, his sudden break caused Meowstic to crash into his back. Both of them rolled down the stairs, moaning in pain at their misfortune.

"I thought my Stair Stopper Technique works." Machoke said in a disappointed tone.

"Tacky trick. What a clumsy fool…" Meowstic grumbled.

"Be careful." Snorunt cautioned, stepping down slowly with Helioptile holding her right arm. Magikarp and Feebas splashed down slowly behind them.

Farfetch'd waited patiently at the top of the stairs for them to advance down. Facing his leek stalk, he engaged in his own personal conversation.

"Mr. Stalk knew this day would come. He yearns for redemption. No stairs or challenges can stop us. Let's go, Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd addressed his prized possession, nodding determinedly. He placed his leek on the right rail and jumped on it, sliding down to the beach.

"Mr. Stalk is also a professional skateboard player." Farfetch'd proclaimed.

"Did you just magically float down the stairs?" Oddish said nonsensical stuff. "Amazing!" She cried, sounding fake. In addition, she drooled as she waddled down the stairs.

Last but not least, Tyrunt walked down with a smile on his face. Seemingly, things turned out well in Loser Island for him. Unfortunately, he accidentally slipped on Oddish's saliva. The gamer was about to plummet down the stairs until…

A burly hand grabbed his arm, preventing a fall. This helpful Pokemon got antennae on his head and yellow fur with black stripes.

Tyrunt turned around and thanked him. "Thank you very much for helping me, Electabuzz." Elekid had recently evolved into Electabuzz. Evidently, his muscles grew as well as his size. He was no longer a 'baby' Pokemon.

"No problem, _friend_." Electabuzz emphasized with a smirk. The two were the last to descend down the stairs. There was no sight of Aromatisse or Larvitar behind them.

"Ew." Tyrunt recoiled as he stared at his wet feet, disgust written all over his face. "Oddish, can you stop with your fake stupidity? You are already eliminated! Are you trying to spite us?" Tyrunt accused, glaring at her with a mean scowl.

"What are you talking about?" Oddish sweated. Tyrunt groaned. Electabuzz patted his left shoulder and approached Oddish.

"Oddish, please behave yourself. None of us like your cavewoman antics. You are a smarter girl than this, aren't you?" Electabuzz asked nicely. However, his powerful and commanding voice contrasted it.

Oddish gulped. "Alright, I learn my lesson." Electabuzz nodded in approval. Skarmory looked impressed as he spectated the situation.

"Wow, you changed." Skarmory said, widening his eyes. "You look stronger and… you also have a deeper voice too." Skarmory stared at him in awe. Electabuzz scratched his head, blushing a little at the compliment.

"Indeed, Electabuzz even put Larvitar in his place! Right now, that bully is probably crying in a corner somewhere." Tyrunt revealed satisfactorily.

"Interesting. How did you two reconcile after that fall out in the seventh episode? Can you go through the details of how Tyrunt apologized, Electabuzz?" Skarmory interviewed purposefully to inform the viewers.

"Well, he held his head low and just apologized sincerely. He told me that he will do anything to recover our friendship." Electabuzz explained.

"Yeah, _anything_." Tyrunt said nervously.

"What do you want from him? You didn't tell any of us yet. Please tell me!" Jumpluff interrupted, sparkling curiosity in her eyes. The other ex-contestants also looked curious. On the contrary, Tyrunt looked anxious.

"What is it, can you tell us?" Skarmory pressed for answers, getting up-close to him.

"Well, I will tell all of you later. Why don't we head inside?" Electabuzz indicated, heading up the stone stairs beforehand.

"Great idea, we should give the viewers a tour of your housing." Skarmory agreed, turning to the direction of the boat afterwards. Chef Drapion was loafing around.

"Chef, get a camera and follow me." Skarmory ordered to Chef Drapion's dismay. He muttered a few things under his breath before he got out. Nobody could hear him but it wasn't hard to guess that it was something unpleasant.

"Did he eat something wrong?" Magikarp wondered.

"I thought he was always like this even though I only lasted for one day." Feebas replied.

"How can you eat 'something wrong'? I never know that such a food exists with that kind of complicated name." Oddish made a stupid remark. Feebas and Magikarp both distanced themselves from her. The grass type frowned.

Feebas sighed. "When will she stop? I can't believe that my sanity is still intact after staying with her for more than one week."

"Larvitar is worse though. He tries to beat us up." Magikarp reminded.

"Yeah, but you used Splash on him courageously and he ran away." Feebas ogled over Magikarp for a few seconds.

"Honestly, I never thought that it would work. Maybe, it hit his sore spot or something." Magikarp said humbly. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Magikarp looked at her weirdly.

"Oh… nothing. We should catch up with the others now." Feebas turned away shyly and splashed up the stairs. Magikarp shrugged and splashed after her.

* * *

As everyone moved up the stairs, Skarmory faced the camera.

"Viewers, let me give a brief overview of this island. It is named Moss'up Island. Don't ask me why, I don't own it. I only rent it because it is cheap and convenient. Approximately, the island takes up about 120 square kilometers. A lot smaller than Skarmory Island. Oomph." Skarmory bumped into the glass door of the cottage, completely unaware. Chef Drapion cackled at him.

"That's not very funny, Chef Drapion." Skarmory disapproved, shaking his head slightly.

"Whatever, everyone else is already inside. Hurry up." Chef Drapion sneered at him until he also accidentally hit the door with the side of his head.

Skarmory cackled back at him. "Watch where you are going. You got a bit too close to the door." Skarmory returned a mocking smile and Chef Drapion groaned.

The cottage got a small front yard with a few white tables and chairs. Skarmory looked around a little. A few potted plants caught his eyes. They seemed to grow delicious-looking Oran Berries. He tilted his head upwards to see that the cottage was a three-story building with a wooden roof while everything else was concrete. Windows could be seen on all floors. The host eventually entered the premise, where everyone was waiting for him.

"Well, how is life here?" Skarmory asked the contestants as he glanced around.

The first floor was a large living room with a mini kitchen and dinner table to the left. This particular section looked small, considering that fifteen Pokemon live here. The main focus in the middle was the large circular couch with multiple cushions, holding up to twenty Pokemon at maximum. Facing it was a television with a large number of movies being stored below. Straight to the end was a door connecting to the backyard. Lastly, there was a restroom and staircase to the right corner.

"Inadequate and pretty shabby." Aromatisse criticized while filing her nails. "I can't believe that this place manages to top Skarmory Island on how horrible it is."

"Great, complain about tropical islands. Pokemon nowadays are so spoiled. Why don't you go outside and breath in fresh air a bit, huh? I didn't see you back at the beach." Skarmory pointed out.

"Who in their right mind would want to go outside and risk the chance of stepping on a Pyukumuku? No thanks, I don't want a leg surgery." Aromatisse stated her reason for not going outside. Skarmory rolled his eyes.

"Wait, where is Larvitar?" Upon realization, Skarmory questioned the bully's whereabouts.

"Last time, I saw him yesterday." Electabuzz told. "I confronted him and denounced his negative energy. In response, that psychopath swung a kitchen knife around so I knocked him out cold as self-defense." Everyone around him nodded, confirming the truth.

"So, none of you know where he is?" Skarmory asked. No one said anything.

"Well, looks like he might get disqualified from the redemption challenge. Hmm…" Skarmory contemplated. "Anyways, let's change the topic back. How's life here?"

"Great! I'm only here for a day but there are so many new things to explore!" Houndour said positive things.

"Jolly and relaxing. The view is perfect! I want to post pictures to my social media account already!" Jumpluff shouted enthusiastically.

"Well, from a scale of one to ten, I give it a six." Snorunt answered quietly.

"Is there a number called six?" Oddish acted dumb again. She was ignored and shunned.

"Amazing, I get to cook food for everyone here!" Helioptile told.

"Really? Please demonstrate sometime soon." Skarmory seemed intrigued.

"Well, she's a great chef. There isn't much to eat in the first few days without her." Magikarp praised.

"Mr. Stalk agrees but Mr. Stalk says that he is a better chef. He used to cook in five-star restaurants." Farfetch'd bragged. Some doubted what he said, giving him condemning looks. On the other hand, there were those that believed him.

"You never cook for us." Magikarp glared at him accusingly. "How can we know that you aren't lying?"

"I agree. I saw you cooked but you only cooked for yourself." Feebas indicated.

"Hey, if you don't believe, Mr. Stalk will prove it all to you." Farfetch'd looked serious.

"All of you suck, I'm the best chef. I cook food and all of you eat it." Chef Drapion boasted. Skarmory laughed uncontrollably, rolling on the ground. The others soon joined him with the laughter.

Chef Drapion seethed, gritting his teeth.

"Ridiculous, chef. But I got to admit that you are humorous. Maybe, you should be a comedian instead." Skarmory suggested an alternative career path for him.

"So, who is the best chef?" Machoke asked, scratching his head.

"We have a lot of time before the challenge so why don't we decide through a cooking competition?" Skarmory proposed, licking his lips a little.

"Great idea!" Tyrunt supported, clenching his bib.

"Sounds yummy." Snorunt agreed, giving Helioptile a motivating look. "I'm sure that Helioptile can deliver."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Snorunt." Helioptile beamed.

Skarmory glanced around and everyone seemed satisfied.

"Alright, our competitors please make your way to the kitchen and cook us delicious food. We will have a time limit of one hour." Skarmory instructed. "Hurry up and begin now. I'm hungry!" Skarmory hastened impatiently. Tyrunt dedicated his eyes at the fridge.

"I remember that there are Slowpoke tails somewhere inside." Tyrunt chatted with Electabuzz.

"You remember what I said right? Take care of your health and diet or else you will be sick." Electabuzz warned.

"Yeah." Tyrunt said, his tone wasn't very reassuring.

* * *

The three chefs shared the mini kitchen. Apparently, there were only two ovens, one microwave and a single frying pan. Additionally, the prepping table and the sink was also pretty small. It might be very inconvenient to work in this kind of environment.

Chef Drapion pushed his way through to the fridge. He hurriedly tossed random berries out. Meanwhile, the other two chefs washed their hands/wings first. Skarmory observed all of them closely.

"I will make my special delicacy." Chef Drapion declared once he saw Skarmory near him. Everyone looked revolted. Some even covered their mouth.

Skarmory avoided Chef Drapion and went to see what the other two was cooking up.

Both of them preheated their own respective ovens before they gathered their ingredients.

Farfetch'd rushed to the fridge first. He grabbed a package of Slowpoke tails hidden deep inside, onions, Oran berries and a few other things before he was about to close it. However, he kept it open once he saw Helioptile hurrying over there.

"Thank you." Helioptile said gratefully. She proceeded to grab sugar, eggs, baking powder, flour, butter and a few extracts.

"Are you baking a cake?" Skarmory asked, eyeing the ingredients.

"Yep, I want to try something new and different. Usually, I just cook meat and vegetables." Helioptile told.

"I look forward to it." Skarmory said before he got out of her way since the kitchen was small.

The host turned to Farfetch'd, who removed a box of cooking utensils and a pot from the cupboard underneath the prepping table.

"What are you cooking, young chef? Slowpoke tails?" Skarmory asked the same.

"Mr. Stalk is a savory kind of guy. He wants to serve all of you a hearty meal. Therefore, I will make a Savory Slowpoke Stew." Farfetch'd told before he placed the Slowpoke tails inside the pot.

"Right now, I'm going to season all the tails with salt and pepper to caramelize its texture." Farfetch'd explained once he saw Skarmory staring at the pot.

"Alright, good luck." Skarmory wished the very best for him before he squeezed his way to where Helioptile was cooking.

At the same time, Oddish invaded the kitchen and fixed a mean stare at the Slowpoke tails.

"You! You killed the Slowpoke for food?" Oddish accused.

"Do you even know the biology of Slowpoke? Must Mr. Stalk teach you? He is also a great teacher I swear." Farfetch'd scoffed at Oddish's ridiculous claims. The dumb plant girl cocked her head.

"Get out of the kitchen!" Chef Drapion yelled as she blocked his way. Oddish quickly scrambled out of there.

The chef lifted a hammer up and innovated his own method of cooking. He smashed the berries before pouring in a weird purple liquid. Skarmory cringed at this, deciding that it would be the best for him to focus on what Helioptile was cooking.

"What are you doing? Can you please explain why this part is necessary?" Skarmory asked, looking perplexed.

Currently, Helioptile used a brush to grease the pan with butter and sugar. This seemed to confuse the host.

"You never bake a cake before, don't you?" Helioptile asked a question back.

"Well, I have someone to cook for me." Skarmory admitted.

"Chef Drapion?" Helioptile assumed.

"No, someone else close to me." Skarmory said vaguely. A smile crept out of Helioptile's face once she heard this.

"Can you please explain now? That's none of your business." Skarmory looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Fine, I grease the pan so that the cake itself won't stick to it after I heat it up." Helioptile explained.

"I see." Skarmory nodded before he left the kitchen momentarily.

"Is it done yet?" Houndour approached him impatiently, his ears perked up.

"No, impatient as always. One hour, remember?" Skarmory chuckled at his attitude.

"I want to eat already, period." Tyrunt whined.

"Why don't we find something else to talk about?" Skarmory proposed while they were waiting.

"About what?" Aromatisse painted her nails with Feebas, who was observing all the make-up next to her.

"How about you? What did you do here in Loser Island?" Skarmory questioned, he didn't expect much from her.

"Not much. I watch a few romance and comedy movies. Other than that, I take care of my outer appearance. Oh, I also help Feebas to look a bit more beautiful." Aromatisse told.

"That's true. She is very kind to help me with my… issues. She painted my fins a few times, although all of it got washed off every time I touched water." Feebas stated.

Skarmory nodded before he looked around for someone else to interview. His eyes lightened up once he saw Electabuzz descending down from the second floor with a Porygon.

"Electabuzz, what do you want from Tyrunt?" Skarmory asked the question that has been on everyone's mind.

"Oh, about that? Simple, I want him to be healthier. Tyrunt, time for your daily fitness exercise." Electabuzz called him over.

"Are you my parent or my friend?" Tyrunt frowned.

"Your friend. Poryfit will be in charge of your exercise from now on." Electabuzz showed his upgraded robot. It still looked the same as before, only a switch was added on the back.

"Poryfit?" Skarmory seemed confused.

"That is the name of my Porygon buddy, it is created optimally for fitness. Hence, the reason why it can check your weight and heart rate." Electabuzz clarified. Afterwards, he flipped on the switch.

"Master, what can I do for you?" Poryfit can actually talk! Its voice was monotone with no emotions though.

"Wow, it is really upgraded!" Tyrunt looked impressed.

"Poryfit, commence the training session." Electabuzz ordered.

"Yes, master." Poryfit turned to Tyrunt. Suddenly, its eyes reddened.

"What is going on? Electabuzz, is it broken or something?" Tyrunt started to look anxious at how Poryfit glared at him with crimson, bloody eyes.

"No, Tyrunt. You better start to run. It will shoot lasers at you if you don't." Electabuzz alerted.

"Ahh!" Tyrunt screamed as he scrammed out of the cottage as fast as he possibly could. Poryfit started to chase him.

"Heart rate increasing, heart rate increasing." Poryfit repeated.

"Did you really do that to your _friend_?" Skarmory couldn't believe his eyes at what Electabuzz was doing.

"Nah, I just lied. Poryfit can't shoot lasers. I just want to teach him a reason after he betrayed me." Electabuzz confessed.

"Ahh! Help!" Tyrunt screamed for help to the top of his lungs.

"Heart rate increasing rapidly." Poryfit continued to chase him.

Archeops faced Tyrunt, sadness drowning in her eyes.

"Please help!" Tyrunt cried desperately.

In the corner of Archeop's right eye, Electabuzz shook his head at her.

"Sorry." Archeops looked down before she flew away. Suddenly, she detected someone flying above her.

"Archeops, can I have you for a second? I need to satisfy the curiosity of my viewers." Skarmory asked for an interview.

"I'm okay with that." Archeops allowed and the two landed on the roof. Archeops noticed Tyrunt running down the stone stairs with Poryfit behind him, sighing in the process.

"How are things going between you and Tyrunt? What are your relationship going forward with him?" Skarmory asked rapidly. Archeops took some time to process an answer.

"Well, Tyrunt recuperate from what happened faster than me. He approached me yesterday and told me sincerely that he no longer had any feelings for me, which I'm fine with. The thing is… To be frank, I feel guilty for manipulating him. I'm the one causing this entire mess. Electabuzz now treats him differently than before. I got tempted by my greed… At that time, I saw money, fame and prosperity ahead of me. I thought that I can settle things later and go along with Skrelp for now. I regret it. As the former leader of the Crazy Crawdaunt, I feel deeply ashmed." Archeops sobbed a bit at the end.

"Well, I feel a bit sorry for you. Hope things get better." Skarmory left her alone to give her time to reflect upon her wrongdoings.

* * *

The host returned to the kitchen to see their updated progress on the food.

"Close to finishing yet?" Skarmory addressed everyone from the front of the kitchen.

Chef Drapion added some salt to his purple sludge. "Yep." Chef Drapion replied. Skarmory ignored him, he concentrated on the other two.

Helioptile poured the batter into the pan before she placed it down gently inside the oven. "It should be done in thirty to forty minutes." Helioptile told.

Farfetch'd sliced the tip of the tail slightly with Mr. Stalk and added a few droplets of honey lemon. "Not yet." Farfetch'd answered without eye contact, absorbed in his own culinary work.

Skarmory exited the kitchen again to mingle with the ex-contestants a bit more, trying to make them spill juicy secrets or something spicy for the viewers.

"Tyrunt already told me everything! That jerk Grovyle hurt Bisharp and Dedenne." Jumpluff loathed. Skarmory listened attentively.

Skarmory moved on to the next interviewee, Meowstic.

"No one watches my magic tricks anymore! Life is so unfair…" Meowstic rambled. Skarmory yawned, uninterested.

Finally, Machoke. The technician was outside, in the backyard.

* * *

The backyard consisted of a swimming pool and a football field after it. For the swimming pool, it was pretty clean. The left side of the pool was shallow while the right was deep. Deep enough for Scolipede to sink at the very least. The football field was nothing special. There were two goals, one to the left and right.

Skarmory saw Machoke playing football with a Passimian local. There was also an Oranguru working as a judge. Machoke saw Skarmory and waved swiftly.

"Hi, Skarmory. We are playing fruit-ball. One on one, first to one point wins." Machoke said as he kicked a green coconut back at the Passimian.

Skarmory spectated the match casually, watching them kicking a coconut ball back and forth. Machoke on the left and Passimian on the right.

The Passimian stepped back a bit before he charged and slammed his feet into the ball, sending it flying to the sky at a high speed. It had a high chance of entering Machoke's goal.

"Time to use my Goal Gutter Technique." Machoke announced as he spread his arms and legs, blocking the goal as much as he could before the ball shot down to the ground like a meteor. It bounced under his legs and annihilated the goal net.

"Passimian wins." Oranguru announced and lifted the right arm of Passimian up as he flexed his muscles in triumph.

"I lost again." Machoke looked disappointed in himself.

"You played with the local Pokemon often?" Skarmory asked.

"Yeah, they destroy me all the time." Machoke rubbed the back of his head.

"At least, you didn't get injured. Cheer up." Skarmory consoled him a bit before he was about to leave. Until…

"Brother Passman, a Larvitar tried to steal our reserve of food so we beat him up and bring him over here for you to decide his judgement." Another Passimian arrived, dragging Larvitar behind him. The bully was bruised up, his eyes were sore and blood bled out of his mouth a little.

"Wait, I know him." Machoke interrupted. "I think he already learned his lesson. Just let him go." Machoke said with sympathy.

"Keep out of this!" Larvitar growled. "I don't need a help from a pathetic guy like you. I can destroy everyone. I'm a god!' Larvitar resembled a delusional loser, his eyes quaked with fear but his lips persisted stubbornly. Machoke was shocked at how irrational he was.

Passman (the one who played with Machoke) banged Larvitar's head against the hard shell of a coconut. The rocky reptile whimpered with both fear and pain.

"You are one foolish degenerate. Know when to admit defeat and be humble when in front of your elders like your friend over there." Passman pointed at Machoke. "If it isn't for him, I will report you to the police for robbery." Passman threw Larvitar straight into his goal.

"Thank you very much, Jungle Leader Passman." Machoke respectfully bowed, pleased at the outcome.

"Village leader?" Skarmory was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, I befriended him some time ago after he saved me when I got lost in the jungle. I'm not good with directions." Machoke gave a sheepish grin.

"He seems very strong and proud." Skarmory commented before he checked up on Larvitar. "How are you feeling?"

"Do you need to even ask? Don't you have eyes to see that I'm suffering?" Larvitar retorted.

"How rude of you. I thought about helping you, you know that? Now, I don't feel generous." Skarmory said condescendingly before he left.

Even though Larvitar looked like a mess, he scowled at Machoke. Another Pokemon that could potentially help him.

"Err, you don't want me to help because I don't know any healing techniques?" Machoke scratched his head, asking obliviously.

"All of you are inferior to me. Someday, I will turn into a Mega Tyranitar and destroy all of you!" Larvitar continued with his nonsense before he limped back inside the cottage slowly.

"Geez, what's wrong with him?" Machoke scratched his head again before he re-entered the cottage as well.

* * *

One hour passed and the food was done. Tyrunt salivated as his appetite expanded after a long, grueling exercise. Electabuzz emerged from upstairs and Tyrunt immediately crossed his arms.

"You lied." Tyrunt said, looking touchy.

"You betrayed me. It is even I say." Electabuzz countered.

"I thought you are my friend. How vindictive." Tyrunt crossed his arms even more, averting his eyes.

"I thought you said that you will do anything for me to forgive you. I did that for your own good, Tyrunt." Electabuzz argued.

Archeops looked guilt-tripped as she heard the exchange between the two.

"You are just like my parents! You do everything 'for my own good', without being considerate of my feelings!" Tyrunt snapped. Electabuzz was about to reply until Archeops interrupted.

"Stop, you two! Instead of blaming each other, blame me instead! It is my fault that you two got torn apart. I'm your leader, I should be held responsible." Archeops talked some sense into both of them.

Tyrunt lifted his eyes to Electabuzz, who also did the same. The two faced each other.

"Maybe, I'm a bit too harsh." Electabuzz spoke first. "Sorry." He apologized.

"I guess I should see the bigger picture. You want the best for me but I-I'm disobedient. I'm sorry as well." Tyrunt also apologized. Both of them shared a hug at the end.

"Aww…" Jumpluff looked touched.

"Dudes, that was very mature. Both of you. Forget and forgive." Houndour praised.

"Should we eat now?" Snorunt pointed out meekly, ruining the moment a little. However, neither of them minded it.

Larvitar glared at everyone in a corner before he hissed and left.

"Boys and girls, the food is ready! Wait, what's wrong with him?" Helioptile asked as she stared at his retreating figure.

"He is hurt, we should go and help him." Houndour suggested.

"No matter how many times he calls me ugly, I can't see him starve and die. Who is going to be responsible for his corpse?" Feebas brought up a good point.

"His parents will be worried too." Magikarp added.

"Yeah, they will probably sue me." Skarmory quivered at the thought of that.

By this point, the smell of delicious food lured all of them to the dining table.

"Larvitar can wait, let's eat!" Tyrunt licked his lips.

Everyone couldn't resist the temptation and decided to eat first, Larvitar second and redemption challenge for last.

* * *

The table was small so they needed to stand up while they eat. Unfortunately, with thirteen hungry Pokemon (excluding Farfetch'd, Helioptile, Larvitar and Chef Drapion), there wasn't a lot of food going around.

"Mr. Stalk serves a savory bite of a rare and delightful Slowpoke tail to all of you. This stew includes the main ingredient, a few Oran berries, onions and lettuces for a healthy meal. The Slowpoke tail was stuffed with honey lemon to exemplify the sweetness of the tail yet contrast it with the sour taste of the lemon. Slowpoke tail is commonly known as a sweet and tender meat. Therefore, Mr. Stalk hopes to flip that expectation around and innovates this cuisine into something special while trying to remain authentic and stay true to the original taste. I hope all of you enjoy it." Farfetch'd explained his process of cooking while everyone dug in on the meat.

"Aren't we hurting the Slowpoke? Don't eat meat, guys. Free other Pokemon." Oddish campaigned ignorantly.

"So, you want us to eat you instead?" Skarmory used her words inadvertently against her. Oddish became silent.

"I'm not a big fan of meat either but at least most of the meat we eat are artificial nowadays. Didn't you learn that from school?" Jumpluff questioned.

"Err…I-I" Oddish stuttered.

"I can't really tell if you are being serious or are acting dumb sometimes. When I show my magical tricks, you either say random things totally unrelated to the subject or believe them whole-heartedly." Meowstic spoke up while chewing on her Slowpoke tail.

"Close your mouth while eating. How un-ladylike and immodest of you." Aromatisse scolded as bits of food spilled from Meowstic's plate.

"Wear a bib, both you and Oddish." Tyrunt suggested. He emptied his plate and wiped his mouth clean with his bib before he grabbed another serving.

However, Electabuzz slapped his hand.

"For your health. Take care of your diet." Electabuzz reminded. Tyrunt frowned grumpily.

"Scrumptious, restaurant quality." Skarmory complimented.

"Creative idea but I still prefer sweet food." Feebas commented.

Unsuspectingly, Larvitar sneaked down from the second floor, eyeing the pot of Slowpoke tails. He maneuvered stealthily and quietly.

"My turn. It is time for all of you to eat my special delicacy." Chef Drapion instantly swapped the pot out for his plate of special delicacy. At this moment, Larvitar struck and stole the whole plate.

"Haha suckers, I got all the tasty-" Larvitar was dumb-founded once he saw the chef's special delicacy. "This isn't supposed to happen!"

"Larvitar, since you like it so much that you even steal it in front of our faces, you should have all of it. Right, everyone?" Skarmory asked. Everyone agreed and nodded.

"You better eat all of it or else…" Chef Drapion threatened evilly. Larvitar gulped.

As everyone enjoyed their dessert, a vanilla cake with chocolate toppings, Larvitar ate the chef's special delicacy to his heart's content. He even cried tears of joy. Of course, it must be tears of joy. What else could it be? Tears of agony and revulsion? Preposterous!

The redemption challenge was about to begin. Before that, Skarmory held a special confessional session where everyone took turns talking to the camera privately.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Feebas:** "I want to redeem myself after my humiliating defeat. Hopefully, Magikarp gets to return with me." She said dreamily at the end.

 **Magikarp:** "Personally, I don't want to return. Everybody should know by now how I feel about Lucario. I prefer someone like Houndour and Jumpluff to return. Their loved ones are still in the game."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk says that he will stick to the old strategy. I will listen to him. Mr. Stalk is never wrong about anything twice. If I am to return, I will stay by my convictions. My girlfriend doesn't want me to make alliances so I won't make alliances. Last I heard, she said that she wanted to fly to the island to see me compete. I can't fail her like that."

 **Helioptile:** "I'm glad that everyone seems happy with my cooking skills. Farfetch'd tied with me for first while Chef Drapion got third. Well, about the redemption challenge… I'm happy to stay in this island so that I can cook for more Pokemon and make them all smile."

 **Larvitar:** "I'm the best. I will destroy all of those losers. After I return, I will beat my traitorous nose minion, that boring Rhyhorn and that stupid seahorse up!"

 **Oddish:** "Meowstic promises me free pretzels if she wins. Yay, I will help her to win. Bah! I already look ludicrous for acting dumb. Therefore, I thought why don't I pretend to actually be stupid so nobody realizes that my foolproof strategy didn't work. Genius, right?"

 **Electabuzz:** "I want to return. To show how stronger I have become. This time, everyone will take me seriously. I won't be some nerdy loser anymore but a real threat to win the game."

 **Archeops:** "There is only one reason for me to return… To right my wrongs. If I can return and stop Skrelp then that's all I can ask for."

 **Meowstic:** "I'm such a great magician. I used my dark magic on Oddish so that she will do my bidding. Mwahaha… Scolipede, I will get my revenge!"

 **Machoke:** "Well, returning is nice I guess. I get to see Darmanitan. Hopefully, I will also be a bit more useful in challenges. Or else, I rather stay here if I'm not good enough yet."

 **Snorunt:** "I prefer to stay here with my best friend, Helioptile. I rather let Jumpluff return instead of me."

 **Aromatisse:** "Well, I'm not very fond of returning to that dirty island but this place isn't fabulous either. I feel like I'm the representative of beautiful Pokemon in this game so perhaps I should."

 **Jumpluff:** "I really miss Bisharp. I want to return. I'm scared that he might do something that he will regret if I don't."

 **Tyrunt:** "I want Houndour to return. He helped me through a lot of things. The guy deserves it."

 **Houndour:** "Well, I promised Duosion that I will return no matter what. Here goes nothing."

* * *

Skarmory led all the contestants out to the stone stairs. There, he explained the challenge.

"The redemption challenge will be split into two parts. The first is called 'Rise and Fall'. Only four contestants will advance to the final round. Do you all see the buoys floating out there on the sea?" Skarmory indicated. The ex-contestants stretched out their view to the sea, there were fifteen buoys with fifteen baskets attached to it. In addition, a face of each contestant was stuck on each buoy. The farthest left had Feebas while the farthest right had Houndour.

"The objective of this game is to throw Pyukumuku into the basket of the contestant that you _want_ to _eliminate_. Once your buoy sinks, you are eliminated. The game goes on until four buoys are left or…" Skarmory paused to build suspense. The contestants all anticipated what he was about to say next.

"Moss'up Island is known for inconsistent tide changes. Once the tide rises, all the Pyukumuku will be gone by then. The challenge ends and we tally the Pyukumuku inside each basket. In case of a tie, there will be a special tiebreaker. Any questions?" Skarmory asked, looking at each and every contestant.

"We can't exactly throw the Pyukumuku, what do you expect us to do?" Magikarp referred to himself and Feebas.

"Well, you need to hope that you either evolve…" Magikarp didn't seem pleased with this answer, neither did Feebas. "… or lucky enough that none of the other ex-contestants hate you." Skarmory answered, not very helpful.

No one else asked any question so Skarmory flew up into the air and blew a whistle, signaling the start of the challenge.

Houndour sprinted ahead while Archeops flew with great agility to the beach. Jumpluff floated to avoid the crowded stairs. Farfetch'd slid on the rails once again. Electabuzz tailed Houndour by a bit, dragging Tyrunt behind him. Meowstic was not far behind, with Oddish next to her. Aromatisse, Helioptile, Snorunt all made their way slowly. However, Larvitar pushed Snorunt down.

"Haha, loser." Larvitar laughed and pointed mockingly.

"You!" Helioptile angrily kicked him on the knee and Larvitar dropped down to the ground.

"It hurts." Larvitar moaned in pain.

Helioptile helped Snorunt got up to her feet.

"Thank you." Snorunt said quietly.

Machoke was at the back of the pack, alongside the two splashing Pokemon.

"Time to use my Stair Leap Technique." Machoke jumped down recklessly and lost all sense of balance once he landed. He ended up rolling down the stairs.

"Watch out! Ah!" Machoke warned as he rolled into Meowstic and Oddish. Fortunately, Aromatisse, Helioptile and Snorunt clung to the rail and dodged successfully.

"What the hell!" Meowstic shouted furiously as the three rolled into Tyrunt, Electabuzz and Houndour, snowballing into a pile of mess at the bottom of the stairs.

"How did this happen?" Houndour asked as everyone landed on him. "Ow, my back. Eevee is a lot lighter than this." He seemed to be in pain.

Archeops took the lead with Farfetch'd right behind her. She grabbed a Pyukumuku with her talons and tried to deliver it to a basket until Skarmory stopped her.

"Unfair advantage." Skarmory ruled it out. Archeops frowned as she returned back to the ground.

Right there and then, Farfetch'd grabbed a Pyukumuku and hurled it up.

"Mr. Stalk, I hope your baseball skills aren't rusty." Farfetch'd said before he batted the Pyukumuku with his leek stalk, sending it flying into Larvitar's basket.

"Hey!" Larvitar shouted angrily.

Jumpluff carefully lifted a Pyukumuku up, avoiding the pink spikes and threw it as well. It barely missed Larvitar's basket.

Larvitar clenched his jaw and rushed down the stairs hurriedly.

Gradually, everyone got up and going after the snowball accident. Machoke, Tyrunt and Electabuzz pulled Houndour up, helping him to stand properly.

"Sorry, my technique didn't work." Machoke apologized.

"It's okay." Houndour assured. Although, his eyes circled around dizzily and his back made a few cracking sounds. Not very reassuring in the slightest.

Archeops used her claws to threw an overhead shot. The Pyukumuku went down Larvitar's bucket. The buoy looked like it was about to sink.

"One more, guys." Archeops persuaded them all to go for the bully.

Helioptile threw one as well, aiming at Larvitar's basket. However, it curved to the left and entered her own basket.

"Stupid me." Helioptile facepalmed herself.

"What a blind loser." Larvitar insulted as he threw one as well, aiming at Helioptile's basket. Coincidentally, it happened to curve to the right and fell down into his own basket. The buoy sank immediately.

"Larvitar is eliminated." Skarmory announced. The rock type stomped off angrily.

"Serves him right." Helioptile smiled, not aware that she was about to be the next target.

"Helioptile already got one, eliminate her!" Meowstic influenced, throwing one but missed. Helioptile looked worried.

"Yeah because that's the dumb thing to do." Oddish acted stupid.

"Go for Oddish instead." Snorunt tried to divert the attention to someone else. Surprisingly, it worked. Nobody likes Oddish and they all ganged up on her. The buoy sank in seconds.

"Wow, that's… smart." Oddish said, speechless after that. She walked up the stairs, passing the splashing duo. Both of them gave up a long time ago.

"I think we have no chance of winning." Magikarp said pessimistically.

"I agree." Feebas hopelessly stared at the others on the beach.

* * *

Farfetch'd hurled the Pyukumuku up into the air before he swung again. This time, he aimed at Archeops' basket. It entered successfully.

"Why me?" Archeops questioned his decision.

"You are a threat." Farfetch'd stated his reason simply, lifting another Pyukumuku up.

"You are a threat as well." Archeops pointed out. She tried to throw one into his basket.

However, Farfetch'd batted his so that it collided with hers. The Pyukumuku canceled each other off.

"You can do that?!" Archeops was astonished by his performance. Farfetch'd didn't waste any time to scavenge for more Pyukumuku.

On the other hand, Machoke scratched his head as he couldn't find one.

"Where are they?" Machoke walked around carelessly and accidentally stepped on one.

"Ow." Machoke yelped, stumbling down. He landed on another Pyukumuku. This time, the spikes pierced his butt.

"Ouch!" Machoke yelled in pain, throwing both of them away. He didn't even try to aim. However, he somehow managed to land one in Feebas' basket and another in Magikarp's.

"Lucky me." Machoke said in disbelief.

* * *

Archeops' buoy was about to sink after constant pressure from Farfetch'd. The prehistoric bird was preoccupied with her opponent. Electabuzz used this opportunity to hurl one into her basket.

"Archeops, eliminated." Skarmory announced. Archeops sighed in disappointment before she left.

"That's for manipulating Tyrunt." Electabuzz told. Speaking of Tyrunt, he struggled to throw one into a basket at all. The gamer didn't have enough strength to throw one far enough.

"This is tough." Tyrunt complained, sweating horribly.

"Let me help you." Electabuzz offered.

"I don't think I can do it." Tyrunt had no faith in himself.

"No, you can do it. Turn sideways, stretch your feet back a little." Electabuzz corrected his stance.

"Aim at a forty-five-degree angle and try to throw it! Don't give up!" Electabuzz encouraged, clapping to motivate him.

Tyrunt took a deep breath before he threw the Pyukumuku with all of his might. It entered Meowstic's basket.

"I… did it!" Tyrunt jumped up in joy.

"Bravo." Electabuzz congratulated.

Meowstic saw what happened and fumed.

"Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam!" Meowstic enchanted her throw with superstitious and clairvoyant power. Miraculously, it entered Tyrunt's basket. She smirked with satisfaction.

Electabuzz and Tyrunt saw what happened.

"You know what to do right?" Electabuzz smirked mischievously. Tyrunt had the same idea. Both of them tossed their Pyukumuku into her basket.

"Meowstic eliminated. Eleven contestants left." Skarmory updated. The magician ranted on and on as she walked up the stairs.

Aromatisse nervously approached one of the Pyukumuku.

"You won't hurt me, right?" Aromatisse asked, rubbing its non-spiky area gently.

The Pyukumuku didn't said anything. Rather, it spat its innards out straight into her face forcefully.

"*beep*! My pretty face!" Aromatisse swore, covering her damaged face. She clenched her fist. It was rare to see Aromatisse acted like this. Everyone stared at her. With one hand covering her face and other lifting the Pyukumuku up, she chucked it mightily. Unintentionally, it entered Houndour's basket. Aromatisse didn't bother looking at what she did at all. Instead. she quickly left the beach to clean up her face inside the restroom, crying a little along the way.

"Well, you better start throwing." Tyrunt advised Houndour.

"Absolutely! I need to keep my promise to Duosion!" Houndour started to panic, his eyes darting around for Pyukumuku. Once he found one, he got right into the action. Despite his back injury, he hurled one successfully into Machoke's basket.

"Yeah, you got it!" Tyrunt cheered.

Houndour gave Machoke a friendly, slightly apologetic smile. Machoke didn't seem to mind it.

* * *

In the restroom…

"Are you alright?" Feebas checked up on Aromatisse, deeply concerned about her friend.

"My face. My only perfect quality is ruined!" Aromatisse exclaimed.

"It might not be that bad." Feebas tried to be optimistic.

Aromatisse removed her hands from her face to reveal the sickening damage. Feebas stared into the mirror, appalled at the reflection. Her entire face got destroyed. The skin changes color from white into a nasty black with a deep bruise near her left eye. The red pupil blackened. It was as if she suffered from plague, black death over looming her pretty face.

Tears slowly dripped from her eyes. She gaped as she gazed at the mirror, agonizing over her loss.

"It will heal… eventually." Feebas tried to lift her spirits.

"I guess this is how it feels to be ugly. Worthless, pathetic and meaningless." Aromatisse despaired.

"Don't say that! Beauty isn't the only thing in this world! What truly matters is the inside! Aromatisse, not many Pokemon might say this to you but… appearance isn't your most significant quality. It is your heart." Feebas aroused an intense, indescribable emotion inside Aromatisse.

"I don't understand." Aromatisse looked confused.

"Remember the first day on Skarmory Island. You gave me a chance to prove my worth. You see something inside me as well. Even when you are eliminated, you dedicated your time and effort for this ugly fish. You are kind-hearted. Nothing will change that even if you suddenly become the ugliest Pokemon in this world!" Feebas spoke from her heart, waking Aromatisse up.

"You are… right. My look isn't the only thing that I have. I'm too obsessed with it to the point where Lucario overlooked my shining personality. That's why I'm eliminated. I never tried to branch out and do something else other than maintaining my beauty. I want to redeem myself!" Aromatisse felt a sudden boost of resolve and determination.

"That's how I like it, girl. Go out and show everyone else what you are capable of!" Feebas smiled widely.

* * *

Five minutes since Machoke got a Pyukumuku in his basket, nothing changed. Why? Seemingly, there was no Pyukumuku left to throw.

"Mr. Stalk, can you detect any nearby?" Farfetch'd asked his trusty partner.

"Pyukumuku, where are you?" Helioptile called. "Where are you?" Snorunt repeated after her.

"My Pyukumuku Pursuit Technique didn't work." Machoke had no luck either. He sighed and decided to sit down for a short rest. However, it was déjà vu when he sat on a Pyukumuku again.

"Ugh!" Machoke rubbed his butt before he grunted and threw the Pyukumuku away. It headed to Farfetch'd's basket.

"Great thinking, Machoke! He is in the lead." Jumpluff complimented.

"I just throw it. What are you trying to like... imply?" Machoke revealed that it wasn't intentional.

Farfetch'd scurried around for something to intercept the Pyukumuku but he got nothing so far. He started to look nervous.

Suddenly, an unprecedented event occurred, the Pyukumuku bounced off the edge of the basket into Helioptile's basket instead.

"What?!" Helioptile couldn't believe how unlucky she was. On the other hand, Farfetch'd looked giddy.

"I need a rest." Machoke sat down again. To no one surprise, Pyukumuku poked his butt once again.

"What the-?!" Machoke nearly lost control of himself. "Wait… My Pyukumuku Pursuit Technique worked. Good grief!" Machoke seemed somewhat happy as he tossed it randomly again. This time, it entered Snorunt's basket.

Shortly after, the tides rose gradually. The challenge was about to end. Farfetch'd, Aromatisse, Electabuzz and Jumpluff got no Pyukumuku in their basket.

"Houndour, quickly throw another Pyukumuku into an empty basket!" Tyrunt told him the only solution.

"I'm trying." Houndour panicked as he ran at full speed around the beach. He thought he saw something at the end of the beach and headed over there.

The tides consumed half of the beach already. At this point, all the other contestants except Houndour ascended up the stone stairs.

"Houndour, be careful!" Magikarp said urgently. "You are a fire type."

"I need to do this for Duosion. Ow." Houndour winced as the pain on his back escalated. He staggered a bit more until he reached the end only to see a rock.

The tides flooded his feet. This was a severe emergency!

"Got you!" Skarmory rescued him luckily at the last second.

"Duosion, I failed you." Houndour mumbled weakly.

"I hurt his back…" Machoke looked guilty as he covered his face in shame.

"I landed on him." Tyrunt averted his eyes once Skarmory dropped Houndour down.

"It's alright, guys. Just an accident." Houndour assured, although his voice was filled with sorrow.

"Farfetch'd, Electabuzz, Jumpluff and Aromatisse please come to the front yard. The rest, head inside the cottage." Skarmory instructed.

Machoke and Tyrunt patted Houndour's back as they helped him to walk properly. The others looked at him with sympathy.

* * *

There was a table set up outside in the front yard with four chairs and four cameras underneath each player side. A deck of cards was shown in the middle. All of the four contestants sat down. Farfetch'd faced the cottage. Electabuzz faced the sea. Jumpluff was to the left of Electabuzz. Aromatisse was to the left of Farfetch'd.

"Is your face alright?" Jumpluff asked out of concern.

"It is getting better." Aromatisse said in a slightly optimistic tone.

Skarmory eventually appeared to explain the rules.

"This card game is called Skarmory Match. Let me show the deck first." Skarmory flipped all the cards open. There were pairs of one, two, three, four, five, six and seven. Three eight cards, three Ditto cards, two Drapion cards and one Skarmory. The Skarmory card had a holographic pattern.

"The objective of this game is to score sixteen points. There will be two winners. Every time you got a match on your turn, you earn points corresponding to the card number. For eight, you need to get a three of a kind. To make your life easier, Ditto cards can transform into any cards. For example, if you got two eights, you can use a Ditto to earn eight points." Skarmory paused his explanation to sip some coffee.

He then continued. "Each player starts with three cards in their hand and take turns to steal a card from another player clock-wise. You can't have more than four cards in your hand and you also can't have less than three cards. You will either discard or draw a card if that happens. At the start of your turn, you will get the option to draw a card. Then, you may discard your entire hand and draw the same number of cards at a cost of two points. After that, you are forced to steal a card from the player to your left because that's how it works in clockwise." Skarmory stopped once Jumpluff gave him confused looks.

"I thought clockwise is to the right?" Jumpluff asked.

"Nope, let me make it easy to understand for you." Skarmory demonstrated by walking over to Farfetch'd.

"Looking at a clock is like looking at a mirror, we tend to believe our eyes rather than logic. Farfetch'd is six o clock. Electabuzz is twelve o clock. Jumpluff, you are three o clock, get it now?" Skarmory explained, Jumpluff nodded in understanding.

"Now, let me continue. Reshuffling works uniquely in this card game. For example, after you discard a pair of one and have less than three cards. You don't reshuffle the ones back into the deck right away, you draw first. Therefore, you will never get the same cards. In addition, you can't look at the cards inside the deck. Understand? Need a re-explanation?" Skarmory asked, looking around to make sure the rules are set in stone.

"Mr. Stalk wants to know about Drapion and Skarmory cards. You didn't tell us about them yet." Farfetch'd reminded.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. Well, I save the best for last. The two Drapion cards are penalties. You want to avoid it because it subtracts your point total by one every turn until you reach zero. You can't discard it either unless it is the only card in your hand. Did you notice that I say 'it' instead of 'they'? That is because you are automatically eliminated if you have two in your hand." Skarmory dropped a terrifying twist. Aromatisse gasped. Electabuzz widened his eyes. Farfetch'd gripped Mr. Stalk tightly and Jumpluff looked around worriedly.

"On the other hand, you will want the Skarmory card. It allows you to look at your opponent's hand. Ditto cards cannot replicate the effects of special cards so don't even try. I finish my explanation now. We will start right away." Skarmory piled all the cards together and shuffled them before he handed them out to each player. Subsequently, he tossed a die on the table and gestured for all players to roll it.

"Starting first seems pretty advantageous." Electabuzz remarked, picking the die up and placing it down. "Who wants to roll first?" Electabuzz allowed the others to choose. Farfetch'd contemplated quietly while Aromatisse didn't say much of anything. She just stared at her cards.

"Me, me!" Jumpluff volunteered excitedly. She picked it up with her cotton puffs and dropped it down. It nearly bounced off the table but luckily it teetered on the edge with the number four facing upwards.

"Not bad, I will go next then." Aromatisse took the die and rolled it quickly. She got a three.

Electabuzz gave the die to Farfetch'd and he rolled as well, getting a five.

"My turn." Electabuzz told, shaking the die. He dropped it down and got a six.

"Electabuzz will start first, then Jumpluff, then Farfetch'd and Aromatisse. The cameras will broadcast everything inside. That is where I will be. Enjoy Skarmory Match." Skarmory informed before he left.

Farfetch'd took a peek at his cards before putting them down, masking himself with a poker face.

Jumpluff smiled a little once she saw her cards.

Electabuzz nodded a bit, observing other players.

Aromatisse held her cards tightly, her muscles a bit tense.

The game was about to begin.

* * *

Skarmory entered the cabin and faced everyone. "Let us turn on the TV." He suggested, pressing a button with his right wing. Everyone watched as the screen brightened up, showing four split screens. Each screen has a black box detailing the score and cards in each player's hand.

"I want to play! I'm a magician!" Meowstic whined.

"I'm so excited as a gamer." Tyrunt expressed his joy, shaking the couch a little.

"How to play?" Machoke scratched his head. Skarmory handed him an instruction booklet.

"Thanks." Machoke accepted it and shared the booklet with everyone else.

* * *

Back to the game…

Electabuzz got one seven and two eights. He tried his best to solidify his face, not showing any signs of happiness.

"I will draw a card." He told other players and swiftly pulled a six into his hand. Electabuzz organized his cards properly, ranging from the smallest number to the largest and placed it down neatly.

Electabuzz turned to Jumpluff and she knew immediately what was about to happen.

"Let me shuffle the cards first." Jumpluff requested and Electabuzz nodded in allowance.

She strategically switched her own cards around, hiding her Ditto card at the back while leaving a three and a one at the front.

Electabuzz made contact with the front card, a one. A smile flashed up Jumpluff's face. Seeing this, he picked the second one, a three instead. Jumpluff sighed in relief to herself.

Electabuzz discarded the three, showing it to everyone before he reshuffled it back into the deck without looking. Aromatisse glanced at the card before she sneaked a look at her hand. Farfetch'd didn't seem to have any interest.

Next turn, Jumpluff was forced to draw a card and got a five. She had a look of deep thought as she placed her cotton puffs under her chin. She pulled the five and the Ditto out, netting herself an early lead.

 **Jumpluff 0 + 5 = 5**

With only a one card in her hand, Jumpluff drew two more cards. She got an eight and a six. The Ditto cards tempted the eyes of everyone as it was shuffled back alongside a five.

Farfetch'd held his hand up for her to select a card. Jumpluff chose the middle one. Farfetch'd handed the card over, staring at her blankly. Jumpluff saw it and was stunned for a couple of seconds.

It was a Drapion card.

 **Jumpluff 5 – 1 = 4**

The other flying type took a quick look at his cards before he faced them down on the table. Currently, he got a Ditto and a four. He was forced to draw another card and it was another four.

"Mr. Stalk, what should we do next? Aha, got it." Farfetch'd talked to himself, weirding other players out a bit.

"Can you please do something?" Electabuzz hurried him up.

"Do you have a good hand?" Farfetch'd asked Electabuzz casually.

"No." Electabuzz said simply.

"Mr. Stalk is a lie detector. He knows when you are lying. You want a Ditto?" Farfetch'd asked a different question.

"Everyone wants one." Electabuzz tried to talk his way out.

"You throw a three away. Your entire hand must consist of four or higher." Farfetch'd speculated. Jumpluff and Aromatisse turned their eyes to Electabuzz.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Farfetch'd are you trying to harass me? Hurry up." Electabuzz looked upset.

"I just want to help you. Don't worry." Farfetch'd assured as he placed a four and a Ditto down and grinned a little, following Electabuzz's gaze on the Ditto card.

 **Farfetch'd 0 + 4 = 4**

* * *

Back inside the cottage…

"Why did he use the Ditto? I don't understand." Houndour sounded confused. He lay on a couch, resting his back.

"It is risky to keep a Ditto card in your hand for too long. There is no guarantee that he will get a number higher than four either. Also, look at Electabuzz's hand. He got too many high value cards. As of right now, there is another Drapion card in the deck. Farfetch'd is smart, he wants Electabuzz to be greedy and burn through the deck for the Ditto. He knows that there is a decent chance that Electabuzz will get at least one Drapion from either drawing too aggressively or from Jumpluff." Skarmory analyzed the situation.

"You are very smart and knowledgeable. Just like Duosion…" Houndour praised bittersweetly.

"Well, I created the game. Isn't that expected?" Skarmory said, indifferent.

"Hey, I don't understand what this booklet says." Oddish held the booklet upside down.

"Flip the book." Archeops told. Oddish obeyed, frowning.

"I still don't understand what it says." Oddish continued with her pretense.

"Farfetch'd seems competitive. I don't really like him." Snorunt whispered to Helioptile.

"That is probably because we didn't show him much affection. No one went to see him off. He got a code of honor that I can give respect for though." Helioptile balanced Snorunt's feelings.

"I mean doing that to Electabuzz… Hmm, what do you think, Tyrunt?" Snorunt asked for his opinion.

"I don't like him either and he is a weirdo. Maybe, because I don't really get to know him. Although, he cooks well so not like I care that much." Tyrunt told.

On the screen, Farfetch'd's hand was updated. He got a five and a two from the deck. He also took a one from Aromatisse.

Aromatisse possessed a two and a three in her possession as of now.

* * *

 **Current Standings**

 **Electabuzz: 6, 7, 8, 8 (0)**

 **Jumpluff: 1, 6, 8, Drapion (4)**

 **Farfetch'd: 1, 2, 4, 5 (4)**

 **Aromatisse: 2, 3 (0)**

* * *

Back outside…

Aromatisse was forced to draw a card. She got a three from the deck and smirked a little.

"Lucky me. I got a powerful card." Aromatisse bluffed. She didn't play anything down yet. Electabuzz sweated a little, agitated at the thought that she might play a Skarmory on him.

Aromatisse revealed a pair of three and Electabuzz chuckled, placing his arms behind his head.

 **Aromatisse 0 + 3 = 3**

Aromatisse drew a four and a seven from the deck, hiding the satisfaction behind her blackened eye.

Electabuzz shuffled his cards around rapidly and randomly.

"Select one." Electabuzz showed four cards lining up horizontally on the table. Aromatisse slid the farthest left over to her.

Her damaged eyes lightened up beautifully as she got a seven. Aromatisse didn't play it yet, however. Perhaps, she didn't want to take the lead just yet.

Electabuzz stretched his arms a bit as he collected his cards back up to his hand, nodding a little at the outcome.

"I will draw a card." Electabuzz announced. He took one with eyes closed and hoped for the best. It was a Ditto.

"Bam! Three eights!" Electabuzz yelled lively, slamming the cards down for everyone to see.

 **Electabuzz 0 + 8 = 8**

Jumpluff looked a bit jumpy because of his lead and her Drapion card.

Farfetch'd remained calm, holding Mr. Stalk close to him.

Aromatisse widened her eyes in surprise, trembling a bit to fool the others.

Electabuzz drew two more cards. He got another Ditto and a three. Electabuzz smiled overconfidently and smugly.

"Wham! A pair of six!" Electabuzz lost control of himself. He was intoxicated with his amazing streak of luck.

 **Electabuzz 8 + 6 = 14**

"Electabuzz, you have become more extroverted. You changed! Why don't you post a picture of you holding cards on your social media account? I will fav and follow." Jumpluffed encouraged. Despite her uncomfortable position in the game, his attitude reminded her of some of her friends.

"Later, I got a game to win. I want to discard my hand." Electabuzz made a bold move, tossing the three away.

 **Electabuzz 14 – 2 = 12**

Everyone watched with anticipation as Electabuzz drew three more cards. He opened the first card. It was an eight.

The second was another Ditto.

The third… was a Drapion. Electabuzz shrugged off his bad luck. He got a huge lead, who cares?

Jumpluff held her cards up, placing the Drapion at the middle. Electabuzz circled his fingers around and stopped at the middle. Jumpluff tried her best to maintain a poker face and…

Electabuzz fell for it.

His face whitened once he saw what he got. He slowly dropped his cards down, revealing two Drapion.

Skarmory exited the cottage to deliver the grim news. "Electabuzz, you are eliminated."

Electabuzz slowly dragged his body back inside, with Tyrunt patting his back along the way.

"I got too greedy. I could have won." Electabuzz regretted his reckless move heavily. "A twenty-five percent chance, darn it." Electabuzz banged his fist against the wall.

"Calm down. You at least made it pretty far. It is just a game." Tyrunt said positively. "As a gamer, I lost often. Sometimes, I raged quit and all but a loss is a loss." Tyrunt lectured. Electabuzz nodded, looking down on the ground as he went over to rest on a couch.

* * *

 **Current Standings**

 **Electabuzz: Eliminated**

 **Jumpluff: 1, 6, 8 (4)**

 **Farfetch'd: 1, 2, 4, 5 (4)**

 **Aromatisse: 2, 4, 7, 7 (3)**

* * *

"I will shuffle all of his cards back into the deck and we will continue." Skarmory told the three players left in the game.

"Oh god, I'm so close to winning." Jumpluff shook excitedly.

"I already got bad karma from the Pyukumuku. Hopefully, this game will be kind to me." Aromatisse hoped.

"Mr. Stalk is confident in the heart of the cards." Farfetch'd told.

Jumpluff drew a six and smiled.

"A pair of six for me." Jumpluff revealed the cards.

 **Jumpluff 4 + 6 = 10**

Drawing another card gave her a three. She took a four from Farfetch'd.

Back to Farfetch'd turn, he drew a Ditto and fiddled with the card a little.

"I decide to…" Farfetch'd paused dramatically, placing two cards facing down. The others looked at him with interest and uncertainty. "… play my Ditto." Farfetch'd flipped the cards open. It was a pair of five.

 **Farfetch'd 4 + 5 = 9**

Farfetch'd drew a six, recovering his hand back up to three.

"Just pick one." Aromatisse placed her cards down for him to choose. Farfetch'd selected the one on the right. He got a two. Aromatisse sighed in relief.

"Another pair for us, Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd talked to his trusty partner, revealing two twos.

 **Farfetch'd 9 + 2 = 11**

Farfetch'd drew again, the surface of this card touched his wing in a soothing way. It gave off a powerful aura as he put it into his hand. For some reason, Farfetch'd didn't bother to look at it.

"Mr. Stalk, you can feel it, right?" Farfetch'd whispered. Aromatisse and Jumpluff stared at him strangely.

"Does Mr. Stalk have a social media account?" Jumpluff tried to socialize.

"He shares it with me." Farfetch'd answered. Jumpluff nodded slightly.

It was Aromatisse's turn again. This time, she made a decision that no one made before.

"I don't want to draw a card." Aromatisse refused, playing it safe.

Aromatisse showed them her pair of seven, rising up the leaderboards by storm.

* * *

 **Aromatisse 3 + 7 = 10**

Afterwards, she drew a five and a Ditto. Aromatisse was in a tricky situation. If she plays the Ditto now, she will only miss the mark by one point. Deciding to keep it for now, she took a card from Jumpluff randomly. Aromatisse dropped her jaw. It was a four. She emptied her hand, sealing her victory.

"Congratulations, you won first place. Another contestant will join you, Aromatisse." Skarmory announced.

"Congrats." Jumpluff applauded.

"Mr. Stalk wants first place but he said that second is also fine." Farfetch'd told.

"I can't believe it! I won!" Aromatisse felt a boost of confidence. Despite her face injury, she managed to accomplish something to be proud of.

The fairy type entered the cottage to celebrate with her friends, leaving Jumpluff and Farfetch'd in a final showdown.

* * *

 **Current Standings**

 **Electabuzz: Eliminated**

 **Jumpluff: 1, 3, 4, 8 (10)**

 **Farfetch'd: 1, 6, ? (11)**

 **Aromatisse: Won 1** **st** **place**

* * *

It was Jumpluff's turn. She got so excited that she didn't even draw a card.

"I will steal a card from you right away." Jumpluff skipped ahead.

"Alright." Farfetch'd pushed the cards closer to her. Jumpluff picked the middle, she got a one.

"Hooray." Jumpluff said happily, showing a pair of one.

 **Jumpluff 10 + 1 = 11**

Farfetch'd was forced to draw a card. He got an eight.

"Mr. Stalk, life or death, this card decides!" Farfetch'd exaggerated, opening the secret card. A flashy holographic light shined into his eyes.

It was a Skarmory.

"I play it." Farfetch'd revealed the Skarmory to Jumpluff.

"I'm jealous." Jumpluff didn't seem content, revealing a three, a four and an eight to Farfetch'd.

"I also get to draw a card since I have less than three." Farfecth'd told, Skarmory nodded in confirmation.

Farfetch'd slowly brought the card over to his face. This card must be an eight, a six or Ditto for him to win the game.

It was…

…

…

Farfetch'd inhaled deeply and exhaled.

…

…

A Ditto.

"Mr. Stalk wants that eight. He needs the ticket back to Skarmory Island!" Farfetch'd sealed the game as well.

Jumpluff averted her eyes and stared at the ground, sobbing a little.

"I'm sorry Bisharp, I failed." Jumpluff cried.

Farfetch'd stopped celebrating and approached her. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke up. Farfetch'd wasn't very social. He didn't know how to talk to others except for Mr. Stalk and his own girlfriend. He felt like there was some sort of language barrier between him and the others.

"Are you alright?" Farfetch'd asked. "Why are you sorry for Bisharp? Mr. Stalk detects ominous force from him." Farfetch'd was uninformed about their relationship. He didn't know much about any of the contestant, really.

"You don't understand anything! I'm worried sick about him!" Jumpluff snapped and Farfetch'd stepped back, holding Mr. Stalk in front of him like a shield.

"Sorry. It is just a game. I tried to have fun but I'm so mad at myself right now. I can't do anything. This game is so stressful. I thought that I'm in for a vacation. Taking selfies, enjoying good food and make lots and lots of friends. In the end, the pressure got to me." Jumpluff turned to look at him with teary eyes.

"Can I ask you one favor?" Jumpluff asked. Farfetch'd looked at Mr. Stalk before he nodded.

"Please don't let Bisharp do anything that he will regret. Talk some sense into him. Tyrunt told me that he might lose control because I'm gone." Jumpluff explained.

"Mr. Stalk always keep his word. You can trust him and me." Farfetch'd reassured.

"Thank you." Jumpluff said before she left.

Skarmory looked at Farfetch'd awkwardly.

"Err, I will get Aromatisse. We will go back together." Skarmory informed.

* * *

Soon after, Skarmory, Chef Drapion, Aromatisse and Farfetch'd all boarded the boat. They all waved at the ex-contestants except for Chef Drapion, who drove the boat.

"See you all later and have fun!" Houndour waved, his back a bit crooked. Although, it looked better than before.

"If there is a second season, I want to play with all of you and show my awesome, new techniques!" Machoke addressed everyone. Skarmory chuckled.

"Aromatisse, hope your face gets better soon." Feebas wished for the best.

"Try your best everyone. Keep on going even at the face of powerful adversary like Lucario!" Magikarp cheered.

"Hope both of you never get a game over screen." Tyrunt said his parting words.

"Work hard and reach your true potential! See you all later!" Electabuzz bid his farewell.

"Try your best to win and beat Skrelp as well as Grovyle." Snorunt said quietly. Only Helioptile can hear it.

"Try your best to win! From Snorunt and me!" Helioptile said it in her place.

"Don't end up like me! Don't be lured by your greed!" Archeops shouted louder as the boat went further and further away.

"Take care of Bisharp, Farfetch'd!" Jumpluff shouted as loud as she could.

"Where is the boat heading?" Oddish asked a dumb question.

"To a magical land of torture and pain." Meowstic forebode, not happy with the returnees.

"I hate all of you!" Larvitar yelled. Everyone glared at him. He grumbled and left, his body still wounded.

The boat departed from Moss'up Island, no one could hear anything now. Farfetch'd sat opposite to Aromatisse. Skarmory sat in front with Chef Drapion.

"What is your game plan?" Aromatisse asked Farfetch'd.

"Same as before. No alliances. Just me and Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd remained unyielding.

"Are you sure?" Aromatisse asked again.

"Yes. That is how my girlfriend wants me to play and I won't disappoint her." Farfetch'd insisted, a bit annoyed.

"Alright." Aromatisse ended the conversation and opened her make-up handbag for a mirror. She stared at her damaged face melancholily, applying some medicine to alleviate the agony,

The moon shined brightly on the calm water. The returnees awaited this day. The day of redemption. They were about to face their fellow contestants again.

"Stay excited for the next episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory ended the episode off.

* * *

Does it meet your expectations? What is your elimination list going forward? I'm curious.

How about I give all of you a sneak peek of season 2 instead of the next episode?

Machoke will return alongside Magikarp and Feebas. I feel like both of them have untapped potential. I want to expand upon filler characters as well. Another thing, there will be more newbies than veteran. Therefore, the majority of contestants won't return.

Hope you all have a good day! See you all again sometime in this month!


	17. Chapter 17

I finish this chapter just in time!

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Parousia45**

Yep, if you read Desire Tunnel, you will have a greater understanding of what kind of world I'm trying to create. I know my first story is poor. That's why I'm planning a remake. The plot and ending will still be the same but the characters will be expanded upon and more descriptions of the world and environment will be added.

I created Lucario with the intention that you can either hate or like him. It is up to you. Rest assured, Duosion and Houndour might return for future seasons…

Aromatisse and Farfetch'd will get their development. When? I can't tell. Maybe this chapter or the next…

Your feelings about Shedinja… Just read this chapter.

 **InfernoMaster64**

Thanks, I appreciate your review and support. Electabuzz and Jumpluff will make an appearance again… in future seasons. Don't worry. Aromatisse and Farfetch'd might surprise you in their own ways.

I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long. I'm about to take my tests really. Don't have much time to write especially with Breath of the Wild coming in March.

* * *

 **Episode 17** **:** **Para** **-** **Pirates Appeared** **!** **Yarr, Walk the Plank** **!**

The dawn sailed divinely to the dock, bringing forth the light of a new era. Among sand and sea, lied a man gazing straight at the horizon. His eyes waited patiently for the return of the cheery sunlight that once elapsed by the 'gecko eclipse'.

"Only if you are still here…" Bisharp sulked, fixing his gaze intently. "Why do I feel like reaching the merge is such an empty accomplishment? Devoid of any essence and meaning."

The heartbroken man continued to wait as time passed relentlessly; he prayed continuously with cautious optimism for her. Clinging to his fragile faith, he didn't move from the spot.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "Why can't you just return already? The longer I wait, the more I'm tempted to consume that _vermin_. Grovyle, he disparaged me and I feel so provoked as of right now. And you just don't provoke me because I will annihilate you." Bisharp manifested a dark expression.

* * *

Duosion groggily floated outside her cabin, pacing around the area aimlessly.

"I feel enraged. It is highly improbable for you to leave so soon so why did you… foolishly assent to Lucario's demands?" Duosion pondered with puffy eyes.

"I'm honestly sick of love. It changes me in ways that I couldn't imagine. I want to rule it as irrational and remove it from my mind so that I can focus on other things but I can't! It is embedded deep inside my heart." Duosion cried, her voice dramatic.

"Even if I need to trade my prized memorabilia collection, I will do it just for you." Duosion vowed.

The door of the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin opened. "Hey, are you alright?" Ledyba asked in a quiet and tender voice, acknowledging the sensitive situation.

Duosion turned around, the look on her face was surprising to Ledyba.

"Did you cry?" Ledyba asked, observing her swollen look.

"Y-yes." Duosion reluctantly admitted. "I just can't get past the fact that Houndour chose his loyalty to Lucario and his team over my love for him…"

"Hey, don't be so sad. One, he might return and two, he really loves you. He sacrifices himself to end the conflict. Imagine what will happen if Lucario returns after you voted him out." Ledyba consoled to the best of her ability.

Duosion dried up her face with Psychic and faced Ledyba. "I guess you are right." Duosion sniffled.

"Oh, why don't we go take a stride and talk about it if it makes you feel better?" Ledyba offered and Duosion nodded slowly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba** : "As someone in a relationship and a close friend of Houndour, I want to help her as much as I can. I hate it when other Pokemon are depressed."

 **Duosion** **:** "I just realize that I'm not mentally strong when it comes to love at all. There is still much to learn about myself. Perhaps, spending some time with Ledyba will make myself more self-conscious." Duosion looked reflective.

* * *

Nosepass shook under his blanket, twisting left and right. Jittering all over the place, the cowardly nose Pokemon breathed heavily.

"No!" Nosepass screamed in horror as he woke up, clenching his blanket for support.

Grovyle sprang up and hit his head against the ceiling. "Gah! A Chatot used Boomburst or something?" Grovyle groaned as he rubbed his head.

Nosepass teetered on the edge of his bed, swinging his legs around. The look in his eyes signaled fear and terror.

"You know what, I'm leaving." Grovyle mumbled and left the cabin, slamming the door with a disgruntled sound.

"…" Rhyhorn stared at Nosepass observantly, curling his lips a little. However, he soon stopped after seeing Nosepass' pitiful look.

"Another nightmare. This time, it is worse. I need an adult to skill swap insomnia to me." Nosepass told hopelessly.

"Want to talk about it?" Rhyhorn asked quietly, straightening his stare.

Nosepass thought for a moment before he answered. "Yeah." The two then left the cabin for a walk around the forest.

The community of trees provided a comforting shade to the two rock types as they wandered deeper and deeper. The shrubs and bushes accompanied them. The alluring flowers distracted them from their problems.

Both of them were silent at the start of their little trip until Nosepass opened up about his troubles and issues.

"I hate myself for being such a weak coward; I'm a loser that ran away from all of his problems. Rhyhorn, I have these nightmares for a reason. I regretted submitting to the bullies every day without even trying to fight or resist them. I would even betray what little friends I have for a glimmer of safety. I hate the fact that I was born as a Nosepass! I'm ugly and others pick on me for it. I hate it! I hate it!" Nosepass exploded in anger. Rhyhorn looked down, he didn't make a comment for a while.

Nosepass stomped on the ground in rage, only to step on a rock and hurt himself. "Ouch." Nosepass cried in pain.

"Are you alright?" Rhyhorn asked in concern, checking his feet.

"It's okay." Nosepass assured, averting his eyes a little. Maybe because of embarrassment for making a big deal over a tiny rock.

"Nosepass, you need to have more self-esteem. No one is looking down on you until you are looking down on yourself. You are stronger than you think. You even beat Larvitar and Scolipede." Rhyhorn indicated, teaching him a lesson.

"Those were all flukes, my impulses always got the best of me in those situations." Nosepass didn't seem to feel better about himself.

Rhyhorn didn't reply or knew how to reply.

Suddenly, there was a voice nearby from a clearing.

"I still remember the time when I teased him about being scared of caves." Duosion looked back into her memories, snickering a little. "His reaction was cute."

"Really?" Ledyba giggled alongside her.

Both Rhyhorn and Nosepass couldn't hear clearly.

"I'm scared." Nosepass clung to Rhyhorn. "The other team is probably planning to vote all of us out. I don't really trust any of them except maybe Houndour, but he was already gone." Nosepass said, conveying his distrust and unease for the other team quietly.

"…" Rhyhorn got stuck in a trance. "Let's leave." Eventually, he said something to the delight of Nosepass.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "Rhyhorn is the only one I feel safe around with. Not only is he a rock type like me, he isn't aggressive or loud or noisy and also a great listener as well. He is everything that I can ask for in a big brother."

* * *

A certain bookworm was sitting on the bench outside of her cabin.

Skrelp read her book as usual, turning to her desired page skillfully without a bookmark. It was the last page. Even though it seemed like she immersed deeply into the story, she was actually eavesdropping and observing the other contestants with masterful subtlety. When they blinked, she glanced at them for half a second. Alternating between her book and spy task, she perfected the art of multi-tasking.

Bisharp walked into the camp area and gestured for Meowth to meet him on the beach. Meowth nodded before he entered his own cabin to ensure no one sees him following Bisharp.

Skrelp grinned smugly as she continued to read her book.

"What a tragic, ironic twist. The protagonist died at the hands of those he tried to protect. Not to brag, however, I predicted it correctly since the start. Nevertheless, I appreciate the author for crafting this complex, vicious spiral of psychological trauma. I give it a nine out of ten." Skrelp reviewed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp** **:** "It is time for me to start being productive. I will now assert my plan into action. My strategy is quite simple. Painting bigger targets like Lucario, Grovyle and Bisharp for elimination. However, it also requires adroitness. I need to exploit the insecurities of other contestants in order for them to listen to me. I won't pretend to be nice like that deceiving degenerate, Grovyle. Unlike him, I show my true colors. It is a hassle to socialize and form such precarious, delicate relationships. I play how I want to play." Skrelp said straightforwardly, her eyes were cold and callous.

* * *

Bisharp and Meowth stood side by side as they relished at the great view of the sea on the dock.

"I want to get both of them eliminated as soon as possible." Bisharp told, turning to face him. "Have you successfully coaxed Lucario into our plan?" Bisharp asked.

"Yes. I suggested to him that manipulating Grovyle will destroy the morale of the Crazy Crawdaunt members and he agreed instantly. Of course, I didn't mention your name. I can't have my business partners compete against each other, can I? Both of you are like jealous entrepreneurs that contend for market share in the boat market. Lucario's boat is far better in terms of raw power than yours. However, your boat is sleeker and contain many nifty functions." Meowth's analogy made Bisharp chuckled.

"Are you saying that you are the customer?" Bisharp assumed, folding his arms.

"No, I'm but an expert, a specialist that makes sure both of you make the right decisions. I don't earn any fair share of profits from the sales of yours and Lucario's boat. Rather, both of you hire me with your votes and guaranteed safety." Meowth explained.

"I don't mind if you decide to stay with Lucario. I don't require your friendship and loyalty. I only need you to eliminate Skrelp and Grovyle. Our contact ends after that, am I clear?" Bisharp said coldly, signifying their relationship to be nothing more than that of an employer and employee.

"Clear." Meowth smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** **:** "Oh, Bisharp. How narrow-minded of you to see revenge as your only goal. I guess you didn't realize that I'm the true corporate giant around here. I don't require your scraps of cash or vote. My relations expand far greater and beyond anything you can possibly imagine." Meowth shook his head.

 **Bisharp;** "I know that Meowth doesn't have any moral obligation to help me. As long as I pay him, he will work."

* * *

Scolipede skittered around the camp, darting from place to place. Checking the mess hall, Feckless Flygon cabins and the benches, signs of worry started to grow in his eyes.

"What's up, homie?" Darmanitan asked as he got out of the cabin. "You seem to be in a hurry. What's the matter? Your boy here can help."

"Well, I couldn't find Ledyba for the entire day. It is very strange. Lunchtime is already about to start so where can she disappear to?" Scolipede wondered.

"I don't know, homie. All I know is that Lucario is in the gym and Shedinja is still sleeping. Maybe, you should ask the other girls." Darmanitan suggested.

"Thanks, very helpful." Scolipede said with slight sarcasm.

"Anytime." Darmanitan said before returning inside the cabin, scratching his head sheepishly in the process.

"Maybe, I should ask someone from the other team." Scolipede considered. "I can't find Ledyba, neither Cryogonal. Miltank, eh. I don't feel comfortable talking to her. Grovyle, no way. Skrelp, as if. Maybe… Dedenne?" He went through his options slowly until a certain Pokemon called out to him.

"Scolipede, what are you doing?!" Ledyba returned to the camp with Duosion next to her. The latter looked a lot better compare to the morning.

"Where are you? I have been looking for you for ages." Scolipede asked with relief, widening his eyes at her sudden appearance.

"Nothing, just girl stuff with Duosion. You don't need to know." Ledyba blushed a little bit.

"At least, you should leave me a note or tell me beforehand. Who knows what kind of danger lurks here? You could have gotten seriously injured like that time when we fought Raticate. Next time do it, alright?" Scolipede rebuked worriedly.

"I think you are being a bit too paranoid, Scolipede." Ledyba sweat dropped.

"Ledyba, I used to think like that once and the result wasn't pretty. I don't trust this harsh and cruel world." Scolipede insisted. "Please make me feel at ease. I'm your boyfriend."

Duosion stared with slight disapproval but didn't say anything.

"Alright, alright. I will do it." Ledyba assured.

Scolipede looked relieved. He opened his mouth and was about to say something until the speakers around the camp interrupted him.

"Attention, this is Alakazam. Skarmory left to host a redemption challenge with Chef Drapion today. Therefore, there won't be a challenge until tomorrow. I will keep all of you updated if there are any changes. On a separate matter, food will be handled a bit differently. The interns will be in charge of your meals temporarily. Please contact me if the food is inedible or can cause any specific allergic symptoms. Thank you for your attention." The announcement ended.

Most of the contestants smiled with optimism at the thought of decent food. They all believed that the interns can cook up something better than our purple, poisonous chef. Highly likely…

"Excited for tomorrow, Duosion? You might get to see Houndour!" Ledyba exclaimed.

"Probably. If I'm to assume that the challenge will be an even playing field, Houndour has a 6.66% percent chance of returning. (She wasn't aware that there are two returnees.) If by excitement, you mean optimism then the answer is no. The feeling that I have now is similar to the feeling of buying a lottery ticket and hoping to at least win something. The prospect of luck invigorates me a little." Duosion detailed her answer. Ledyba nodded, trying to absorb and process everything in.

"Ledyba, let's go to check the food." Scolipede motioned for her to follow him.

"Come with us, you won't feel lonely that way." Ledyba persuaded, waving for her to come.

Duosion smiled joyfully before she followed them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "Even though Hondour isn't here anymore, I have my friends at the very least."

 **Scolipede** **:** "Getting along with Duosion isn't exactly easy. At least for me. I mean she is my friend but that is because Ledyba is her friend. Our relationship is… complicated. I don't know if I can depend on her."

 **Ledyba** **:** "Making Duosion happy is also making Houndour happy, which makes me happy as well. We share a lot of differences but hey I don't really care about any of that. I'm not picky when it comes to making friends. I learned that with Zorua. As long as she sees our relationship as genuine and doesn't abuse it, I'm happy."

 **Lucario** **:** "Hopefully, Ursaring and Shiinotic don't poison my food. I don't trust them to take care of my diet. Surprising, the chef's food is pretty healthy."

 **Meowth** **:** "The restaurant has been upgraded. I look forward to a deadly seven course meal with desserts. While I have a tongue for all classes of food, I prefer the expensive ones."

 **Dedenne** **:** "I can't stand the chef. Good riddance that he is out of the island."

 **Drifblim** **:** She held a list with the names of all eliminated contestants. "Let's see who has the highest chance of returning." Drifblom crossed the names of Larvitar, Meowstic, Oddish, Feebas, Magikarp out first. "Snorunt probably can't do any physical challenges. Machoke is too clumsy and hapless. Tyrunt, hmm…" Drifblim pondered.

"I doubt it. Helioptile as well. Both of them aren't the strongest or the smartest. Aromatisse has a chance of winning if there is a beauty element involved. Strategic wise, I want to see weak contestants like Feebas and Magikarp return, of course. However, I believe that it will be more exciting for fan-favorites like Jumpluff and Houndour to return. My fellow game show fanatics out there also probably wants to see more screen-time for an oddball like Farfetch'd."

* * *

Unlike any other day, the contestants lined up in front of the mess hall eagerly. They looked forward to eating good food for once. Most of them to be exact.

"Where's Shedinja?" Ledyba asked with a worried expression. "I know that he is usually late but this is starting to get ridiculous."

"He told me that he works on night shift outside of the game. That is probably why he wakes up late all the time." Cryogonal explained.

"A part-time job?" Scolipede raised his eyes in question.

"Probably." Cryogonal shrugged, seemingly unsure and hesitant to give any further details.

"I doubt that he can find a good job. That bug probably works in convenient stores or flipping burgers for sale. Like this." Heracross mocked by mimicking Shedinja's apathetic demeanor, standing still with no facial expressions whatsoever. She nudged Miltank for her reaction and they both laughed.

Cryogonal scowled. "Hey! Don't make fun of him!" By defending Shedinja, she earned looks from everyone.

"I actually agree. Miltank, you are just the worst." Dedenne directed the blame at her enemy.

"Me, what did I do, pipsqueak?" Miltank looked offended. "It's not my fault." She crossed her arms.

"It is still partially your fault for joining in with the laughter." Dedenne pointed out. Grovyle nodded.

"Yeah, I totally agree as well. Absolutely, that is just… wrong." Grovyle went along with it, giving a thumb up to support the message. Dedenne smiled widely at this, flashing her teeth. Bisharp chuckled to himself.

"I'm just kidding alright. No offense to that bug. Geez, sensitive." Heracross muttered, glaring at certain individuals.

The heat subsided once the door opened and the smell leaked out, working up their appetite.

"Smells good." Lucario commented as the first in line. Unfortunately, the Pokemon that stepped out was no one other than… his biggest fangirl.

"Really?! I'm overjoyed that you like it, Lucario! I made all the food especially for you!" Smeargle screamed giddily and dragged Lucario inside with his left hand.

"Help!" Lucario pleaded as he was forced inside. Many laughed at his predicament.

"Go get 'em, beast. Where's your aura, now?" Drifblim made a pun out of his team name, giggling until she gagged herself to stop.

"Homie, I hope you enjoy the food." Darmanitan said, giving a helpless and sheepish grin.

The others soon made their way inside the mess hall after they calmed down with the laughter.

The mess hall was redecorated. Only one long line of connected tables remained on the middle. A pink banner hung above with the words 'Merge Feast' in blue. The font was big and bold, capturing their attention. To the sides were leftover chairs, stacking together nicely. The giant table had a wide variety of food, including meat of various Pokemon (artificial), fruits, vegetables and berries. A dish of Slowpoke tail shined vibrantly among other special delicacies (not chef's).

Miltank licked her lips a little. "Feels like the good ol' feasts after a long, hard day at the farm."

"This exceeds my expectation. I will tip rewardingly." Meowth rubbed his hands together.

"You don't need to drag me. I can do everything by myself." Lucario tried to reject her help, shaking his head and right hand.

"I know but please let me do it." Smeargle requested, pulling the chair back for him.

"Are you on a date? Where is your chivalry?" Scolipede teased, plastering a mocking smile. Lucario face reddened and Scolipede regretted what he said, shutting up immediately.

"Scolipede, why did you say that? I know that you are joking but Lucario doesn't take that lightly, you know?" Ledyba scolded.

"Sorry. It was an accident." Scolipede apologized. Skrelp scanned through the situation silently.

"Good food, finally. Yay." Nosepass interrupted the tension and diverted everyone to the delicious food again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "I couldn't control my mouth. I don't know why I try to get on his nerves. This is probably suicidal and Ledyba is right. I should just stop. Maybe, I just hate him. He put me through a lot of things."

 **Ledyba** **:** "I feel nervous. I don't want Scolipede to end up like Houndour. Why is he trying to aggravate and provoke Lucario?" Her face seemed a bit pale.

 **Lucario** **:** "Scolipede…" Lucario clenched his fist, breathing heavily.

 **Darmanitan** : "I think the homie is going to change his elimination list a bit. Yikes."

 **Duosion** **:** "I'm glad that Lucario got humiliated. However, that isn't enough of a solace. Houndour is still eliminated because of his despotic rule." She frowned.

 **Skrelp** **:** "There is a lot of tension coming from the other team. Perhaps, I can take advantage of that."

 **Nosepass** **:** "I just want to eat the food! I don't care about what any of those jerks around me say. Can't I have nice things for once? The situation is too unstable for my liking."

 **Grovyle** **:** "I'm sure I score some points from Dedenne, unlike Lucario. The guy seems to be in trouble right now and that's good. I remember what he did to me yesterday and I hold grudges."

 **Bisharp** **:** "It is blatantly obvious that Grovyle puts up a charade to cover for his reputation yet Dedenne still fell for it. I guess love makes people blind."

 **Miltank** **:** "I'm reunited with Heracross finally. For sure, we have a lot of things to discuss about privately."

 **Heracross** **:** "I hope Shedinja starves, honestly. I doubt that he can eat anyway."

 **Cryogonal** **:** "A part-time job? This got me thinking. He probably needs to support his own livelihood. That must be tough and difficult for sure. How is he faring outside of this game, I wonder?"

* * *

After a while…

Everyone enjoyed their food and engaged in a warm, friendly conversation. Lucario calmed down, devouring his plate of Sitrus Berry and Pinap Berry. Smeargle bugged him from his right side. Nosepass ate quietly, putting his head down and focused on the food. Rhyhorn kept his ears open but his mouth full. The others were more social than these three.

"Back at my farm, I shear Mareep wool for sale, produce Moomoo Milk, feed the horses for equestrian events and so much more. I'm basically a mighty force there, a hustler, a hard worker. Even the strongest Tauros cower in fear in front of me. With a snap of a finger, the Mareep shed their own wool for me. The milking part is the worse though." Miltank bragged, boasting a prideful smile.

"Cool. I plow the ground and plant berry seeds. My life is pretty boring unlike yours." Grovyle addressed Miltank, before shoving Slowpoke tails inside his mouth. Dedenne didn't seem pleased with his table manners.

"Really? My parents own a berry field, too!" Ledyba joined in.

"Wow, we have a lot in common." Grovyle widened his eyes, seeming a bit surprised. "Did your crops get attacked?" Grovyle asked curiosly.

"No, everyone around where I live is friendly." Ledyba replied.

"I'm envious." Grovyle admitted. He continued to stuff food down his mouth and ate a bit mannerlessly.

"So, Miltank. Why did you join this game? You seem happy back there. Does the million mean that much to you?" Drifblim asked, placing her arms under her chin.

"Well, I'm not exactly rich, even though I'm not poor. I just want to hold some solid gold once in my life, know what I mean? Showing the competition who's boss as well so that my co-workers praise me." Miltank answered.

"I see…" Drifblim's eyes flared with intrigue. She then glanced at Scolipede.

The guy was blowing a bowl of soup for Ledyba. He even filtered some of the contents out for her. More accurately, a green berry with scale-like features.

"Be careful, alright? Don't eat it if it is too hot and don't eat anything strange either or else you will get sick. I know that this isn't Chef Drapion's cooking but we can't exactly trust Smeargle either." Scolipede said in a skeptical manner. Ledyba looked a bit embarrassed because of his behavior.

The intern glared at Scolipede before she huffed and left. Lucario sighed in relief as Darmanitan rubbed his left shoulder.

"Err, Scolipede. What you just removed from my bowl is called Babiri Berry. It has a tough exterior and a strong flavor, mostly due to its spicy and dry texture. It can be used to create medicine to alleviate pain from steel type attacks. I can eat it just fine." Ledyba assured, convincing him with her knowledge.

"Alright, be careful." Scolipede still had that skeptical look on his face.

"You are a very overprotective boyfriend, aren't you? Girls might not like that." Drifblim advised.

"Hey, are you trying to criticize me?" Scolipede looked offended, narrowing his eyes in anger.

"No, I'm offering advice as another female Pokemon. Take my word lightly or not is up to you." Drifblim dealt with the situation in a composed manner.

"Are you annoyed, Ledyba?" Scolipede looked at his girlfriend anxiously.

"N-no, not one bit." Ledyba stuttered a bit, trying not to hurt his feelings. Scolipede looked relieved as he heard that. Skrelp eyed them mockingly before she resumed eating her food with proper etiquette.

The strategist eventually finished her plate, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Afterwards, she opened up her book to reread some of her favorite parts.

"Oh, this book. I just remember. A very cruel tragedy. Do you like reading tragedies?" Duosion struck a conversation with Skrelp.

"You read it as well?" Skrelp lifted up her gaze from her book slowly. Duosion nodded in reply.

"Interesting. Personally, the genre doesn't matter to me. Rather, I like to read something mature and around my reading age." Skrelp explained.

"I see. I read occasionally but not often. I prefer historical books over anything else." Duosion shared her interest.

"Are you done talking yet?" Skrelp asked in a very cold and unfriendly tone. "I don't exactly want to strain myself or overexert my mental capabilities to memorize your insignificant personality." Duosion was shocked at how Skrelp rudely ended the conversation like that.

"You asked me yourself, didn't you?" Duosion mumbled to herself.

"Don't mind her. She is like this all the time. I got the same treatment." Grovyle empathized.

"Grovyle is right. Don't mind her. She is like that all the time in our team." Dedenne agreed.

"It is okay. She didn't hurt my feelings or anything." Duosion assured upon seeing their concerned faces.

The feast was a luxury to many. Darmanitan kindly passed all kinds of food around, sharing the joy. Everyone looked happy as it all came to an end. Parting to their separate ways, some visited the confessional.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "Even though this is the merge, I want to remind my fellow Feckless Flygon members that we are still a team, the same entity as before. I want all of my teammates to join forces with me as if we are all in an alliance and completely obliterate the Crazy Crawdaunt. In order for that to happen, negative attitudes in our team need to change."

 **Meowth** **:** "My trip to the overseas went pretty well, I say. I got new customers. Many of the Crazy Crawdaunt members seem to have taken a liking of me. A few didn't however, such as Rhyhorn and Dedenne. Heracross isn't the most ideal customer, neither is Grovyle."

 **Duosion** **:** "Other than Skrelp and Lucario, I'm also keeping my eyes on Meowth. I think he betrayed the Treasure Trio. That guy is one dangerous businessman. The way he talked about charity and public projects to other contestants. He makes it very hard to hate him. I'm pretty sure that Ledyba is a close friend of his as well. He got ties with nearly everyone."

 **Skrelp** **:** "My examination of all the contestants is complete; I analyzed their weaknesses, strengths, flaws and mentality. All of them should just forfeit now that only imminent victory is ahead of me." She had a cocky, smug grin on her face.

 **Dedenne** **:** "If it isn't for the likes of Lucario, Miltank and Meowth, the other team would be miles better. The reason why I hate Miltank should be obvious by now. Lucario is just a jerk to our entire team and Meowth is just a no-good businessman that rigs Skarmory tokens."

 **Drifblim** **:** "Very interesting. Most of the Pokemon here still have that 'team' mentality. I say wait for a few episodes and they will start to cannibalize on each other. Who knows? Lucario is the main gear driving forward this tradition with all of his followers in the backseat. After I read the atmosphere in the room, I can safely say that all the Crazy Crawdaunt members dislike Lucario in some shape or form. Therefore, they all seem reluctant to work with the other team."

 **Grovyle** **:** "I like Ledyba. She is pretty cool. Miltank is alright. Heracross and I work together so we can have a place for her. Maybe, I can find some sort of arrangements for all of us. After all, I need to combat Lucario sooner or later."

 **Scolipede** **:** "I don't look that weird, do I? Being worried is just another way of saying 'I love you'. I'm pretty sure. It worked on Leavanny before." He suddenly looked down in depression. "She tricked me so none of that is reliable now."

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Shedinja didn't appear all day. I should save some food for him."

* * *

With permission from Smeargle, Cryogonal carried a plastic bag of Slowpoke tails back to the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin. She knocked on the door and waited patiently.

A few minutes passed by with no reply.

"Shedinja?" Cryogonal asked, starting to feel silly for waiting pointlessly. "Are you inside?"

Awkward silence.

Cryogonal opened the door to see Shedinja staring blankly into nothingness.

"What's wrong with you?" Cryogonal dropped the plastic bag down and hurriedly went over to check his condition.

"Don't you get the message? Get out." Shedinja said monotonously.

"Can't you at least say 'thank you'? I'm here to deliver food in case you are hungry." Cryogonal disobeyed his demand, persisting on her quest to reach his empty soul.

"Whatever. Place it down and leave." Shedinja didn't look annoyed or anything. He was completely emotionless. He didn't feel annoyed that she disobeyed him. He couldn't find enough anger inside him to shout at her either. Happiness? Laughable. He didn't feel hungry one bit.

Cryogonal heated up with anger a bit. "Nothing in this world means anything to you, huh? Just because you are abandoned doesn't mean you can reject other Pokemon's kindness this… heartlessly!" She shouted. Shedinja turned to face her with his empty eyeholes.

"What is the point of my life? Everything is just so boring. Do I feel any desire for further revenge? No, it takes too much effort and motivation. Enough damage had been done after I stole Ninjask's spot on this show. Money? What is the use of something so temporary? I use it and it is gone. Materialism is worthless to me. Friends? I-" Shedinja drawled until he was interrupted.

Cryogonal swung her chains around furiously as she spoke. "Stop lying to yourself! I saw it, your desire to live. You think you can fool me? You like to make sarcastic and witty remarks. Why? Probably because it is the only way to express yourself. You can't bear the pain of being lonely forever." Cryogonal paused for a short breather.

"You gave some effort in challenges even though you tried to deny that. You are somewhat competitive. You even think that you are 'talented' yourself." Cryogonal bombarded him rapidly with these weird _accusations_. How dare she _assumed_ that he felt anything at all? Suddenly, Shedinja had a sickening epiphany.

He felt something. The feeling of defeat and denial.

"How did you know?" Shedinja asked, perking his eyes slightly.

"Your song and from my own experience. I went through similar things." Cryogonal revealed, calming down once she saw how he reacted.

"I underestimate you. Still, there is nothing you can do about it. Leave." Shedinja insisted with his deadpan voice. Strangely, he felt insecure. He wanted her to leave now. The longer and closer she stayed around him, the crazier his mind spun. His anti-social and aloof barrier shattered. It was a completely new experience for him. One that he couldn't control or grasp. He despised it.

Cryogonal seethed as she stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door harshly.

"Fine! Don't eat if you don't want to!" She yelled at him from outside before she left.

"I don't understand." Shedinja said these three simple words to himself quietly. Staring at the bag of Slowpoke tails, he felt nothing. Yet, he floated to it, abruptly stopping mere inches away from the food.

"What am I doing? I'm not hungry." Shedinja floated back to his bed to take a nap. However, he couldn't sleep. His eyes were bugged and pestered by the sight of the Slowpoke tails.

"The talented boy was lost and confused. What does he actually want in this world, if anything at all?" Shedinja added an extra line to his song.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Great, I wasted my time with him. He threw every single opportunity to make friends away." She groaned. "Stupid bug."

 **Shedinja** **:** "I don't know what to say. I rarely enter this shabby stall, really. What do they do inside here? I mean the other contestants. Talking behind each other's back? A secret love confession? Strategy talk? I don't have anything to say. I rarely feel much at all, really."

* * *

Grovyle had a nice walk around the forest with Dedenne.

"In the end, I found the culprit and returned justice back to my home." Grovyle exaggerated his story about how he caught a bird Pokemon that tried to steal his berries. In reality, it was just a random, hungry Swellow that strayed to his property accidentally and couldn't resist the temptation. Grovyle made such a huge fuss about it.

"Wow, you are so amazing, Grovyle." Dedenne praised, clinging onto his legs.

"Of course, I'm amazing. I even donated some food to that poor fellow." Grovyle lied, making Dedenne happier.

"Although, I want you to know that not all flying types act like that. For example, Skarmory. He doesn't go around stealing stuff like that." Dedenne taught, fearing that her precious Grovyle might be a typist.

"I know. I'm mostly talking about the birds back home. A local thing, remember? They develop that trait from their ancestors or something. I don't generalize like that." Grovyle assured.

"Aw, you are just _amazing_." Dedenne said dreamily.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne** **:** "I will admit it now, alright? I love Grovyle. He is just everything that I can ask for and much more beyond that."

 **Grovyle** **:** "I know that she will be happy when I give her second place." He nodded to himself.

* * *

Dusk settled, signaling that the day was about to come to an end.

In the middle of the clearing, Meowth, Drifblim, Bisharp and Miltank all sat around in a circle. Apparently, they were playing a game of Monopoly.

Duosion passed by, glancing at them with curiosity. Noticeably, the entire board was flooded with houses and hotels, showing that the game advanced to its climax. Meowth got a stack of cash and deeds around him. Drifblim got a lot of deeds but a dangerously low amount of cash. On the contrary, Bisharp got two stacks of cash but barely any properties. Miltank got nothing around her. Did she declare bankruptcy? Or was she merely spectating?

"Aha! You land on my hotel. Pay up, dear customer." Meowth said gleefully to Drifblim.

"You know what? I give up. You can win, Meowth." Drifblim tossed everything to Meowth, dissatisfaction in her voice.

"I surrender. You win." Bisharp conceded the game, glancing at the dark sky.

"Really? You still have a fighting chance. I don't mind it but are you sure?" Meowth questioned.

"Yep, you can win." Bisharp assured, putting everything back into the box neatly.

"This game is so unfair! Meowth, you told me that the railroads pay well. I traded you a monopoly for that and looked what happened. I lost!" Miltank complained, slamming her fist on the ground.

"You are just unlucky. The product clearly states that there is no guarantee for the quality." Meowth discounted her complaints. Miltank looked frustrated.

"I objected that. You should've listen." Drifblim disapproved her decision critically.

"Can't help it. I don't really play board games that often. They are boring and long." Miltank defended, getting herself up from the ground and left. The other three properly organized everything back into the box.

Meowth noticed Duosion and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Oh, you want to play? Sorry, we are closed for the day." Meowth apologized for the inconvenience and mistiming.

"Not really. Just curious. Where did you get it?" Duosion stared at the box.

"I paid for it a few days ago, at your local Skarmory Shop." Meowth advertised. Duosion furrowed her brows.

"Goodness, you are such a jokester. You gifted businessman…" Drifblim playfully slapped his shoulder, sniggering.

"Skarmory gave me a discount. I should return the favor in some shape or form." Meowth clarified.

Alakazam made another announcement again.

"Attention. Can everyone please sleep a bit early today? Since this is the merge, I see no reason to restrict your freedom of will. You can sleep in the other team's cabin, albeit the gender segregation. Thank you for your obedience." The announcement ended.

"We should head to sleep now like Alakazam ordered." Meowth suggested and everyone around him agreed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross** **:** "Hell yeah, I get to sleep with Miltank. Anyways, where is that advantage? I can't find it throughout the entire day. At least, I never get to see Shedinja's stinking face."

 **Duosion** **:** "Meowth is definitely a threat for better or worse. I don't hold as much grudge against him as I do against Lucario but I still convict him guilty of eliminating Houndour. I doubt that Ledyba, Cryogonal and even Scolipede would lie to me. Meowth's body language say it all."

 **Lucario** **:** "I think I should remind my team that the Crazy Crawdaunt are all enemies. Even though I spent the majority of my time today in the gym, I saw many friendly interactions between the teams. I don't like that."

 **Scolipede** **:** "I want today to last longer. I got to go on a date with Ledyba in the berry fields. She taught me a lot of stuff that I didn't know. I think I can afford to let my guard down a bit now. Just the berries."

 **Ledyba** **:** "Scolipede is starting to feel less paranoid now. That is just great."

 **Drifblim** **:** "Meowth is a key ally to my survival in this game. He got ties with nearly everyone. Surely, he can convince Lucario to spare poor me a little. I will even butt-kiss him for that to work. Figuratively, that is."

 **Nosepass** **:** "I like the day-off. No scary challenges, threats of elimination and such and such."

 **Shedinja** **:** "Sleep early? Kill me now." He looked a bit serious.

* * *

Lucario opened the door and Darmanitan followed behind him.

"Back from the gym?" Meowth asked, mostly addressing Lucario.

"Yeah, homie." Darmanitan answered instead. Meowth didn't mind it.

Lucario glanced around the room. "No Crazy Crawdaunt boys in here? Perfect." He seemed content.

"They are all scared of you." Scolipede stated.

Lucario surprising looked pleased. "Good." He said simply.

"You want others to fear you?" Scolipede raised his left eye, half-expecting the answer.

"They all should. Intimidation lowers their morale and valor." Lucario answered matter-of-factly.

Scolipede slumped down on his bed and turned sideways. "I'm sleeping. Good night." He sounded tired.

"Good night." Darmanitan did the same. Lucario lay down on his bed as well, closing his eyelids. Meowth placed his hand behind his head as he rested. Only Shedinja was still awake, staring at the ceiling. The lights were all off. After everyone submitted to slumber, someone knocked on the door. Shedinja remained silent.

The door creaked and Cryogonal peeked inside. "Did he eat the Slowpoke tails? If not, I will return them to Smeargle." Cryogonal talked quietly to herself.

Shedinja didn't reply, he only dropped an empty plastic bag down from his top bunk bed. Cryogonal stared at it with awe before she smiled and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "There is still hope for him after all."

 **Duosion** **:** She yawned, her face all groggily and lethargic. "It is hard to sleep in my original cabin with two snoring Pokemon inside. I will sleep with the Crawdaunt girls even if Skrelp is there."

* * *

Nosepass clenched his bed sheets, twisting his head around. Ocean waves rang in his ears.

"Water monster, get away! Ah!" He screamed in fear and opened his eyes. Everything was all blue.

"Am I hallucinating?" Nosepass rubbed his eyes and tried to step down from his bed until his feet made contact with something wet…

"Hah?! Did I wet myself or something?" Nosepass panicked and checked his bedsheets to see all of it dry and clean. There was also a letter out of nowhere.

"Dear Nosepass, this is from Alakazam. Your first merge challenge starts now. Ingenious, isn't it? Separating you from your team straight away is a great way of initiating things with a bang. Remember that you only have y-yourself to rely on." Nosepass stopped reading for a moment and glanced around. He was stranded on the ocean. His eyes slowly widened, allowing the feeling to sink in.

"No!" Nosepass lost it, he trembled in fear and hid under his bed sheets. "Why is this happening?! I didn't sign up for this!" He wailed to the top of his lungs.

After a while, he gathered his spirits back and continued reading the letter. "Your objective is to return back to Skarmory Island. The first contestant to arrive there earns immunity. There are nineteen contestants competing for this challenge. Two returners just joined you. Of course, they didn't see this coming either. Also, a friendly word of caution from me. Beware of pirates." Nosepass lifted his face from the letter, looking pale all of a sudden and fainted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "P-pirates. I-I'm g-going t-to d-die." He rocked back and forth, stuttering all over the place.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the beach of an unknown island…

A bottle with a letter inside washed ashore, next to an unconscious Pokemon. His defining features were blades, embedded deep inside his body. On the exterior, he looked threatening. The back of his head axed the pillow mercilessly.

Yet, he shivered because of the cold. His blanket was gone and his sunlight faded. The premature morning sun granted him weak, sorrowful rays of blue. For a moment, he looked vulnerable like a baby in a cradle, crying for his parents. He wasn't threatening at all. Instead, he felt threatened.

Constant pressure from many things weighted him down. His face strained, ruining his handsome look. The way his helmet covered his face, the way his eyes shimmered as light passed through…

"Why am I here?" Bisharp asked as he slowly pushed himself off the ground and eyed the bottle with interest. He sliced the cap open and read the content quietly to himself, moving his mouth in a rhythmic way.

At one point, he stopped and his eyes widened. "Is Jumpluff here?" Bisharp wondered, fueling his body with energy and motivation.

"Jumpluff, are you here?!" He called out, praying for a reply. There was no time to wait, he rushed his steps around the beach. Each press of his foot was light and nimble. Sometimes, he stepped on a rock and nearly trip but he recovered.

His eyes scrambled around, scanning through the surroundings. He was on a strange, remote and unknown island with small, stubby trees. No signs of any fruits on them. Bisharp tapped his chin, the letter was still inside his grip.

Unexpectedly, a small piece of paper fell down. It was something attached alongside the letter. Bisharp picked it up with a puzzled expression.

"What is this?" Bisharp contemplated. There was a jagged pattern, some parts of it got cut off though. After a long, thoughtful pose, Bisharp got an idea.

"This is a part of a map. There must be nineteen parts of it. Each contestant has one. This isn't an individual race against time but rather, a stealing game. At the same time, the pirates serve as extra obstacles for us." Bisharp theorized.

Seeing that he made progress, Bisharp's confidence surged. He ran around the island, jumping across bushes, cutting thorns and branches that obscured his path. The steel and dark type was ecstatic. With an optimism filled heart, he searched relentlessly for Jumpluff.

"What is that noise, Mr. Stalk?" Suddenly, there was a voice from behind a thick group of trees. Bisharp took a moment to process it and frowned. The appearance of Farfetch'd lowered the odds of Jumpluff returning.

A sharp slicing sound snapped him back to his senses. Bisharp prepared a defensive stance in case Farfetch'd had any ideas. The tree in front of him fell down, luckily not in his direction. Farfetch'd appeared behind it, walking over the stump.

"Did Jumpluff make it back?" Bisharp asked, his eyes pleaded for good news.

"Bisharp, Jumpluff really cares about you. She wants you to enjoy your time here, with or without her." Farfetch'd gradually built up the answer.

"Tell me now! Don't be indirect or dodge the question, please." Bisharp cried out impatiently. It pained him to wait any longer.

"Sorry, she didn't make it." Farfetch'd looked down solemnly so did Bisharp.

"I see…" Bisharp staggered away slowly before he stabbed a nearby tree out of sudden rage. Farfetch'd raised his leek stalk up in a guard position instinctively.

"Why?! Why must this happen to us?! It is all Grovyle's fault. It is all his fault!" Bisharp condemned with pure contempt.

"Please calm down. Jumpluff told me that she doesn't want you to act like this." Farfetch'd conveyed the message. "She doesn't want you to do anything that you will regret."

"Are you telling me to just leave Grovyle scot-free?!" Bisharp had an emotional outburst, breathing heavily. Farfetch'd stepped back and held Mr. Stalk tightly. The duck tried his best but it wasn't enough. He started to question his place. Does he even have the right to tell Bisharp what to do? Was he being too presumptuous? Did he say something wrong?

Bisharp started feeling guilty after he saw Farfetch'd's horrified look. "I don't mean to direct my anger at you. My sincerest apologies." Bisharp bowed a little.

"Mr. Stalk accepts your apology so I guess I will as well." Farfetch'd discussed things with his trusty partner before coming up with a reply. Bisharp looked a bit weirded out but tried to remain polite and considerate to his feelings.

"Thank you Farfetch'd and… _Mr_ _._ _Stalk_ as well." Bisharp faltered a bit.

"Don't need to mention Mr. Stalk if you can't do it without any difficulty. He is used to being ignored every day. Therefore, he no longer cares." Farfetch'd spoke in Mr. Stalk's stead. Bisharp nodded slowly.

"Do you have a piece of the map? Perhaps, we can share it before we go our separate ways." Bisharp suggested.

"Fine with both of us." Farfetch'd agreed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "Grovyle... I will make sure you leave today." He sounded menacing.

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk detects Bisharp's desire for revenge. Oy vey, I promised Jumpluff and a promise is a promise. My girlfriend always said that."

* * *

Duosion woke up in the middle of a tropical rainforest, glancing around at her surroundings. "Where am I?" She wondered.

The forest was dense with tall trees, all competing for sunlight. The weak tiny plants wilted and died while those that adapted to this competitive environment lived. The floor was wet and the air was filled with humidity. The temperature was scorching but Duosion didn't complain. She only sweated a little.

Noticeably, there was a letter and a piece of the map on the ground. Duosion picked both of them up with Psychic and read the letter in her mind.

"I understand it now. My first objective is to find Houndour." Duosion got a clear goal in her mind. She wandered around a bit, looking at her incomplete map occasionally. It got 'Sunoon Island' written with a border connecting to the sea.

"I only study about the main lands, sadly." Duosion admitted, regretting not studying more. "This place is new to me."

Vines wrapped around a tree, leaching its way to the top. Carcasses of Sunkern were found, all black and rotten. They deprived of any sunlight, no trace of green left on their body. Were these real-looking corpses some sick joke set up by Skarmory? He created the haunted area so who knows? Duosion witnessed these horrible imageries with a look of disgust.

"No wonder why it is isolated. I can't find any alive Pokemon here." Duosion mumbled to herself.

"Someone is here with me?" A voice was heard nearby Duosion. Bushes rustled and Aromatisse emerged.

Duosion frowned, her reaction similar to Bisharp. The odds of Houndour returning decreased substantially. "Did Houndour return?" She asked straight away, rather than finding out the reason for her black, bruised face.

"Bad news, he didn't return. Farfetch'd is back instead." Aromatisse told, leaving the fact that she eliminated him out.

"Well, that is to be expected." Duosion said sorrowfully before she asked. "Anyways, what happened to your face?"

"An accident." Aromatisse said vaguely, averting her eyes a little. "If that is all you need to ask. I will leave now. This is an individual challenge after all."

Before she was about to turn away and left, Duosion noticed a piece of map in her right hand.

"Wait, shouldn't we at least share the map?" Duosion proposed. Aromatisse raised her eyes doubtfully.

"I know that we aren't the closest of friends but helping each other a little shouldn't do much harm. It will increase both of our chances." Duosion persuaded.

Aromatisse alternated her eyes between Duosion and her map. After several seconds, she decided to share the map.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "Well, I didn't win the lottery. This is why I don't gamble."

 **Aromatisse** **:** "I feel like I should be independent. I can't let Lucario downplay my strength. The old Aromatisse is gone for good. She is taking a vacation in a beauty spa for all eternity."

* * *

Grovyle tried to navigate his way through a short, stubby forest. Scratching his head, he looked at the map.

"How am I supposed to know where I'm going with a torn-piece of map?" Grovyle complained, throwing his arms in the air.

Taking a moment to craft a plan, Grovyle considered his options.

"You got the street smarts, Grovyle. Think, think! How to not get lost?" Grovyle seemed to be deep in thought.

He snapped his fingers and a smirk appeared on his face.

"Right! I should carve a symbol or something on a tree so that I won't go full circles. Ingenious me. Brain, you surprise me all the time." Grovyle's pointed to his head, boosting his ego.

The gecko used Leaf Blade to slash an X mark on a tree every once in a while, keeping track of his location.

Unknowingly, someone tapped his shoulder. Grovyle turned around to see Drifblim.

"Oh leader, you don't know how glad I'm to see you. I got lost like a headless ghost. Thankfully, your unrivaled intellect guided me here. Leaving an X symbol, your plan just simply can't be beat." Drifblim praised sweetly. Grovyle grinned at this.

"Of course, I'm a genius. Unlike Bisharp, who got mad that I outsmarted him. Can you believe that?" Grovyle boasted with a mocking smile.

"Anyways, do you remember our deal, leader? Oh, silly me. Your memory is too flawless. I shouldn't doubt your abilities to memorize such a trivial thing." Drifblim sucked it up to him.

"I remember everything. Don't worry." Grovyle assured.

"Excellent, I will take my leave for now. Do you know that Dedenne is close? Walk straight and turn left. Oops, you probably already know that." Drifblim massaged Grovyle mentally before she vanished.

"Such a great friend. She looks up to me like Dedenne. You can take third place, Drifblim." Grovyle 'bestowed', smiling widely.

The flattered Grovyle followed Drifblim's directions and met up with Dedenne.

"How did you find me so soon?!" Dedenne exclaimed with joy.

"I leave markings on the trees." Grovyle told. "Smart, isn't it?"

"Indeed, yeah." Dedenne looked impressed.

The two decided to work together, combining their maps to cover a bigger part of the island. A name can now be seen alongside a small drawing of a stubby tree. Jabbyjack Island.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne** **:** "I don't understand why Grovyle feels that other Pokemon look down upon his intelligence. He seems pretty smart to me and virtuous as well."

 **Grovyle** **:** "My fans, all of you will be left speechless after I win the first individual immunity challenge." He had a cocky attitude.

 **Drifblim** **:** "Grovyle is such a simple creature. You only need to praise and compliment him to manipulate him."

* * *

Sounds of local Pokemon commuting to work and going to vacation overseas buzzed around Scolipede. He woke up to a unique location, a ferry station. The floor was marble white with blue walls and a glass roof. There were many chairs of all sizes in the middle of the station. Many Pokemon sat waiting for their ferry.

Lining to the left and right were shops of all kinds. Most importantly, a ticket counter lied between the two terminal gates after the waiting area. In addition, an electronic board listed all the trips. A big banner hung below the ceiling with the words 'Ganchor Port' written on it.

Next to Scolipede's seat was a ferry ticket to Skarmory Island. Nothing else other than that.

"What is going on?" Scolipede asked himself as he tried to absorb his surroundings in. He seemed foreign to this weird, peculiar location. Scolipede collected the ticket next to him, shaking himself awake and got up from his seat.

"Might be my mission to go back to Skarmory Island." Scolipede thought to himself. He headed to the ticket counter, approaching a male Mightyena staff.

"Excuse me, where is the ferry to Skarmory Island?" Scolipede inquired.

"You must be a foreigner, eh? Head to the Outer Islands Terminal. Your ferry will depart at 8:00 am. Check the electronic board next time." Mightyena informed, pointing to the terminal on the right.

"Thank you." Scolipede said politely before he left. Catching his eyes along the way was a luxurious shop named Meowrendezvous. The entire store was decorated with cat-like items. Furthermore, the floor shined a golden color with jewelries displayed in many glass containers.

"Meowth owns that?!" Scolipede blurted out loudly, dropping his jaw. The locals murmured as they passed him.

Clearing his mind from getting side-tracked, Scolipede crawled quickly to the terminal. He glanced briefly at the terminal on the left. Apparently, it was the Main Lands Terminal. Noticeably, he also checked the electronic board. The predicted arrival time was 14:00.

The bug type queued up behind the foreigners and locals alike, waiting for the line to dwindle down. Eventually, he gave his ticket and boarded the ferry. Not before he stared at it.

The boat was a mechanical marvel, crafted from the sturdiest of metals for protection; armored and plated by defense experts for safety. The exterior was gray, dull and bland. However, the interior looked a bit more pleasing for the eye. The floor was white while the chairs were brown with red cushions. Each row had different chair sizes. The smallest chairs for the likes of Dedenne and the biggest chairs for the likes of Snorlax.

"Artern is one weird place." Scolipede commented carelessly, ignorant about the patriots' presence.

"You shouldn't say that." A male Furfrou advised. He trimmed his fur diamond style. Scolipede turned to him.

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean it in a bad way." Scolipede defended.

"No offense taken, why don't you take a seat, foreigner?" Furfrou offered. Scolipede accepted and sat next to him.

At the end of the room was a clock, Scolipede checked to see that it was 7:47 am as of Artern Standard Time.

Seeing the foreigner looking at the clock, Furfrou nudged him.

"You shouldn't expect to arrive on time. Don't stress about it, you will soon understand." Furfrou said vaguely to the confusion of Scolipede. The skeptic doubted what he just heard.

"Why is that the case?" Scolipede asked, confused.

"Where do you live?" Furfrou asked a question back instead. "Your country." He specified.

"Axon." Scolipede answered.

"Axon? I now understand why you look so out of place. Your country advocate the use of traditional transportations like Drifblim balloons, Lapras boats and horse carts, correct?" Furfrou asked for confirmation. Scolipede nodded.

"That place is a paradise in my opinion. You see, Ganchor Port got destroyed by psychopaths often especially during the time of Desire Era. Time after time, each boat got… _obliterated_." Furfrou said in a serious tone.

"Hence, the reason why the ferry looks more like a bomb bunker than anything." Furfrou explained. Scolipede nodded in understanding. The friendly local averted his eyes to the window for a second. Scolipede followed his line of sight but quickly minded his own business and stayed silent.

Furfrou retrieved a newspaper from under his seat. Scolipede observed and copied, trying to blend in.

Reading the newspaper distracted his curiosity for a while. Scolipede still couldn't grasp why he will arrive late. He considered asking Furfrou again. However, his answer arrived by itself.

A Machamp exited the control room, lifting up a microphone for an announcement.

"Attention, passengers. This is your captain. We will soon depart for the outer islands. Before that, we need to conduct a safety check. Get straight to work everyone!" Machamp broadcasted.

Suddenly, a group of safety staff swarmed inside the boat. They meticulously inspected everyone's belongings, checking for weapons and explosives.

"Boss, this kid got a strangely colored water bottle." Toxicroak alerted. Machamp walked over to the Tentacool kid, eyeing the purple liquid. The kid gulped immediately.

"Kid, did you stuff something dangerous in?" Machamp interrogated.

"No," Tentacool sweated bullets.

"I don't believe you!" Machamp picked the Tentacool kid up and carried him outside the boat. All the passengers focused their eyes on him. Some showed sympathy, some didn't. Scolipede eyes seemed equivocal. He wasn't sure whether the kid hid something dangerous or not.

"There will be no refund for you!" Machamp yelled as he kicked the Tentacool out of the ferry. Scolipede recoiled at the sight.

The captain returned and picked up his microphone for another announcement. "Sorry, dear passengers. We will need to delay the departure time for about thirty more minutes." Scolipede and the foreigners moaned and whined. The locals didn't to his surprise.

A female Chatot flew hurriedly to the Machamp. "Boss, there are rumors of a storm!" She squawked.

"Delay for another hour!" Machamp announced. Scolipede gaped, completely bewildered at what was going on.

A female Medicham rushed over to him. "Boss, the engine made weird, rumbling noises. We should call the experts to check them." She cautioned.

Machamp sighed and spoke with his microphone once again. "Passengers… The departure time has been changed to 10:30 am, Artern Standard Time. The arrival time will be affected as well." The captain expressed the unfortunate circumstances to the passengers.

Scolipede stared at the paranoid captain, he wasn't angry or mad at him. Rather, the captain reminded him of… himself. The way he was paranoid at everything. He felt ashamed, looking down on the ground.

"Disappointed?" Furfrou placed his paw on his left shoulder.

"Yeah I guess." Scolipede replied.

"Delays are very common in Ganchor Port. Everyone is used to it by now." Furfrou told, giving him a slight encouraging smile. "There are worse cases than this."

"Aren't you Arterners afraid of being late to work?" Scolipede asked, arching his brow.

"If you are scared of being late, you aren't suited to live here. You must be scared of danger. Artern was a ruined, charred and destroyed country before. It was nearly beyond redemption until a group of heroes saved all of us." Furfrou paused for a moment, his eyes were deep like tunnels.

"If you want fast transportation, live in Crystalia. That country got airports, cars, everything. However, Artern got one thing that is better than Crystalia. Do you know what it is?" Furfrou tested his knowledge.

"Err… safety?" Scolipede guessed.

"Yep, we got the safest sea transportation out of the seven main lands." Furfrou smiled and returned his eyes to the newspaper.

Scolipede was about to do the same until he heard a scream.

"Eek! How dare you look under my dress!" Gardevior screamed and kicked Toxicroak away.

"Sorry miss, I thought I saw something down there so I need to check." Toxicroak made an excuse. Gardevoir didn't look pleased with the answer, neither did a Gallade next to her. The captain appeared and lowered his head.

"My sincerest apologies. We will cover any damage-" Machamp tried to settle this peacefully until Gallade jumped at him and Toxicroak.

"You *beep*! How dare you do that to my girlfriend!" He swore and started beating them up alongside Gardevior. Scolipede gulped.

"I can already foresee it. Delay for another hour. We need to hospitalize the captain." Furfrou predicted. Scolipede started to laugh nervously and teared up a bit.

"Don't cry now." Furfrou patted his back and pushed his head down to the newspaper. "Keep your eyes on the newspaper and pray."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "Delay…delay, delay… delay for another hour..." He didn't look mentally stable.

* * *

Skrelp awakened from her slumber. Opening her eyes widely, she read a note next to her. Afterwards, she fixed her eyes on a black envelope. It was something she received instead of a map piece. Skrelp smirked deviously before she opened it. There was a note inside, written in red ink.

"Infiltrate Captain Big Beak's room if you dare! A special advantage awaits you if you make it out _alive_ …" Skrelp ignored the last part. Analyzing and pinpointing location was the first thing she did.

She was on a beach with mist surrounding the island. The island was very small in comparison to Skarmory Island. Skrelp estimated it to be about fifty square kilometers. Palm trees were common and giant rocks scattered across the island.

"Deadly Mist Island, located next to Sunoon Island. The fastest route is to swim south from here to Jabbyjack Island and then head east, I'm pretty sure." Skrelp sounded confident.

"However, I prefer to get the advantage as well as the immunity." Skrelp said greedily.

Just as she wished, a pirate ship revealed itself in the distance…

"Captain Big Beak? I think I know the identity of that filthy scum." Skrelp seemed excited.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp** **:** "Every intern gets their day, it seems. Trumbeak is my opponent for sure."

* * *

The pirate ship came into view. The sails were all painted black with white skulls. The wooden masts stood tall and towering. The bowsprit was shaped like a Toucannon's beak. Cannon appeared from all sides of the ship. She was a true beauty, yeah?

Raticate climbed down the ratlines with a bucket on his head, serving as a hat. It nearly covered his eyes. Luckily, Raticate pushed it back up to not obscure his vision.

"Captain, we found an intruder. An ugly, smoking kid." Raticate alarmed.

Stepping out from the captain's cabin was Trumbeak, he donned a pirate hat with a skull design and red quill hanging out from the back. Furthermore, he wore an eyepatch on his left eye and a fancy, white pirate shirt. It got golden buttons on the cuffs, a loose collar and a golden toggle chain. The notorious pirate wielded a silver cutlass. Lastly, a Pikipek plush situated on his left shoulder.

"Yarr! Ye say an intruder attack me timbers?" Trumbeak talked with pirate language.

"Ay, captain." Raticate confirmed.

"Barrel boy, fetch me hostage." Trumbeak ordered, addressing someone inside his cabin.

"Ay, captain." Ursaring accepted.

Ursaring exited the captain's cabin and descended down to the main deck. He wore a blue striped t-shirt with a black bandana. Other than that, he held a giant barrel with him.

At the same time, the last crew member opened the hatch and ascended up. It was Chef Drapion, who looked grumpier than usual. The chef wore nothing other than a purple linen shirt.

"I thought Skarmory is done giving interns screen time." Chef Drapion grumbled. Ursaring jumped down the hatch at this time.

"Say that again, matey. Ye think me talent not suited for the job? Ye think me boring? This is me ship and I be the only one to speak pirate, ay?" Trumbeak said, sounding offended. He then walked over to his disobedient crew member and pointed his blade at the chef's neck.

"Good ol' keelhaulin' wait for ye, mate." Trumbeak threatened aggresively. Chef Drapion retreated back, fear prevalent in his eyes.

"You can't do that!" Chef Drapion protested.

"Ye be a sissy after all." Trumbeak retorted. "Ser'e poison for others but can't drink yer self. I be huntin' for that 1,000 P bounty on yer head."

Chef Drapion gritted his teeth but said nothing.

"He is right, chef. Captain Big Beak got more authority than you today." Raticate said, seemingly entertained. Chef Drapion flashed him a nasty glare.

Ursaring climbed up with an unconscious Shedinja, interrupting the conversation.

"Captain, I got the hostage." Ursaring told, placing asleep bug down. All eyes were on him.

"Splash water on him." Trumbeak ordered simply.

"Ay, captain." Raticate saluted. Using his own bucket hat, he scooped up water and soaked Shedinja.

Shedinja coughed water out before he floated up, finally awake. "Whose idea is it to wake me up?" He said in an annoyed tone.

"Me, Captain Big Beak. The conqueror of the Boundless Blues (aka Boundless Waters), the descendant of legendary, ruthless Toucannon pirates. Ye board me ship. Either ye be my mate or ye walk the plank." Trumbeak offered a chance to join him or suffer an agonizing death.

Shedinja looked around at each and every one of them before he spoke.

"My childhood is ruined." Shedinja drawled. The others had a look of disdain on their faces.

The ghost bug floated to Raticate. "What are you supposed to be, bucket head? Someone who fetches water? You aren't a real pirate to me. Lame." Shedinja criticized unenthusiastically.

"Hey, Captain forced me to wear this!" Raticate objected.

Shedinja then floated over to Ursaring, who flexed his muscles by lifting up a barrel.

"That barrel isn't even heavy. Find a real weapon." Shedinja indicated. Ursaring scowled.

"Chef, purple doesn't suit the sea. Save that shirt for a food poisoning contest." Shedinja derided. Chef Drapion groaned.

Trumbeak lifted his sword up threateningly once Shedinja approached him.

"I can make ye drown in blues. Me authority reigns far and wide, absolutely aye!" Trumbeak asserted.

"Very scary." Shedinja said sarcastically. "At least someone here looks like a real pirate." Trumbeak lowered his sword once he heard this.

"Ye join me not?" Trumbeak waited impatiently for the answer.

"What will I get?" Shedinja sounded disinterested.

"Immunity if we eliminate all of the other contestants." Ursaring explained. "Us interns will also get a bonus from Skarmory. I need that after I lost the advantage!" He slammed his fists together angrily. Shedinja seemed careless about the news of the advantage.

"Sorry, not interested. I rather walk the plank." Shedinja denied. Trumbeak widened his eyes in shock.

"Passin' an easy opportunity for the immunity? Ye seasick?" Trumbeak asked, unwilling to accept that he got rejected. Shedinja yawned out of boredom. Trumbeak curled his beak.

Ursaring and Raticate sweated, looking pleadingly at Shedinja.

"Please join us, kid. We need that smoking bonus." Raticate begged, clasping his hands together.

"Yeah, join before Captain Big Beak forces you to walk the plank for real." Ursaring suggested.

"Nah." Shedinja seemed stubborn.

"How 'bout this? We demonstrate and ye decide again." Trumbeak insisted.

"Fine. Whatever." Shedinja drawled.

"Boys, tell him. What are we?!" Trumbeak initiated a rallying cry. Chef Drapion distanced himself in a corner until Trumbeak gave him a deadly glare. The chef grumbled as he walked over next to Ursaring and Raticate. They all faced the captain.

"Para-Pirates! Supreme sailors that rule over the ocean and the sky!" The three members shouted with varying levels of enthusiasm. Shedinja had a look of confusion.

"Sky? Is this some sort of sick joke?" Shedinja scoffed.

"Ho, ho! Captain Big Beak nay ne'er kid." Trumbeak chortled as he ascended up the quarter deck to the steering wheel. With a press of a button on the wheel, the ship shot black wings from the sides. The bowsprit turned into a propeller engine, bursting out flames. This ship wasn't an ordinary boat. It was an airship.

"She's risin' to the sky!" Trumbeak shouted with exhilaration. The keel of the ship left the water and jetted above and beyond. Shedinja thought it was so-so. Nothing special.

"Shouldn't you be called a pilot or an air raider instead of a pirate?" Shedinja quipped.

"Well, you see, we are modern pirates. We strike from above." Ursaring told, climbing out of the hatch with a hang glider. It got a skull design with a mixture between black and white like the aesthetics of the ship itself. In addition, there was a waist rope attaching to the handle for safety.

"We are about to attack that ugly kid." Raticate said invitingly, giving Shedinja an encouraging stare. Unfortunately, Shedinja didn't seem to have any interest.

Chef Drapion stepped out of the hatch last, folding his arms.

"How are you going to guarantee my safety?" Chef Drapion questioned as he fiddled with the waist rope to make sure it attaches properly.

"Alakazam will save ye. Shiver me timbers if ye die." Trumbeak answered. He didn't sound assuring.

Chef Drapion looked disturbed at the answer.

"Chef, you get paid to do this. I will do it for sure. My first pay check is waiting." Raticate reminded.

Chef Drapion groaned, rolling his eyes. "Skarmory better pay me extra." He collected an armful of coconuts before edging slowly out of the ship. Taking a deep breath, he jumped out of the boat alongside his crew.

Shedinja spectated as the three glided down, encountering Skrelp. Her plan to infiltrate the ship failed since it flew into the air. It was an unprecedented event that she couldn't calculate for, forcing her to retreat.

The seahorse dived under the water, camouflaging herself with rotten kelp. However, this tactic didn't work with the keen eyes of the pirates.

"Right there, she hides with the rotten kelp." Ursaring pointed out. He glided closer to the surface of the ocean before he dropped a pile of coconuts from his barrel.

"What the hell?" Skrelp immediately fled out of her hiding spot, barely dodging the assault.

"Attack!" Raticate gave a sharp cry as he released his hands from the handle (waist rope still suspended him for safety) and pluck coconuts out of his bucket, barraging her with his throws.

Skrelp dived to the bottom parts of the ocean, sneering at the pirates' fruitless attempts. All the coconuts fell down and floated back up harmlessly once it made contact with water.

"The laws of physics don't allow you imbeciles to penetrate through my defenses." Skrelp smiled mockingly.

"We need a better plan. I'm about to sink into the ocean!" Ursaring alarmed. His hang glider got dangerously close to the water.

"Ye be assured. I don't isolate me crew." Trumbeak controlled the ship so that it swooped down to rescue Ursaring and the rest. Shedinja sighed, losing the little interest he had.

"Acti'ate the grand, bombastic cannon!" Trumbeak commanded, flying to the balcony and pointed down at Skrelp.

"Ay, captain!" Ursaring and Raticate rushed inside a room in the main deck and pushed a giant cannon out. It barely made its way out of the door.

"About smoking time!" Raticate lighted the rope in flames while Ursaring dropped the cannonball inside. Chef Drapion pushed it over the edge of the boat and aimed it at Skrelp.

Boom! A deafening sound roared as the cannon shot down like a meteor, piercing through the water.

"*beep*" Skrelp swore with a look of astonishment in her face as the cannon knocked her out.

"Hooray!" The pirates cheered. The ship landed on water and Ursaring dived down to retrieve Skrelp's fainted body.

"Ye join me crew now?" Trumbeak asked Shedinja with a confident grin.

"No." Shedinja still rejected the offer.

* * *

Heracross and Miltank walked around Deadly Mist Island randomly. They seemed lost.

"This map ain't helping!" Miltank yelled as she threw it down the ground and stomped on it angrily. "We got lost for an hour now!"

Heracross got a wooden shield instead of a map, grinning at her item. "What's the use of a crappy map when you have a weapon to fight against the pirates? You got unlucky, girl."

"This map is so misleading. It doesn't tell us much of anything. Can't we get a real navigation tool? Back at my farm, we have compasses, hidden item trackers and even a GPS! This is so unfair." Miltank ranted.

"Yeah. Cheap of Skarmory to give you a crappy item. Anyways, let's go and win this dang immunity so we can vote Shedinja out. Everyone else can follow soon after." Heracross suggested, leading the way. Miltank boiled for a few seconds before she followed her.

A shadow drifted across the sky.

"I found them. Attack!" Raticate announced, bombarding the two with coconuts. Heracross blocked all the shots with her shield. Unfortunately, Miltank got hit straight in the face. Raticate beamed at his accomplishment.

"You are dead!" Miltank snarled, throwing the broken shell back at the rat. It hit the right wing of his hang glider. Raticate was plummeting down dangerously.

"Ah!" Raticate screamed until Ursaring dived down to save him.

"Chef, rain down coconuts while I take care of Raticate. Captain, rescue us!" Ursaring communicated with his crew. The airship lowered itself down to the ground out of the misty sky.

Shedinja was barely visible for a moment. He was next to Trumbeak, spectating the battle apathetically. Despite constant threats of walking the plank, he was still safe. The captain really wanted him to join, no it was desperation. Heracross didn't see him, however.

"Board the ship! We can go back to Skarmory Island this way." Heracross told Miltank. The two took this opportunity to try and hitch a free ride. However, Chef Drapion served a special surprise.

"Eat my special delicacy." Chef Drapion flipped his pot of sludge over and spilled all of the contents down. Heracross used the shield as an umbrella, blocking the rain of sludge. Miltank hurriedly hid under the shield as well.

"I will blast your faces like I smash my berries." Chef Drapion growled as he threw some coconuts at them.

The shield neutralized all of the attacks. Eventually, Chef Drapion ran out of ammunition. Heracross got cocky and dropped her shield down.

"You will never get me, you blind buffoon." Heracross taunted, sticking out her tongue.

Chef Drapion seethed and threw his pot at her. Miltank ran away, leaving Heracross to get hit in the face.

"Ow, my nose." Heracross yelped as she covered her face. Chef Drapion smiled jubilantly.

"Hahaha…!" Shedinja suddenly laughed hysterically from the ship. He felt a pang of satisfaction, something he never felt before. All eyes were on him, they were all overwhelmed by this… surprise.

"Did the kid just show _happiness_?" Raticate asked Ursaring, who shrugged.

"Why the hell is he there?" Heracross wondered, humiliated.

"…haha…ha…ha." Shedinja stopped once he realized what he just did. "Why did I act so out of character?" He looked down upon himself, reflecting on this anomaly. The bug was baffled to say at the very least. "Isn't our rivalry one-sided? Did I suppress my emotions all along? I don't understand." Shedinja shook his head rapidly, trying to shake this headache away.

"Ye alright, mate?" Trumbeak placed a wing on his right shoulder, staring at him worriedly.

Shedinja clenched his bug arms, he hated these feelings. He was already desensitized. He no longer cared about his family or the friends that abandoned him. He steeled his heart so that it won't feel anything. No more pain but also no more happiness. He considered himself dead so why did all these feelings came back to him?

"Captain, I will join you. But, not because I care about the immunity or want you interns to win your bonuses. I just want to clear my mind, got it?" Shedinja said, deadly serious. Trumbeak nodded.

"Ahoy everyone, we got a new crew member!" Trumbeak announced. Raticate and Ursaring smiled contently while Chef Drapion just crossed his arms.

Shedinja sprang into action proactively without any need for orders or command. He loaded the cannon up and lighted it all by himself, aiming at Heracross. He didn't care that his crew members were in the way.

"Watch out for us!" Chef Drapion shouted as he glided away.

Shedinja's soul beat with excitement as he watched Heracross' look of despair as the cannon blasted its way to her. He embraced the feeling… just this once.

Boom!

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross** **:** She had burn marks on her. "Shedinja…" She said with utmost spite.

 **Miltank** **:** "Damnit, I got captured as well. Couldn't run away fast enough."

* * *

Grovyle and Dedenne walked past a chopped down tree and shuddered a little.

"I bet it is Lucario who did this." Grovyle guessed.

"Yeah, who else can it be?" Dedenne nodded in agreement.

"Wait for me, homie!" There was a voice nearby. Grovyle signaled for Dedenne to duck under the bushes immediately. He squinted his eyes to look as far as possible. Lucario and Darmanitan were in the distance. Darmanitan got a map while Lucario got a wooden sword.

"I will go and distract them. You hide here and run. Take the map with you." Grovyle instructed, averting his eyes and rubbing his nose a little.

"Grovyle, you are going to sacrifice yourself for me?" Dedenne looked touched.

"Yep." Grovyle gave her a reassuring gaze before he stealthily maneuvered through the forest to them. Dedenne gripped the map tightly and followed Grovyle quietly.

"Grovyle, I don't want to leave you alone. Sorry for not doing what you asked." Dedenne mumbled.

Grovyle turned around shortly, smiling once he didn't see Dedenne. He strode carefreely to Lucario, showing himself without any sort of fear.

Lucario and Darmanitan stopped their discussion and turned to him.

"I see that my pet is here." Lucario smirked.

"I'm willing to work under your service." Grovyle kneeled. "My loyalty is with you just like I promised." Darmanitan scratched his head, looking at Lucario for answers but got none.

"Good. Now be an obedient pet and sabotage your team." Lucario ordered, lifting his chin up.

"Yes, master." Grovyle submitted apprehensively.

Dedenne clenched her heart, tears falling from her face. She quickly left before anyone saw her.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** **:** "My plan is to act loyal and betray Lucario. I'm sure he won't see it coming. The only thing that I need to make sure is that Dedenne doesn't know this."

 **Lucario** **:** "Meowth told me that Grovyle isn't to be trusted. I just want him to ruin his image as a team leader and then vote him off."

 **Dedenne** **:** She sniffed. "Grovyle, why did you do this to me?"

* * *

Shedinja hurled both (unconscious) Farfetch'd and Bisharp inside a jail, locking the cell and floated away.

He exited the hatch and met with a satisfied Trumbeak.

"Ye did a good job. Couldn't do it better myself. Smart of ye to lure Bisharp with a fake real life size Jumpluff doll and stranded Farfetch'd alone." Trumbeak praised.

"Not a big deal." Shedinja remained indifferent. "Who will we go for next? Scolipede?"

"Nay, ye see… We picked a lucky winner and a unlucky loser out of a hat. Ye be lucky and Scolipede be unlucky. No need to eliminate him for the treasure." Trumbeak explained.

"Captain!" Raticate interrupted as he climbed down the ratlines with a binocular. "We found Nosepass. Err, he is already unconscious." Raticate reported.

"Unconscious? Boys, let's go and check." Trumbeak dropped a ladder down to the bed and led his crew over to the Nose Pokemon. Upon closer inspection, there was an inflatable tube under his bed.

"Fun fact for ye, we hid a compass under his bed." Trumbeak pointed out to Shedinja.

"Hahaha…" Shedinja laughed sarcastically at the pun.

The pirates captured an easy prey and threw him inside the jail as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja** **:** "Working with these pirates is pretty fun." Once he realized what he just said, he slowly lifted his hands up to his neck. It was as if he was going to strangle himself. In the end, he dropped his hands down in defeat. "I need to go to a hospital so that a doctor can check what is wrong with me."

* * *

"Grovyle, what the hell are you doing?!" Rhyhorn exclaimed as the leader of the Crazy Crawdaunt pounced his former teammate.

"Give me that map!" Grovyle desperately stretched his arm to reach the map on Rhyhorn's horn.

"I see… You want the immunity for yourself." That was all Rhyhorn said before he kicked Grovyle away.

Grovyle got off the ground with resilience, he continued to attack Rhyhorn again and again… Dedenne watched from behind a tree, sobbing quietly to herself. Lucario witnessed the battle from afar.

The professional athlete gestured for Darmanitan to hide all of a sudden. They dug a hole and hid there.

A shadow over loomed the sky as the airship approached.

"Attack!" Trumbeak ordered, pointing his sword at the fighting duo. Shedinja, Ursaring, Raticate and Drapion all leaped down from the sky with their hang gliders.

All four were in a group like a flock of birds, never separating from each other. Shedinja led the sky assault, taking charge as the one in front.

Shedinja swooped down and everyone followed, readying their coconuts in their hands. He threw the first one at Grovyle, colliding with his stomach.

"Argh." Grovyle rolled on the ground in pain.

Dedenne stretched out her head to look, expressing her concern for him quietly. "Are you alright?" After she said that she quickly averted her eyes sideways.

"Dedenne? Why are you here?" Grovyle had a look of surprise.

"Ursaring and Raticate attack Rhyhorn. Chef Drapion, attack Dedenne." Shedinja managed the crew.

"With pleasure." Chef Drapion said as he threw a coconut toward her forehead and clapped with gratification once he hit her successfully. Dedenne whimpered in pain at the hit.

"Dedenne!" Grovyle got no time to worry about her as Shedinja slammed another coconut against his back. "Shedinja, you jerk." Grovyle growled and leaped up, trying to catch him off guard. Shedinja swerved to the right, dodging his futile attempt.

Rhyhorn didn't seem fazed by the coconut onslaught. He observed the situation quietly, waiting for an opening. Sadly, there wasn't an opening. Shedinja signaled for everyone to retreat.

"Fire!" Trumbeak blasted the three contestants into oblivion, knocking them out cold. The coconuts were just distractions all along.

The pirates collected all of their bodies and boarded the ship before leaving to find more victims.

Lucario and Darmanitan got out of their hole and stared at the departed ship, before turning to each other.

"Homie, Shedinja is working for them. What should we do?" Darmanitan asked for his opinion.

"We fight. It is that simple." Lucario looked determined as he gripped his sword tightly. Suddenly, Drifblim appeared besides them. Darmanitan got a jump-scare while Lucario looked stoic. She snickered at how Darmanitan reacted.

"What do you want?" Lucario gave her a cold stare.

"I suggest that we work together. There is no way that we stand a chance without helping each other." Drifblim proposed.

Lucario whispered something into Darmanitan's ear. The fire type looked hesitant but agreed in the end. Drifblim tried to listen to no avail.

"Are you boys talking behind my back?" Drifblim casted them a sorrowful look.

"Nothing. We agree to work with you." Lucario replied. Drifblim narrowed her eyes in doubt but didn't argue.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** **:** "Did Dedenne find out?"

 **Drifblim** : "Those two boys are planning something…"

* * *

Meowth, Ledyba and Cryogonal wandered around the rainforest. They got lost for ages.

"I'm thirsty, Meowth. It is so hot." Ledyba whined a bit, wiping the sweat off her face.

"Here is water, my dear customer. Free of charge." Meowth handed her a water bottle generously.

"Thanks." Ledyba said gratefully.

Cryogonal looked at map, scratching her head a little. "I think, this way." She reluctantly pointed to a narrow path of trees with a cool canopy providing them shade.

"Sounds right to me." Meowth decided to believe her. The three headed toward the narrow path of trees. They squeezed themselves through, until they halted.

In the distance was a parked airship and unconscious bodies of Duosion and Aromatisse being carried by Chef Drapion. They watched quietly until Cryogonal gasped at the sight of Shedinja. "Shedinja?"

Ledyba and Meowth covered her mouth and lay low as the ghost bug turned toward their direction. He shrugged and left. The three sighed with relief.

"Why would he do that?" Cryogonal said with a slight hint of sadness in her tone.

"He probably got a different mission." Ledyba speculated positively. "I think they forced him to work for them."

"That might be true." Meowth rubbed his chin.

Bam! A barrel smashed his head, fainting him. Ledyba turned around to look.

Bang! A bucket knocked her out cold. Cryogonal turned around slowly to see Shedinja and Chef Drapion with a frying pan.

"Good night." Shedinja signaled for Chef Drapion to finish her off before she can even say anything.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja** **:** "It is so easy to fool all of them."

 **Cryogonal** **:** "What a jerk. No need to be rough." She rubbed her sore head a little.

* * *

Chef Drapion hurled three more contestants into the jail. He then proceeded to splash them all awake with cold water upon Trumbeak's command.

"Bah!" Ledyba coughed the water out. She glanced around to see unhappy faces of all the eliminated contestants.

"Using Jumpluff against me? That's a new low for you pirates." Bisharp folded his arms.

"I'm going to kill Shedinja!" Heracross banged the jail cell.

"Scolipede isn't here?" Ledyba looked surprised and happy at the same time.

"He won't appear for a long while." Trumbeak appeared with Shedinja by his side, staring at all of the contestants.

"Shedinja, die!" Heracross tried to reach her arm out of the jail, only to fail miserably.

"A Trumbeak that is also a pirate descendant?" Meowth widened his eyes. "Are you by chance the heir to the aggrandizing, bountiful Toucannon Mall, Trevor?" Meowth questioned his identity.

Trumbeak gaped for a moment before he replied, averting his eyes a little. "Don't talk too much about my bloodline. I'm no heir. My old man will hand his inheritance to his so beloved daughter." He used his normal language for a second before he reverted back to talking pirate.

Meowth turned silent, looking away. Some of the contestants looked at him with sympathy like Ledyba. Shedinja was stunned for a moment.

"I don't care about any of that crap! I will kill Shedinja!" Heracross roared angrily.

"Anyways, I be here to give one of ye a chance. Solve this Rubik's cube and ye may leave." Trumbeak told and Ursaring came to hand them all a 3x3 cube with six different colors.

"How elementary, no rudimentary. I can solve it even with obscured vision." Skrelp boasted.

"This isn't fair for some of us." Grovyle complained.

"On a count of three…" Shedinja started the countdown.

Duosion remained quiet and tried to study the cube.

"Two"

Bisharp took deep breaths.

"One"

Heracross threw her cube at the cell.

"Start now." Shedinja declared.

While Pokemon like Heracross didn't even try, Bisharp, Duosion and Skrelp twisted the cube furiously at a rapid speed.

Grovyle tried to peel the stickers off and reattached them. However, he got disqualified and frowned. Dedenne looked at him with disappointment, she was very upset. The little mouse saw what kind of Pokemon Grovyle truly was now.

"Hey Duosion, you seem to be very logical…" Skrelp tried to distract her main competition. The seahorse finished two sides.

Duosion stayed focused and finished two sides. Bisharp finished two sides soon after as well. The sides were soon undone in order to solve the other sides.

"So why did you engage in such nonsensical matter like love?" Skrelp pestered her. Duosion frowned but continued to work on her cube.

"Shouldn't Houndour be of peripheral importance to you?" Skrelp continued to annoy Duosion. Ledyba, Aromatisse and Cryogonal glared at her. Rhyhorn scowled at her. Bisharp flashed her a look of contempt. Farfetch'd and Mr. Stalk looked unimpressed.

Duosion got distracted for a moment, she thought that this was it. She couldn't beat Skrelp until she remembered what Houndour said to her during the second day, in front of Skarmory Cave.

"Please believe in yourself a bit more…" The word echoed in her ears, motivating her for the final push.

Skrelp found a way to complete all the sides. Only one more move and she will win. She saw it coming, her imminent victory. The poison type moved her muscles for that last action.

"Finish!" Duosion shouted victoriously. Skrelp was speechless. She lost? Many of the contestants congratulated Duosion for beating Skrelp.

"Thank you, Houndour." Duosion teared up proudly. "I did it."

"Ye can come out." Trumbeak opened the cell for her. Duosion floated out and was immediately pushed back inside by him. The dirty Captain Big Beak locked the cell immediately,

"Hey, you promised to let her out!" Dedenne protested angrily.

"Did I say I won't be lockin' her back in? Ne'er trust pirates especially me, Captain Big Beak. I be the most notorious and dirtiest pirates of the Boundless Blues." Trumbeak countered.

"He is right. Us interns need that bonus." Ursaring obviously agreed.

"But…" Ledyba tried to protest for her friend until Duosion stopped her.

"Alright, I get it. No big deal. The immunity doesn't mean that much anyway. I just want to prove it to myself that I can do it. That I can exceed my limit and capabilities." Duosion didn't mind it that much. Since the winner didn't complain, none of the other contestants complain either.

Skrelp stared long and hard at the ground, clenching her own fin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skrelp** **:** "Impossible, I lost? I was in the lead at first. I don't understand."

 **Duosion** **:** "Skrelp doesn't understand that positive emotions and feelings like love can motivate you and drive you forward in life and everything in general. That's why I won."

 **Bisharp** **:** "I see that Dedenne started taking the medicine. Today, I will eliminate Grovyle at all costs."

 **Nosepass** **:** "Heracross is making me scared. She is crazy! I think I will vote for the scariest contestant today."

 **Heracross** **:** "I will kill Shedinja!"

 **Miltank** **:** "I don't even think I can calm her down at this point. She got a worse temper than me."

 **Meowth** **:** "I got ties with many business owners around the world. I even know the identity of the Eevee girl. She is the richest heiress among all Eevee out there. Her family members are wealthy landowners."

* * *

While the ship searched far and wide for Lucario and his little group, Shedinja approached Trumbeak. Currently, the captain was steering the ship.

"You got family issues as well?" Shedinja asked. Trumbeak stood still, remaining quiet for a while. Eventually, he turned to Shedinja with a heavy-hearted expression.

"You see, I'm forced to be an intern." Trumbeak didn't speak his pirate language. "Not for money but work experience. My old man wants me to take care of the family business. That's why I work here to take care of the budget and financial matters. All the boring stuff. Most interns don't really talk to me. Chef Drapion is right, I'm boring." He paused for a moment to think. Shedinja stared at him with empathy.

"Here is the thing, I don't want to get involved with any of that financial stuff. I prefer to pursue my passion in acting and adventuring. My old man isn't happy to hear that. He said that I'm crazy and that he will disown me. Then all of the inheritance will go to my little sister." Trumbeak told, giving Shedinja an empathetic smile.

"Shedinja, I don't exactly know your situation but I know that it isn't good to keep all of your feelings to yourself. Don't try to desensitize it and act like nothing happened. Alright? Someday, I wish to reconcile with my old man." Trumbeak explained everything and returned his attention to the challenge.

Shedinja contemplated a lot of things in his mind. He wondered whether or not Cryogonal was right. He debated many things to himself. However, there was no time for that. The pirates were about to face their greatest enemy: Lucario.

"Pirates, come down and fight me like real men!" Lucario challenged. Darmanitan and Drifblim were there by his side.

"Boys, prepare for the final showdown. We be lootin' that treasure." Trumbeak announced, piloting his airship down.

"Ay, captain!" The crew members shouted in unison as they charged up the cannon, aiming directly at Lucario.

Lucario glanced at Darmanitan and they both nodded. They both knew what this signal meant.

"What is your plan, boys?" Drifblim butted in, unaware what was about to happen. Lucario grabbed Drifblim by her left side while Darmanitan grabbed her by her right side.

They threw her at the incoming cannonball.

"What?!" Drifblim shouted in disbelief. Lucario betrayed her. Unbelievable.

"I don't work with the enemy team!" Lucario declared. Drifblim got blasted and fell down, unconscious. Lucario threw her body at the pirates.

"Wow, you are something, Lucario." Ursaring caught her body before going down the hatch to lock her up.

"Are you ready for this?" Lucario looked at Darmanitan with slight concern.

"I'm ready, homie." Darmanitan assured, giving him a look of fierce determination. Raticate and Chef Drapion glided down for their aerial attack. However, it won't work when they were up against the master of acrobatics.

Lucario jumped on Darmanitan, who boosted him up high to the sky. The professional athlete reached an astounding height. He jumped off Chef Drapion's hang glider, propelling himself further. Raticate threw a coconut at him. Lucario merely slashed it, spilling all the juice over Chef Drapion's eyes. The chef groaned in irritation.

"Sorry, chef." Raticate apologized. He got no time for apologizing, however, as Lucario jumped on his head. The aura beast stretched his hand out and successfully managed to grab the wing of the airship with his left hand (his right hand was holding a wooden sword).

Trumbeak tried to shake him off by diving down the sky at a high speed. Unfortunately, that didn't work. Lucario got up on his feet and boarded the boat successfully. Descending down only gave Darmanitan a chance to infiltrate the boat as well.

Raticate and Chef Drapion quickly recovered and got right back up the airship, running over to where the captain was.

The true battle began. Captain Trumbeak and his crew walked down to the main deck. They tried to be intimidating. Ursaring lifted his knee high into the air before stomping down loudly on the wooden floor. Raticate zig-zagged while pushing his elbows to the side. Chef Drapion swung his arms wildly. Captain Big Beak walked normally but he swung his cutlass in an X motion. Shedinja facepalmed at how his ridiculous they all looked.

Lucario stared at them mockingly before he speeded up to them, diverting their attention from Darmanitan. The fire type made his way over to the steering wheel.

"Ho, I be makin' ye walk the plank. Yarr!" Trumbeak pointed with his cutlass at Lucario, ordering his crew members to attack first.

Ursaring threw his barrel at Lucario. The latter kicked, breaking it into pieces. Raticate tried to slam his bucket at Lucario. The professional athlete sidestepped and grabbed the tail of the rat. He swung him around and threw the helpless bucket boy at the chef, knocking them into each other.

Lucario ran at a blinding speed behind Ursaring and pummeled his back repeatedly with the hilt of his sword before he dealt the final blow by giving Ursaring a roundhouse kick to the back of his head, sending him flying into Raticate and Chef Drapion. They all fell down to the ground, moaning and groaning.

Only Shedinja and Trumbeak stood in front of him.

"Shedinja, move." Lucario warned as he scurried to Trumbeak and thrusted his sword at him. Trumbeak sidestepped and parried Lucario's incoming vertical slash by a horizontal slash of his own.

"The blood of a pirate flows in me vessels!" Trumbeak grunted as he intercepted all of Lucario's extremely fast slashes.

The professional athlete struck to the left, right, down, up, spun around and slashed diagonally. He made all sorts of insane offenses.

Trumbeak jumped, ducked, sidestepped and blocked his attacks skillfully with the cutlass. He needed to do everything to avoid Lucario's relentless attacks at all costs. However, this drained his energy by a ton. Captain Big Beak was sweating horribly.

Lucario retreated back and ran to build up his speed. Trumbeak did the same. Once the two were close to each other, they jumped and traded blows. None of them was hurt but Lucario's wooden sword got chipped a little. Lucario glanced at the damage and rushed back at Trumbeak.

The captain got into a defensive stance, ready to block the attack. However, Lucario jumped up and kicked the mast with his left leg, changing direction unexpectedly. This gave him an opportunity to strike Trumbeak on his left shoulder.

Trumbeak clutched his left shoulder and retreated back a few steps, panting. Lucario wasn't done yet, he thrusted his sword again. Trumbeak was forced to roll away to his right and recovered back to his feet. However, Lucario ran up and kicked him in the face before he could recover fully.

Lucario was merciless, he didn't wait for his opponent to recover. He lifted his sword up and prepared for a deadly skyward strike. Trumbeak luckily blocked the move with his cutlass and kicked his feet back up to stand up properly. Lucario forcefully pushed with his sword, sending Trumbeak to the plank.

"A wooden sword isn't supposed to be this strong." Trumbeak panted heavily, eyeing Shedinja who was merely spectating the fight. He pleaded for the bug to help him, exchanging looks of empathy. Shedinja nodded and loaded up the cannon.

"Any final words?" Lucario said before he was about to push Trumbeak off the airship.

"Captain Big Beak ne'er give up!" Trumbeak cried desperately, head butting Lucario and flew out of the cannon blast vicinity. This distracted Lucario long enough for him to get damaged by a cannonball.

Lucario got blown off his feet and fell down the plank. Miraculously, he stabbed the sword deep into the wing of the ship and crawled his way back up slowly. The professional athlete sweated as he clutched the cannonball wound on his chest.

"The cannonball… nay enough?" Trumbeak was astounded. Not only was Lucario strong but he also had great endurance.

Shedinja didn't want to intervene any longer. He respected the fight between the two.

"Let's end this." Lucario properly held his sword and faced Trumbeak. Captain Big Beak flew up the ratlines, luring Lucario up there. The Aura Beast feared nothing and climbed up the ratlines, straight to the crow's nest of the ship. He glanced swiftly down the ground. Skarmory Island was in sight.

"Yargh!" Trumbeak uttered as he swooped down and slashed Lucario diagonally. Lucario countered with his mighty horizontal slash. The two continued to engage in relentless combat while Darmanitan controlled the ship.

"Homie, hang on. We are about to reach Skarmory Island." Darmanitan told. Shedinja was snapped to his senses and went after Darmanitan.

He bashed himself for being so foolish. His eyes, they were captured by the sight of such elegant swordplay. It reminded him of the time he was a Nincada, watching ninja swords fight back at home. He was so enthralled that he didn't want to intervene.

Shedinja tried to steal control of the steering wheel but it was too late, the ship landed on Skarmory Island already.

"Homie, let's go." Darmanitan motioned as he escaped from the ship. The fire type blazed through the ladders and landed on the ground first. Skarmory waited for him near the beach.

"Congratulations, Darmanitan. You are the first to arrive. You win immunity." Skarmory announced the results.

Lucario dropped down from the boat seconds later, patting Darmanitan on the back.

"You did well, good job," Lucario congratulated. Darmanitan suddenly felt guilty.

"Homie, I think you deserve it more." Darmanitan said shamefully.

"It is alright. You did well, memorizing all the map pieces we collected." Lucario assured. Darmanitan had a small smile on his face but it turned into a frown quickly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring** **:** "Damn it, Smeargle. Why did you vote for Lucario to get the wooden sword?"

 **Darmanitan** **:** "I don't deserve it. I feel like I'm taking advantage of him.

 **Shedinja** **:** "What's wrong with me? Why am l like this all of a sudden?"

 **Lucario** **:** "As long as my team wins, I'm happy."

* * *

In the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin…

Drifblim, Aromatisse, Duosion, Ledyba, Dedenne and Cryogonal were all together, discussing the elimination.

"There are two possible candidates for elimination. Lucario and Skrelp. Who should we eliminate?" Duosion asked, looking around at the other girls.

"I don't know. I'm worried about Scolipede. He hasn't return yet." Ledyba said anxiously.

"Indeed, what is going on?" Cryogonal sounded concerned as well.

Dedenne was unusually silent, something bothered her.

Suddenly, Meowth knocked on the door and Ledyba opened it.

"Hi, Meowth. Why brings you here?" Ledyba greeted.

"Scolipede is back." Meowth delivered the news. "He is on the dock."

"Thank you Meowth." Ledyba hurriedly flew over to the dock. She missed the elimination meeting but that didn't matter. Scolipede came first.

Once she arrived there, she saw a gigantic ferry. This was very surprising to her. Moreover, a Furfrou carried a sleeping Scolipede out, placing him down on the ground gently. He seemed to be in great pain after carrying such a heavy Pokemon.

"Who are you and what is your relationship with him?" Furfrou asked carefully. "You know what? That doesn't matter. Just take care of him." He re-entered the boat and it departed to the next destination.

Ledyba rushed over to Scolipede's side and placed her arms on his body.

"What happened?" Ledyba asked with concern.

"Delay… delay…" Scolipede repeated slowly. Upon seeing this, she brought him to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba** **:** "I hope he is alright."

* * *

Darmanitan exited the gym. "Homie, I will make sure to vote for that Pokemon." Darmanitan said before he closed the door.

Miltank passed him by pure coincidence. "Homie boy, when are you going to stand up for yourself? You rely on Lucario too much, you know that right?" Miltank said in disapproval.

"Sorry." Darmanitan's eyes drooped apologetically.

"You can't even beat Heracross. Not in this state where all you're good at is apologizing." Miltank retorted before she headed inside the gym.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "Miltank is right. I rely on Lucario too much. Sorry, homie." He rubbed his head sheepishly.

* * *

Skrelp scrambled around desperately. She started to feel the pressure of the elimination. However, the strategist wasn't about to give up so easily.

Skrelp approached Meowth deep inside the forest. The cat paced around with his hands behind his back. His face lightened up when he saw her. Skrelp only stared at him coldly, however.

"Good evening. How are you?" Meowth tried to strike a polite conversation with her.

"Cut the crap and get straight to the point." Skrelp rejected his hospitality. Meowth looked a bit appalled, covering his mouth with his right hand.

"You want my assistance, don't you? As long as you save me from this elimination, I will lend my support and serve as your sustenance. I'm well aware that you have no moral obligation to be loyal as long as you get paid, Meowth. I will offer more wealth and prosperity than you could imagine. You only need to eliminate Lucario for that." Skrelp pitched aggressively.

"One more regulation, if you have the audacity to betray me… Prepare to face unemployment. Lucario won't be pleased when he hears that you work with Bisharp." Skrelp added threateningly and smirked once she saw his petrified look.

Meowth clenched his fists as she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Bisharp and Skrelp, who do they think they are to showcase such informal insolence against me? I guess they don't realize that I'm their boss. I'm the one who decides whether or not to fire them!"

 **Skrelp:** "I need to secure more votes. There won't be a variable that I don't account for this time."

* * *

Bisharp scribbled something down on a piece of paper hurriedly. The elimination ceremony was about to start in half an hour.

Farfetch'd approached him curiously, sneaking a peek at the paper. He widened his eyes immediately.

"Bisharp, are you framing Grovyle?" Farfetch'd accused.

Bisharp turned around slowly and averted his eyes. "Yes." He confessed. "Don't tell anyone."

"Mr. Stalk doesn't understand. Why do you need to stoop down at his level? Jumpluff loves you. You got friends, you got honor and you need revenge?" Farfetch'd patronized.

Bisharp stared down at the ground solemnly. Farfetch'd sighed and patted his back before he left, leaving Bisharp to reflect upon himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Farfetch'd is right but… should I become the monster that my parents want of me?"

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk is a bit nervous that he won't be able to keep his promise. I'm… nervous as well."

* * *

Scolipede slept peacefully in the infirmary. Everything was calm and quiet. Ledyba just recently visited him. He couldn't ask for anything else, such tranquility and comfort was rare.

However, there was a disturbance in the air. A torrential tempest of problems. The door squeaked as Skrelp entered ten minutes before the elimination.

"Scolipede, I want you to deliberate on eliminating Lucario. Remember all those times that he snapped at you and hindered your relationship with Ledyba? Aren't you terrified of that autocratic arbiter?" Skrelp planted a seed of doubt. Scolipede glared at her.

"Consider it assiduously. Ledyba and you will be in danger if you don't heed my warning." Skrelp said before she left. Scolipede twisted on his bed, writhing in mental pain.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I don't like or trust both of them. Just as I was about to feel better…"

 **Skrelp:** "I'm certain of the outcome. No imbeciles are going to spare Lucario brainlessly when this might be the only chance to eliminate the biggest threat in the game."

* * *

The elimination ceremony started as Skarmory landed with a plate of Leppa Berries. The seats were occupied and crowded than usual.

On the top row sat from left to right: Ledyba, Duosion, Cryogonal. Darmanitan, Lucario, Grovyle, Dedenne, Aromatisse and Shedinja.

On the bottom row sat: Scolipede, Drifblim, Meowth, Bisharp, Farfetch'd, Miltank, Heracross, Skrelp, Nosepass and Rhyhorn.

"First things first, Darmanitan won immunity." Skarmory tossed the first berry to Darmanitan who accepted with an undeserving expression, guilty that he 'stole' Lucario's immunity.

"Everyone knows the drill by now so I will just start." Skarmory said eagerly.

"I think you are just too lazy to remind it to the viewers." Drifblim retorted. Skarmory rolled his eyes.

"Scolipede"

"Shedinja" He smiled to even his own surprise. Cryogonal noticed that as well.

"Duosion"

"Ledyba"

"Dedenne" She didn't sit close to Grovyle as she used to.

"Cryogonal"

"Rhyhorn"

"Drifblim"

"Nosepass" Nosepass looked relieved.

"Farfetch'd"

"Aromatisse" The two returners were happy that they didn't get eliminated straight away.

"Bisharp" He gave the berry to Farfetch'd, not feeling hungry.

"Meowth" He fiddled with his claws.

"Miltank"

"Heracross"

Grovyle sweated nervously, glancing at Dedenne. She averted her eyes, not looking back at him. Grovyle seemed saddened.

"Grovyle" He swallowed it and sighed depressingly.

"Lucario and Skrelp. One of you is a strategic threat and the other is a physical threat. Who will be eliminated?" Skarmory paused to build suspense.

…

Lucario's confidence was unwavering, his eyes were adamant.

…

…

Skrelp had a smug grin on her face.

…

…

…

Darmanitan prayed quietly for his homie.

…

…

"Lucario…" Skarmory put the contestants at the edge of their seat. Skrelp's grin grew while Lucario remained calm.

"You are safe." Skrelp was dumbfounded by the result.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Personally, I prefer to eliminate Lucario. However, I think Skrelp is much more unpredictable and volatile. I can't rest comfortably with her around the camp."

 **Heracross:** "I didn't vote for Shedinja. Surprise! Honestly, that girl gripes me for ages."

 **Drifblim:** "Looks like I will get to turn over a new leaf now. No one will suspect me for creating chaos in the future."

 **Scolipede:** "I don't trust Skrelp one bit. She is hard to read at times unlike Lucario."

 **Meowth:** "I don't need an egotistical employee who thinks she is better than her boss."

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

I couldn't comprehend this anomaly. This distortion in logic and reality… All of them are imbeciles! I will anticipate the day they all regret their decision. Watch as Lucario obliterate every single of them… Do I want anyone to win? No, except maybe… Drifblim.

* * *

Skrelp quickly departed from the dock on a Lapras without a word. She didn't care about farewells or any of that friendly stuff.

Skarmory landed on the dock after she left and ended the episode off.

"Exciting? I assure you all of the merge challenges are going to be long, action-packed and intriguing! What is the secret advantage that Skrelp failed to find? What will happen next? Will Darmanitan cling to Lucario like a life leech and snipe all the immunities? Will Lucario continue to dominate? What happened to Shedinja? Will we see romance between him and Cryogonal? Or will Heracross kick him off the island first? Find out in the next _vengeful_ episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory winked at the end, hinting with subtlety about the next challenge.

* * *

 **Votes**

Darmanitan: Skrelp

Lucario: Skrelp

Skrelp: Lucario

Drifblim: Skrelp

Shedinja: Skrelp

Cryogonal: Skrelp

Grovyle: Skrelp

Duosion: Skrelp

Ledyba: Skrelp

Scolipede: Skrelp

Dedenne: Skrelp

Aromatisse: Skrelp

Farfetch'd: Skrelp

Bisharp: Grovyle

Meowth: Skrelp

Miltank: Skrelp

Heracross: Skrelp

Nosepass: Lucario

Rhyhorn: Lucario

Skrelp: 15 (eliminated)

Lucario: 3

Grovyle: 1

* * *

Lucario got less votes than we all thought, huh? He might actually win…

A fun fact for all of you, Dragalge is my favorite poison type. However, I don't want to favor her unfairly so I turn her into a villain.

Hopefully, I will be able to update this story soon. See you all later!


	18. Chapter 18

I made a mistake last chapter with the Rubik's cube. I don't think I wrote it properly enough. You can check last chapter to see the changes. I will try to minimize these mistakes. I write this story all alone without any help so it is difficult to spot all of them.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **InfernoMaster64**

Thank you so much for your continual support. It means a lot to me. I dedicate a lot of time in my stories to make it enjoyable after I realized how badly I messed up in Desire Tunnel. I understand that Skrelp gets a lot of hate. That's the point. Some villains are meant to be funny, some cold and strategic, some likable. Read the title, you get what you want.

 **Parousia45**

I'm glad that you think my challenge is creative. The thing is I watch many game shows, including the obsolete ones. Therefore, I have tons of unique challenge ideas that are all inspired from those shows. Do you mean Trumbeak? Trevor isn't a Toucannon yet. I feel sorry for Scolipede, many don't get his insecurities. Expect more epic battle scenes, courtesy of Lucario. My battle scene skills are getting better. Hopefully, it will show in Desire Tunnel Remake.

 **Worma-Sir**

I already plan Farfetch'd and Aromatisse's return from the start. It is nothing to do with me messing with you. Here is the thing with vocabulary, I use most complex words for the narrative voice. That's myself. The characters' intelligence and vocabulary doesn't match. You need to understand that.

Grovyle stars in his school dramas so he knows plenty of words. Although, he probably can't distinguish the difference between envy and jealous.

Larvitar is supposed to be the type of Pokemon that uses words bigger than himself. He doesn't know the meaning but uses it because he thinks it will make him look good.

Darmanitan got a crippled vocabulary. That's why he uses homie often.

Ledyba likes to remember positive words like optimism. Otherwise, she can't remember much.

Electabuzz is an inventor so it isn't out of character to say things like 'negative energy' and 'denounce'.

Lucario read all the rules and regulations of the Pokeathlon like any adults read the terms of agreement. He is far from stupid. Rather, he is emotionally weak.

You get the point, right? Don't get me wrong, your criticism is valid. Sometimes, I make mistakes but that is because I have 70+ characters in the works. I can't create a unique vocabulary list for all of them and sometimes I just assume that they know it. From my experience, vocabulary isn't an accurate measurement of someone's intelligence.

* * *

 **Episode 18** **:** **1 vs All** **!** **Larvitar** **'** **s Revenge** **!**

The camera zoomed closer to a familiar island, transitioning to many scenery shots.

Pyukumuku littered on the beach, scattering across for any unfortunate victims…

Sounds of wild Oranguru, Mankey and Passimian disturbed the peace…

Stone stairs leading up to a cottage…

It was Loser Island or formally known as Moss'up Island.

In the third floor of the cottage, a room located lonelily near the far-right corner. No one in their right mind visited it, especially when there was a 'Get out!' sign stuck to the door.

Like every room, there was a bed, a lamp next to the bed, some light bulbs on the ceiling and a table that came with a chair. That's it. It was inadequate and very small to say at the very least. That was to be expected as there were thirty rooms like these in total. A moderate-sized cottage couldn't fit everything in, obviously.

Larvitar locked himself in his room, lying on the bed. His head bent up the headboard a little. He stared at the wall, throwing a rock at it out of boredom, only for it to bounce back and hit his forehead.

"Ow, stupid rock! How dare you hurt your great, supreme and mighty overlord? I will make you suffer!" Larvitar raged at a non-living object. He picked it up and compressed it with both hands, trying to break it into pieces. In the end, he only managed to squeeze his muscles tired. The puny bully collapsed on his bed.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"What?!" Larvitar shouted in an unfriendly tone.

"You got mail from Skarmory. I will leave it here and go away now." Houndour delivered.

"What the heck is it?" Larvitar got down from his bed and walked toward the door in a slouchy manner. He opened it and gasped at the surprise.

He found three present boxes. One was roughly small, around the size of his lower body. It had a red wrapping paper with a green bow on top. Another was as big as Larvitar himself. The color scheme was the exact opposite to the first, green wrapping paper with a red bow on top.

The last one was a bit special. Twice his size, circular shape, black wrapping paper and a dark green bow set it apart from the other two generic present boxes.

"Today isn't my birthday. Am I getting early presents?" Larvitar wondered but shrugged it off and headed to the smallest box first. "The best for last." He expressed his excitement, rubbing his hands together.

Larvitar pulled the bow off and tore the wrapping paper. He opened the box and…

A red glove sprang out and punched his face.

"What the *beep*?! Is Skarmory toying with me?" Larvitar swore as he rubbed his face. The bully stepped over to the next one, hoping that the 'present' will be better.

Opening the present more cautiously this time, Larvitar was prepared to dodge the punch. However, he wasn't prepared for a pie to be flung out at his face.

Larvitar wiped the mess off his face and gritted his teeth, face reddening and temper rising.

"Skarmory better give me a real present this time." Larvitar groaned as he walked with a frown to the last box. This time, the rocky reptile tried to open it from the side.

Standing on his tip toes, he stretched out to uncover the present. Once he did, he jumped back to avoid whatever it had in store for him.

Nothing came out. Larvitar grinned and got closer to the box. Suddenly, a sensor inside the box detected his presence and a pair of red hands ambushed him from the sides. Wow, technology nowadays advanced beyond our imagination.

"Help!" Larvitar screamed as the hands captured and locked him inside the box. Sounds of punching can be heard as well as agonizing cries.

After a minute, the box opened and released Larvitar. Not before it gave him a nasty uppercut to the chin as a farewell present. The bully was covered in purple bruises all over his body. He even got a black eye and softened arms.

"Ugh, argh… *beep* you Skarmory. Ow…" Larvitar moaned in physical pain. He got off the ground slowly, heading inside his room until he saw a silver gift card on the ground.

"What? This isn't here at first. Did it come out of the box?" Larvitar sounded confused. Regardless, he picked it up and read.

"Dear Larvitar, since you got eliminated first in the redemption challenge, I find it naturally fair for you to get a consolation prize. You will return to Skarmory Island, not as a returner but rather the guest of this next challenge. To put it simply, you can get your revenge. Right now, head to the beach." Larvitar lifted his eyes from the card slowly and laughed maliciously with dark eyes. "Mwahaha… They will all cry and beg for forgiveness. They will learn the true meaning of pain!"

He ran out of his room, not realizing his grave mistake.

The sensor detected his movements again and initiated another beating session. Larvitar clawed the ground with a horrified expression, trying to resist his inevitable fate.

"No! Eek!" Larvitar shrieked loudly as the hands dragged him back inside.

* * *

Steam rose to the air from a coffee mug. The host breathed in the smell before he took a sip.

"Welcome back, viewers." Skarmory greeted the viewers with a short wave. "Last time, our contestants fought against pirates. Well, most to be exact. Shedinja worked with them while Scolipede suffered from… delays. If you don't understand, watch the previous episode. I strongly suggest that you don't skip to spoilers, you are missing out a lot. Pause your screen now if you don't want spoilers." Skarmory warned, pausing for a few seconds.

"Alright, Skrelp was eliminated. What will happen now that Triple G got exposed? Will Darmanitan _steal_ another immunity from Lucario? What about Duosion? She is coming strong after the previous episode. Find out in this unforgiving episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory threw his wings into the air out of excitement.

* * *

In the Crawdaunt boys' cabin…

Grovyle twisted around his bed uncomfortably, jerking his pillow close. His eyes were tightly shut before they opened up suddenly. He kicked his blanket away in a spasmodic reaction. Afterwards, he rushed out of the cabin.

"Aish!" Grovyle yelled in frustration and swiftly slammed the door closed.

"What's wrong with him?" Nosepass rubbed his eyes and groaned. "I got a good dream for once and he ruined it." The timid coward got out of his bed and dragged his lethargic body to the restrooms.

Rhyhorn smiled slightly at the fact that Nosepass got a good dream for once but it quickly faded away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** : "Lucario ruined everything! I will kick his butt out of here, once and for all. Or else you can't call me Good Guy Grovyle." He claimed boldly.

 **Nosepass** **:** "I dreamed about having a few nice friends, enjoying a calm and controlled conversation. Can't I have these things in real life?"

* * *

The girls' restroom was less crowded after breakfast served. The only one left was Aromatisse…

She stared at her broken reflection, agonizing over the loss of her beauty. The fairy type placed a soft touch on her face but quickly removed it in fear of worsening the damage.

"I'm not beautiful on the outside but that doesn't mean I can't be beautiful on the inside." Aromatisse said consolingly to herself.

"Aromatisse, let's go and have some breakfast." Ledyba invited cheerfully until she saw the miserable look on her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry for what happened to your face, Aromatisse." Ledyba sympathized, frowning with eyes drooping. "I wish I can help but I'm not a beauty doctor, sorry."

Aromatisse turned to face her friend slowly, a warm smile forming on her otherwise ugly face.

"Everything will be fine. I will have a visit with cosmeticians and they can fix this." Aromatisse hoped.

"If I can help in any way like paying for some of the costs, don't be afraid to ask for it. I'm always here to help you." Ledyba assured, returning the smile. "I'm glad that you are optimistic." Her face lightened up.

"Thank you for your support, I really appreciate it." Aromatisse said, touched and grateful of their friendship.

"Hey, when are you two going to eat?" Both of them turned to the exit to see Cryogonal gesturing for them to hurry.

"Let's go. Eating chef's food is better than starving." Ledyba suggested. Aromatisse nodded and the three soon headed straight to the mess hall. Along the way, Cryogonal eyed Aromatisse's face with concern but a reassuring smile from her washed all of the worries away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse** **:** "At least I still have my friends that doesn't care about my outside appearance that much. I wish that everyone in the world can be like that."

 **Ledyba** **:** "I don't care if her face got damaged. I don't judge someone based on their looks. The personality is what matters the most. I know that she is sensitive with her look so I will try my best to help her as a friend."

* * *

The mess hall was packed tightly with Pokemon in the morning. Of course, they weren't thrilled to eat the food at all. Most of them just shoved it down their throats.

The best part about being in the mess hall was socializing with others. Especially when the merge arrived and Lucario didn't mind inter-team interactions that much anymore (or at least that's what his team thought).

Five contestants sat in a circle around one table: Drifblim, Meowth, Bisharp, Miltank and Heracross in order. Peculiarly, Heracross sat with the chair backwards, resting her elbows on the top. Miltank sat with the chair sideways, resting her left arm.

"Glad that Skrelp's gone. All of you don't know how many dirty tricks she played to eliminate all the other contestants. Too many for my arms to count." Drifblim expressed her relief.

"My, my, how horrible of her." Meowth shook his head slightly. "I heard she asked for ransom from some of the contestants." Meowth used his business jargon.

Heracross chortled, banging on the table at his verbal humor. Miltank gave a light chuckle while Bisharp remained silent, flashing looks of discontentment. He didn't seem to enjoy their company, like an undercover cop that couldn't hide his displeasure.

"Trust me, Meowth. You don't know what a real ransom is like. Anyways yeah, she did a number on the other contestants." Heracross stated. Meowth sneered a little at her remark.

"Indeed." Drifblim nodded. "Archeops, Snorunt, Elekid, Jumpluff, Farfetch'd…" As she went on, she noticed Farfetch'd from the corner of her left eye. The anti-social bird sat all alone in a corner.

Drifblim smirked. "I digress, Farfetch'd is looking rather lonely and friendless. Poor bird must feel awkward after receiving an early boot. We should give him some company." She suggested.

"Well, your choice. Do it by yourself though." Miltank got up from her seat. "See y'all later." She bid her farewell and left.

"Yeah, not worth my time." Heracross left as well.

Bisharp glanced at their disorganized seats and decided to take care of the mess for them. He pushed the first one (Miltank's) properly into the table. As he was about to place his hands on the second, Meowth did it for him. The businessman turned the seat around swiftly and with one forward motion, the job was finished.

"Anytime." Meowth gave Bisharp a reassuring smile, trying to convey that his services can be depended on. His eyes were charming like a friendly employee luring his customers for commissions. However, Bisharp maintained a cold stare and left, glancing at Farfetch'd a little on his way out.

Meowth frowned a little before he shook it off and straightened his face. Drifblim placed a hand on his right shoulder.

"Tough crowd that you are trying to please. However, you don't need to please everyone. You aren't in the radar at the moment. No need to be ambitious and try to secure all the votes." Drifblim recommended. "Regardless, you got my vote." She smiled sweetly at him and Meowth beamed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** **:** "Drifblim is right. It is a hassle to please all of my customers. They are all so different and they demand different things from me. I shouldn't dump all of my resources and play too hard this early in the merge. Rather, I need to target specific demographics. For sure, Bisharp isn't one of them. He is a dangerous competitor, specializing in both physical and strategic fields of expertise. He is also very resistant to my marketing techniques. I can't let him expose my less than legal transactions either. Therefore, I should still act cool around him."

 **Drifblim** **:** "Meowth is obviously a threat. However, it isn't beneficial for my game to eliminate him right now. It benefits someone like Nosepass who needs to eliminate as many threats as possible for him to even stand a chance in the finale. Obviously, I can't let Meowth keep all of his allies and stride nonchalantly to the finale either." She smirked.

* * *

Once Bisharp opened the door, he saw a disgruntled Grovyle stomped past him. The two collided shoulders but Grovyle ignored it completely, no eye contact, no response.

Bisharp closed the door and peeped through the gap discreetly to see Grovyle glaring in the direction of Lucario. Bisharp couldn't hide his grin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "My plan is at its final stage. Let me guide all of you through the entire process in a logical sequence. Initially, I noticed Grovyle's fearful demeanor around Lucario and immediately knew that the professional athlete's intimidation is the only way to expose him." The screen cut to flashbacks with Bisharp voicing over, courtesy of the editors.

The screen changed once again, Ursaring and the contestants were seen emptying their plates. Bisharp eyes were observant.

"However, there was one difficulty, I couldn't do it by myself. I need one Pokemon close to Lucario and Darmanitan can't be the individual. Fortunately, Lucario gave me the information I needed; he helped Meowth during the second part of Ursaring Games. After I joined forces with Meowth, everything else was easy. I planted a seed of doubt into Dedenne and watched as it all transpired, acting a little desperate for revenge just in case." Bisharp articulated.

Lucario lifted Grovyle up in the storage room…

"Do you know what is the best part?" Bisharp asked rhetorically with a wide grin.

Lucario forced Grovyle to steal maps for him, collecting all of it after he got captured and handed them to Darmanitan.

"Grovyle will blame all of it on Lucario. I shot two birds with one bullet." The long confessional finally ended.

* * *

Dedenne held her head down on the table inside the mess hall. The Flygon girls (Miltank not included) tried to approach her but she gestured for them to leave.

Suddenly, Grovyle stormed inside the mess hall. He glared at Lucario with clenched fists. The professional athlete only stared coldly at him, furrowing his brows. Grovyle didn't have the guts to face him and instead headed toward Dedenne.

"You and I need to talk." Grovyle said in a serious tone, pointing at the door.

Dedenne frowned and followed after him quietly. Some of the other contestants glanced at them momentarily before minding their own business.

Drifblim approached Farfetch'd in the meantime.

"Farfetch'd and Mr. Stalk, both of you seem uncomfortable with your new surroundings. May I take you for a tour around some of the areas you haven't encountered?" Drifblim offered kindly.

Farfetch'd looked at Mr. Stalk questioningly before turning to Drifblim with firm eyes. "We accept your offer."

Drifblim smiled as she led the way out of the mess hall.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse** **:** "Poor Dedenne, she is probably hurting on the inside right now. I really do wonder, what is worse between physical and mental pain? For me, both I guess." She recoiled with deep humility at her own reflection.

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk is delighted that someone has acknowledged his presence. Right, Mr. Stalk?" He shook Mr. Stalk slightly. "That's right."

 **Drifblim** **:** "I'm not trying to ally with him of course. That is impossible with how he plays this game with integrity and individualism. I'm just avoiding being his enemy and placating him in case he realizes that I voted him out."

 **Grovyle** **:** "Dedenne better make up with me." He folded his arms haughtily, centering himself.

* * *

Dedenne followed Grovyle to the beach, dreading every second of it. She felt nervous, scared of what he will say and how to respond. She felt stupid for believing his lies and exaggerated claims the entire time. She grew antsy, struggling to find peace in her mind and her body. Asking, questioning, doubting and reflecting upon herself.

Her introspection ceased once Grovyle turned around just in front of the dock, staring at her with yellow, contrite eyes. Yet, his black, arrogant pupils betrayed what little grace and decency he had left.

"Dedenne, why are you mad? Is it because you thought I work for Lucario? I'm better than that and you know it." Grovyle tried to convince, potentially guilt-tripping her with his tender expressions.

Dedenne believed it for a second until she snapped herself back to her senses. "Grovyle, I want to believe you but… you lied. You lied about saving Jumpluff and everything else. I'm gullible to trust you in the first place." Dedenne responded unwaveringly.

"Are you for real? After everything I have done for you? After I gave you the immunity and everything else?" Grovyle tried to make her reconsider, shaking his hands up and down in a reasoning gesture.

"Yes, Grovyle. I want to forgive you but I can't and I won't. Not until you atone for all of your _allegations_." Dedenne sounded a bit unconfident at the end, averting her eyes for a second.

Grovyle was dumbfounded by the result, gazing into the void.

"I hope that we can be mature about this. I will go and apologize to Bisharp and you should too. I have made up my mind after a long contemplation. Please, Grovyle. At least, save what little you have left. I still… care about you." Dedenne pleaded, trying to save him. She probably got some _feelings_ left for him.

"No." Grovyle refused simply. "I did nothing wrong and I'm not going to apologize. Fine, do it if you want. However, we are done." Grovyle 'broke up' and walked away, clenching his fists.

Dedenne sobbed a little before she wiped her tears away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** **:** "I did everything correctly. I'm calm and composed. I could shout at her but I didn't. So why didn't it work? My words, my persuasion…" His tone changed. "Screw it all! I don't need her! I can take first place all by myself. Good Guy Grovyle is dead! Big Bad Villain Grovyle is here!"

 **Dedenne** **:** "I thought that he cared enough about me to have a change of heart." She sniffled.

* * *

Drifblim guided Farfetch'd to the snowy area, showing him all the interesting landmarks. Farfetch'd glanced around at his surroundings.

"Here we have a Delibird themed workshop. The gift shop is a great place to buy presents for friends, family and loved ones. There is a café as well, enjoy a drink or two there if you like. Want to head inside?" Drifblim asked, directing toward the gift shop in particular.

"We want to but we don't have any tokens to buy any gifts." Farfetch'd said disappointingly.

"Oh, how unfortunate." Drifblim shook her head slightly before pointing up. "How about we check the exhibit on the second floor? A great experience for toy fanatics." She suggested.

Farfetch'd nodded in reply and the two went upstairs.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** : "Mr. Stalk appreciates the tour but he can sense some sort of ulterior motive from Drifblim. Regardless, I won't be making any alliances with her and stick to playing solo."

 **Drifblim** **:** "Hopefully, I placate any anger he has for me or they, whatever works I guess." She shrugged. "Luckily, Mr. Stalk can't vote or else they will have two votes. Am I seriously thinking that his imaginary friend is real?" She pondered. "Maybe."

* * *

Dedenne faltered her way sluggishly to Bisharp. Currently, he was viewing the calm atmosphere on a bench. The little mouse swallowed her pride in a single gulp and approached him. Bisharp didn't make any sort of eye contact.

"Bisharp, I'm sorry." Dedenne vocalized her guilt. "I got blinded by my own ignorance and bias. I'm usually better than this, I have never been in this kind of situation before. I-I…" Dedenne struggled to continue.

Bisharp faced her and interrupted. "That's enough. I was once a fool to believe Grovyle as well. Relieve yourself from your guilt. I understand your circumstances. Let us forget about this." He resolved.

"Really? You are going to forgive me this easily?" Dedenne questioned.

"Yes, I want to move on from what happened. It distracted me quite a lot, especially yesterday." Bisharp said, sounding amused at the end.

"I'm glad that we are now on the same page. I should know from the start that you really do love Jumpluff. Anyways, about Grovyle… I tried to persuade him to come here and apologize as well but he didn't seem fond of the idea." Dedenne told.

"I understand. I can comprehend his psychological state and obstinacy." Bisharp could never be more careless. He didn't need or even want his apology. Revenge tasted a lot sweeter.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** He chortled. "Apology from Grovyle? Dedenne, why did you say such impossible things? Laughable and meaningless."

 **Dedenne** **:** "It is quite difficult for me to apologize when I'm the one who usually receives the apology. I'm in the right nearly all the time. This is certainly new and mortifying."

* * *

Shedinja took a nap under a giant tree in the middle of a clearing, day dreaming carelessly.

However, he was interrupted again to his dismay.

"Shedinja, there you are. I wonder where you disappeared to since the morning." Cryogonal annoyed him again.

"Great, special snowflake tell me what you want and go." Shedinja drawled. Cryogonal frowned.

"Don't call me that, you emo kid." Cryogonal retorted. Shedinja widened his eyes in surprise. Did she just call him an emo kid? Seriously?

"Emo? What kind of lame joke is that? But I digress, tell me what you want and leave." Shedinja sounded irritated. Cryogonal looked content that she got him again.

"I just want to ask you about your job. Heracross thinks that you work in convenience stores or flipping burgers for sale but I know that you are much more talented than that. Prove her wrong." Cryogonal seemed very confident in his abilities.

"Heracross is right. I work in convenience stores." Shedinja revealed monotonously. Cryogonal stared in disbelief.

"What?! I thought that you are talented. Yesterday, you manage to capture nearly all of us and you only manage to find a crappy job like that?" Cryogonal tried to refute.

"You overestimate me. Sure, I'm talented but that doesn't mean anyone is going to accept a high-school drop out with no diploma or college degree." Shedinja explained, there was no humility in his voice. He wasn't embarrassed to share his shortcomings at all. He wasn't proud of it either. He sounded somewhat satisfied as if he didn't want more or less.

"That is horrible. Maybe, I can h-" Cryogonal got cut off.

"Help? Are you trying to force sympathy into my hands again? I don't need it. I earn an alright amount of P in convenience stores if I work overtime." Shedinja rejected.

"Are you really going to work like that forever? Ending your future in convenience stores?" Cryogonal disapproved in a harsh tone.

"Yep, how convenient of my life." Shedinja joked.

"Why?!" Cryogonal yelled. "Don't you care about your life at the very least if your family don't?" She grew frustrated judging from the sound of her voice.

"Of…" Shedinja turned silent for a moment. Should he just say 'Of course' and get this tiring conversation out of the way already? He pondered for a bit longer and realized that he never wanted that. He desired something that will fill his body with elation again just like when Lucario fought Trumbeak. He yearned for that experience one more time.

"Maybe not." Shedinja changed his mind. Cryogonal looked pleased with the answer.

"What should I do?" Shedinja asked, perplexed. "I don't know what I really want. I thought that everything is meaningless since that incident. I thought that I'm as good as dead so what's next?"

"First, you should learn to accept help from others and make friends. I started that way when I was adopted." Cryogonal advised.

"Alright, I will do it. Later." Shedinja said before he left.

"Hey, I'm not done yet." Cryogonal called after him but he already disappeared. "Ugh, annoying bug." She groaned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Shedinja is one of the toughest Pokemon to work with. It takes time and effort. A lot of it."

* * *

The challenge was about to start. Yet, there was one Pokemon who faced his inner struggles and plight. A Pokemon that saw himself as only a liability, a life leech. It was Darmanitan. He meditated in the dodgeball court, humming to himself.

"Zen…" He chanted. However, the disturbance of zen was clearly presented through his uncomfortable body language. His eyebrows twitched, the position of his legs got adjusted time after time and he breathed in at a faster rate than usual.

Eventually, there was a knock on the door of the gym. Darmanitan opened his eyes.

"Come in!" Darmanitan shouted loud enough for the Pokemon to hear.

Lucario opened the door and eyed Darmanitan before he closed it.

"Homie, what's up?" Darmanitan acted normally, getting up from his meditative position.

"The challenge is about to start. I come here to remind you in case you lose sense of time." Lucario told.

"Thank you, homie. I will head to the camp right away. No need to worry." Darmanitan assured. Lucario nodded and opened the door, waiting for him to exit. The two exited together and made a journey back to the camp.

Along the way, unease crept up Darmanitan's legs, making him wobbled lousily. Lucario noticed this and gave him a questioning look.

"Are you alright?" Lucario asked with concern. Darmanitan knew that he couldn't keep the act up for long.

"Homie, can you promise me that you will take the immunity for yourself?" Darmanitan requested with his head down.

"This is what bothering you? Darmanitan, I already made myself clear. Accept it." Lucario demanded as if it was an order.

"Homie, I'm just a random fanboy. You are a professional athlete. If I lose, it isn't a big deal but if you lose, your reputation will get damaged." Darmanitan persuaded. "Please take it, homie."

"It is true that either I win and enjoy privileges of fame and money or lose and risk losing my job. That is my philosophy, true. However, you miss one thing, Darmanitan. Pokeathlon is a team game! It isn't all about me but my team as well." Lucario spoke fluently.

Darmanitan gaped as he listened, fully absorbed by Lucario's words.

"All of the Aura Beast members are my childhood friends. Many of them are low-life rejects who will probably end up unemployed on the streets without the income from Pokeathlon. To them, I'm their savior, their only hope. My heart doesn't have a room for many. I only treasure my teammates, my family and most importantly my fans, the ones who kept me going. Therefore, don't reject my generosity because I don't have much of it. I don't donate to charity and I don't help the opposing team. My real philosophy is either I win and improve the lives of my friends and families or lose and failing all of them." Lucario ended his speech. It fully captured the heart of Darmanitan. As a side-effect, it made him guilty for doubting his generosity.

"I know that you have the best intentions for me but it hurts to see one of my most loyal fans degrade his own importance. Without you, I will probably explode and burn the entire team down. Take care of yourself, alright?" Lucario's voice was mixed between hard and soft. At times, he sounded like he was scolding Darmanitan. At times, he said in the utmost empathetic and considerate manner it made you forget about all those times he shouted at you.

"Sorry, homie. I should already know. You are the one and only Lucario that read all of the complicated rules and teach your team all sort of strategies as well as dealing with sponsorship. You did everything for them. I'm just worried because everyone else don't think the same as me." Darmanitan expressed.

"I won't get eliminated. Trust me." Lucario smiled as he placed his left hand on Darmanitan's right shoulder. Likewise, the fire type placed his right hand on Lucario's left shoulder. The two saw each other eye to eye, understanding the message without any need for words.

They headed back to the camp just in time for the challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "I don't care about what anyone else says. Lucario is my role model and this experience is so unreal. Getting to work alongside him. I promise that I will take the immunity if you want, Lucario."

 **Lucario** **:** "I only care about the well-being of my team. The other team can end up unemployed on the streets for all I care."

* * *

Everyone followed Skarmory to the dock. The host said that he had a surprise waiting for all of them. Some like Drifblim seemed excited while some like Nosepass dreaded the worst.

"Look into the distance, contestants. You will see the guest for today's episode." Skarmory instructed and they all viewed the approaching boat. Standing on it was no one other than the residential wimpy bully, Larvitar.

"Larvitar again? Returning as a contestant? No!" Nosepass panicked and screamed.

"Nope, didn't I tell you that he is just a guest?" Skarmory corrected.

"Hahaha… I like the sound of my poor victims crying for help. Cry some more, nose minion. The great and invincible Larvitar is here!" Larvitar exclaimed, inflating himself.

"What is today's challenge?" Lucario asked for clarification.

"Getting straight to the point, huh? Let me explain, Larvitar is here to get his potential revenge." Skarmory revealed.

The contestants had different reactions. Some were scared, some were excited, some were bored and some weren't impressed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "Why must Larvitar host a challenge out of everyone? Why can't it be someone like Snorunt? Wait, she likes detective shows. Not her, maybe Houndour? He seems like the sporty type so probably not. Can't anyone host a simple and easy challenge like staying awake for days? I'm pretty sure I can win that. I mean I don't want to sleep anyways."

 **Miltank** **:** "This coward again? I still remember when he called me a fatty. I guess this is my chance for a real revenge." She cracked her knuckles.

 **Drifblim** **:** "Larvitar better stay quiet. I'm a bit worried that he might reveal some things that I want buried deep underground inside a coffin."

 **Dedenne** **:** "This insufferable little brat again? The world just can't stop picking on me." She grumbled.

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk is tired of seeing Larvitar after Loser Island. He wants to get rid of him as soon as possible."

 **Aromatisse** **:** "Honestly, I'm not scared. Larvitar isn't threatening at all from my experience. He is just a nuisance. I doubt that he can get his revenge let alone stealing food."

 **Lucario** **:** "Prepare to get destroyed, you son of a *beep*. I will make you regret everything you did to my team." He stretched his muscles, preparing for a fight. (Is this All vs 1, Larvitar's Worst Nightmare or is it his revenge?)

* * *

Back in the camp, the two sides faced each other. Larvitar crossed his arms, looking smug. However, his grin was rubbed from his face when Miltank slit her throat using her right hand and Lucario slammed his fists together.

"Here are the rules." Skarmory continued to explain. "There are five minigames that you will all play. These games are similar to the first five challenges. After each round, a certain number of contestants will be eliminated. By elimination, I mean that you lose your shot at immunity. You will either enjoy the games or Larvitar will." Skarmory tried to build suspense.

Larvitar grinned at the scared faces of a few contestants.

"Follow me to the auditorium." Skarmory guided.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar** **:** "Those losers won't see what hit them. I will show them who is the big guy around here, by beating Nosepass. Yeah, that will show them. Not Lucario because I have a mutual respect for him. It's not like I'm scared or anything."

* * *

Inside the auditorium, interns sat on their seats with different objects in their possession. For example, Ursaring wore boxing gloves. Alakazam levitated with a book on his lap. Smeargle held a hand mirror.

Most importantly, Raticate stood on the edge of the stage with a camera.

The contestants all observed and speculated on what exactly the challenge could be. However, some like Lucario cowered behind Darmanitan in fear that Smeargle might notice him.

Skarmory turned to face the contestants once he reached the stage. "Contestants, the first minigame has the theme of the first challenge: brain, brawn, beauty. Your objective is to strike a pose that is either beautiful, smart or strong looking." Skarmory started the explanation. Bisharp nodded, starting to get the idea.

"In order to do that, you must hold some sort of prop as well. The interns will give them around _randomly_." Skarmory emphasized as he stared sternly at his interns. Smeargle nodded in compliance as Dedenne smiled.

"Here is the thing, Raticate will only take a picture on the stage five times. You must hurry because he won't wait." Skarmory informed further.

"Yeah, I'm still waiting for that smoking first pay check." Raticate reinforced.

"Finally, Larvitar will have a different role from all of you. His mission is to intervene with your progress so that you won't move on to the next round. In case you wonder, yes all of you can be eliminated in the first round." Skarmory revealed the terrifying last bit of detail.

"What about the immunity then?" Drifblim asked.

"No immunity and no elimination ceremony. Larvitar gets to eliminate the contestant of his choice." Skarmory told. The contestants looked at each other and murmured. They weren't so sure of who Larvitar wanted to eliminate.

"What?!" Nosepass yelled in disbelief. "This is so unfair."

"Hahaha, which one of you losers will I eliminate?" Larvitar liked the atmosphere. He wanted to spread fear as much as he possibly could. However, most contestants weren't worried about the slim chance of that outcome like the bully hoped for.

"What are the odds that he will win? Impossible!" Heracross shouted and everyone broke into laughter, scoffing at the chance.

Larvitar reddened. "Hey, stop laughing. I can win." Even the interns and Skarmory laughed at him.

"If he wins, might as well give him the million. He is even weaker than the yellow pipsqueak girl." Miltank mocked. Larvitar groaned, clearly annoyed.

"Stop laughing!" Larvitar yelled but no one took him seriously. Well, except for Nosepass, who didn't laugh much.

"Don't get too confident. He has three chance cards to boost his odds like Ursaring." Skarmory pointed out and the laughter died down.

"Aha, my chance cards will push me to victory." Larvitar started to look smug again.

"In addition, if you fail to strike a pose in front of Raticate and get eliminated. You will spin the wheel of punishment." Skarmory worsened. Larvitar placed his hands on his hips as he glanced around at the agitated crowd, beaming in triumph.

"We will start shortly." Skarmory gave them a few minutes to prepare and get into positions.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "Punishments? This isn't funny anymore, Skarmory. I'm starting to get anxious."

 **Lucario** **:** "The other team will get all the punishments while me and my team destroy Larvitar."

 **Bisharp** **:** "Personally, Lucario is the real threat around here. He will try and make the Crazy Crawdaunt members lose even though this is already the merge."

 **Aromatisse** **:** "I wonder if I'm going to be picky and fussy about my pose and the prop. If push comes to shove, I will do it the brawn way."

* * *

The contestants all lined up outside the auditorium, waiting for Skarmory to open the double door so the challenge begins.

Grovyle tried to sneak up the front but Lucario blocked him.

Nosepass quivered as all he could think about was the punishment.

Drifblim made herself invisible from the crowd.

Skarmory suddenly opened the entrance.

Lucario stormed in first with many behind him. At the back was Nosepass, sauntering as he knew he had little to no chance of winning.

Descending down the rows of seats rapidly, Lucario eyed Ursaring first. The bear threw his boxing gloves to the opposite side of the auditorium. Lucario ignored it and went for something else.

"Anyone want a bucket hat?" Trumbeak asked as he tossed a bucket sideways. Lucario jumped up and grabbed it before heading up the stage.

"Brawn!" He announced as he stomped on the ground with a bucket hat on… only to be disappointed.

"Sorry kid, not my time yet." Raticate didn't even bother opening his camera.

"When are you going to take a picture?" Lucario demanded an answer, growing impatient.

"If I take a picture of anyone that comes to me first then only five contestants will move on, kid. I can't do that. Wait." Raticate made it clear. Lucario groaned in frustration.

Alakazam, who sat on the middle row, was surrounded by three contestants. Duosion on the left, fixing her eyes on the book. Bisharp to the right, running straight to steal the item. Lastly, Drifblim floated behind Alakazam, waiting for the opportunity to snatch it.

Unexpectedly…

"Books are stupid, I don't need them because I'm already smart!" Larvitar leaped out of Alakazam's seat from below and stole the book. He shredded it into pieces.

"Losers." Larvitar blew a raspberry. The three contestants all glared at him with contempt.

Shedinja founded a pink bowtie on the ground. One of the interns must have dropped it. He lifted his eyes slowly, looking unamused.

"I rather spin the wheel." He drawled as he ignored the item. A certain snowflake looked dissatisfied.

"Hey!" Cryogonal called behind him. "Why don't you just wear it? Come on, no one will judge you." She persuaded, trying to hand him the bowtie.

"I rather die." Shedinja rejected as he floated away. Cryogonal frowned.

"Emo, edgy kid." She muttered under her breath as she went up the stage. Apparently, Raticate just turned the camera on.

Darmanitan noticed the boxing gloves and rushed over to it. Grovyle saw the opportunity and speeded ahead. The two got hold of each glove. The grass type glared at the fire type belligerently.

"Homie, let settle this peacefully. We find another one and share." Darmanitan offered, pacifying the situation.

"I agree." Grovyle smirked.

As the two searched for another object. Grovyle unfairly kicked Darmanitan at the back of his head, making him tumbling down. The gecko quickly seized the item and headed up the stage.

"Take that goody-two shoes. Learn to be less gullible." Grovyle insulted.

Dedenne spectated the situation with spite and hurriedly ran over to help Darmanitan off the ground.

"Are you alright?" Dedenne asked worriedly.

Darmanitan rubbed his sore head a little. "I will be alright, homie." He assured, flashing her a small grateful grin.

Grovyle strode over to Raticate, unaware of Lucario's bloodthirsty glare.

"*beep* you!" Lucario swore as he punched Grovyle down the stage. The professional athlete jumped down to beat him up some more. Cryogonal cheered for Lucario, despising Grovyle for what he did.

"*beep*!" Grovyle swore back and tried to punch with his boxing gloves. However, Lucario blocked all of the hits and jabbed him back multiple times furiously.

Grovyle's nose bled, teeth shattered, chin bruised and eyes blackened.

Darmanitan looked appalled as well as many others. "Stop, homie!" He implored, trying to pull him back.

Larvitar recoiled in horror, paling at how brutal Lucario was. Cryogonal no longer cheered for him. Smeargle covered her face in revulsion of the blood.

"You deserve worse!" Lucario scowled, spitting at the softened and tenderized Grovyle before he stopped.

"Chef Drapion, bring a medical kit this instant!" Skarmory alarmed. The chef quickly arrived with a medical kit soon after. Amidst the violent chaos, someone realized that it was time.

"Say cheese!" Raticate gave the signal, placing his hand on the button.

Cryogonal swiftly faced the camera and pointed to her bowtie with her snow chains as a pose. "Beauty." She said as Raticate took the picture.

"Cryogonal, pass. You move on to the next round." Skarmory announced as he checked the picture. Cryogonal seemed content. However, the situation wasn't exactly pleasant for her either.

Lucario seethed as he missed the first photoshoot. On the other hand, Grovyle whimpered in pain as Chef Drapion treated his wounds.

Skarmory glared at Lucario disapprovingly, shaking his head. "Lucario, you will be penalized. Sit out of the game until Grovyle fully recovers." He released the verdict.

"But he hit Darmanitan first!" Lucario tried to defend himself.

"That doesn't justify your outrageous act. You should just stop when you punched him off the stage. Because of your overreaction, Grovyle is now the victim. You are a professional athlete, you should understand the acceptable bounds of physical violence in sports." Skarmory scolded, criticizing him heavily.

Lucario gritted his teeth as he looked around, no one seemed to be on his side. Even his fans and followers alike.

"Accept the punishment, Lucario. Skarmory actually can disqualify you but he is lenient toward your cause." Shiinotic indicated.

"Fine." Lucario said unwillingly, stomping outside the auditorium. His bucket was confiscated by Trumbeak on the way out. Darmanitan looked guilty, staring down in depression.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "It is my fault. Only if I can defend myself a bit better. The homie cares too much about me. I wish I can help him in some way."

 **Bisharp** **:** "As much as I despise Grovyle, Lucario's actions were unjust. Very unprofessional."

 **Dedenne** **:** "Even if I no longer have any feelings left for him, I still can't tolerate Lucario's brutality."

 **Larvitar** **:** "Hopefully, he gets eliminated in the first round so that I have a chance to win. Poor Grovyle, I think I can make a good minion out of him." Surprisingly, Larvitar didn't sound egotistical or insufferable for once.

* * *

A new owner of the bucket was on the rise. Miltank quickly sprinted away from everyone else and got up the stage. Larvitar stood there, sweating bullets as he blocked her.

"I'm not scared of you. You are slow and fat." Larvitar masked his insecurities by insulting her weight.

"Oh, you are going to get it! Die!" Miltank roared as she chased Larvitar around. The bully screamed in a high-pitch girly voice and hightailed out of the auditorium. Not before Miltank gave him a good walloping with the bucket.

Nosepass shuddered as he witnessed the situation. He was so scared of all the other competitors that he hid in the corner of the auditorium, not bothering with the challenge.

Rhyhorn noticed this and sighed. He glanced around for any unclaimed items. Drifblim just got the hand mirror from Smeargle. Bisharp received a magnifying glass from Shiinotic. Only two interns caught his eyes.

Druddigon wore a mining helmet, gnawing a bubblegum in his mouth. No one wanted to approach the angry intern when he didn't even give his item away like everybody else.

Rhyhorn noticed Dedenne slowly crawling to him apprehensively.

"Mr. Druddigon, can I have the helmet? Please." Dedenne asked politely. Druddigon only grabbed her head and turned her around 180 degrees.

"Alright." Dedenne said quietly as she left.

The second intern was Lurantis. She wore a long pink and red stripes pants, fooling the contestants. However, Rhyhorn was too observant. He noticed that it was loose.

The silent rhino rammed straight to Druddigon and tackled him without any hesitation.

"What the hell?!" Druddigon exclaimed as he fell down. Rhyhorn stole the helmet and headed toward Lurantis, who was currently checking her photo album.

"You can't trick me, give me the pants." Rhyhorn exposed her trick.

"You want me to strip?!" Lurantis cried out, her face reddened. The other Pokemon in the room gave Rhyhorn dirty looks, especially the girls. However, he remained composed.

"Not funny, Lurantis. Don't force me." Rhyhorn said in a deadly serious manner. Upon seeing his hard and rocky facial expression, Lurantis took the pants off and gave them to Rhyhorn.

Successfully, Rhyhorn went to Nosepass and placed the pants down in front of him.

Nosepass looked at him in shock. "Rhyhorn, no big brother, are you really giving me this thing? I didn't do anything at all. I don't deserve it." Nosepass was hesitant to accept it.

"Take it." Rhyhorn assured, nodding a little. Nosepass grabbed the pants and tried to put them on, only to find out that they didn't fit his body. Instead, he wore it as a hat instead.

At this point, Larvitar returned to the auditorium. He immediately broke down in laughter and chortles as he saw how ridiculous Nosepass looked.

"Is this a new fashion for losers like you? Might as well dress like a girl, nose minion." Larvitar mocked.

Rhyhorn glowered at this while Nosepass removed the pants in shame.

"Anyways, I will be taking it." Larvitar aimed for the pants. However, Rhyhorn thrust his horn forward at Larvitar, sending him flying against the wall.

"Ouch." Larvitar yelped as he quickly scurried away, intimidated by Rhyhorn's presence.

"Let's go." Rhyhorn motioned for them to enter the stage as Raticate was about to take a picture. Nosepass followed and the two accomplished their mission, same for Drifblim, Bisharp and Miltank.

Bisharp held his chin in a thoughtful pose as he looked into a magnifying glass. Brainy enough.

Drifblim gazed over her reflection as she placed two of her arms on her cheeks. Beautiful and fabulous.

Miltank stepped on the bucket and crouched down a little. Cool looking with a brawn element to it.

Rhyhorn rose his horn up and glared at the camera in an aggressive manner. Very tough.

Nosepass wore the pants on his head and covered his face in embarrassment. Fancy and cute for such a timid and shy Pokemon.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "I can't ask for a better brother than Rhyhorn. He is like my angel guardian. I feel fortunate to have him around me."

 **Heracross** **:** "Can't believe that everyone else got all the stuff before me. Hah, at least Shedinja didn't get one yet."

 **Druddigon** **:** "Can't believe that Raticate got a main role again. Geez, can't some of the older interns get a spotlight? Raticate isn't the only cameraman around here, I remind you. I doubt that he is even properly trained. Lurantis works here as a scenery shooter long, way long before that filthy rat."

* * *

Things were intense in the third round. Desperation and panic started to settle in as they all tried to avoid the wheel of punishment.

"Help! Ah!" Scolipede screamed as Palossand squeezed his body tightly. The bug eventually slid out of Palossand's colossal arms and fled away quickly.

"Give me another hug. Pretty please." Palossand pleaded. "I got another bucket hat for you." He showed a new bucket. This one was red and light, suitable for building sandcastles.

"No way, I'm not risking my body for that." Scolipede winced as he remembered the pain.

While Scolipede scrambled, Farfetch'd approached Snorlax. The intern was wearing a giant, white bib.

"Want to trade items? I want that leek stalk in exchange for my bib." Snorlax offered. Farfetch'd gawked.

"What?! Trading Mr. Stalk for a mere bib? No way, not even if you give me a million P. He is more than just a leek stalk, I tell you. He is a professional baseball player, a professional skateboard player as well as a five-stars chef." Farfetch'd bragged.

"Five-stars chef?" Snorlax widened his eyes, gleaming in delight. "I'm a fan, I'm a fan! Take this bib for free! Mr. Stalk, I want your autograph." Snorlax requested.

"Alright, Mr. Stalk never really has a fan before so he is new to this autograph business." Farfetch'd said and signed Snorlax's cookbook with a pen the intern had given to him.

Snorlax squealed as he hugged the cookbook. Farfetch'd took the bib and headed to the stage, wondering whether it was brawny, brainy or beautiful. Remember, the pose needed to be good in order for you to pass. This game wasn't all about getting the props.

"Psst. Mr. Stalk, I got an idea." Farfetch'd whispered to his trusty partner as he secretly sneaked inside the backstage, avoiding any imitators.

Scolipede eventually submitted to Palossand and accepted the pain in exchange for a bucket.

Alakazam returned, wearing glasses after Larvitar destroyed his book. Duosion got to him first and received the item.

Larvitar hid under a front row seat, waiting to pounce on his 'poor victim'. Meowth walked by, glancing around for any items. Larvitar thought that he found an easy target and sprang out… to meet an unexpected surprise.

Meowth slowly side-stepped and Larvitar fell flat with his face on the ground. His attempt was so pathetic that Meowth evaded it effortlessly.

"Classic, original Larvitar. Apparently, it doesn't sell so well. The customers demand a new flavor after they ate your bland snacks for five days. Disappointing." Meowth clicked his tongue, mocking Larvitar's short-lived position in the game with subtlety.

"I don't get what you mean." Larvitar seemed confused. "I never sell any snacks."

Meowth walked away, ignoring him.

"Hey, take me seriously! I'm the real villain around here." Larvitar tried to assert his relevance.

Eventually, Meowth found Trumbeak with his wings behind his back. When Meowth tried to take a peek, Trumbeak rotated his body to conceal something. Meowth smirked.

The cat tilted his body to the left before he swerved in a flash to the right and grabbed both of Trumbeak's wings, turning him around to seize an expensive, metallic watch. It got a black strap, grayish steel case and shining hands inside. The hand watch also looked modern, showing both the digital and analog time.

"That's mine. If you are going to take it, be careful, alright? It is very expensive." Trumbeak warned, anxiety written on his unassured face.

"Oh, I can compensate. I will buy you a more expensive one if it breaks, Trevor." Meowth assured as he put the strap on his right wrist and walked up the stage. Trumbeak followed him worriedly.

"Say cheese, ugly kids. Flash them that ugly mug of yours." Raticate insulted before he prepared to take a photo.

Duosion tilted her glasses a little. Without the glasses on, she already looked brainy enough.

Meowth raised his right arm front and forward, presenting his product elegantly as his left hand supported it from below. He made it seem like it was priceless with his careful demeanor.

Scolipede threw the bucket down the ground and it bounced off the stage. This pose was… below average.

Farfetch'd returned just in time. He didn't put the bib on or pose in a conventional way. Rather, he tied it to Mr. Stalk like a bindle and heaved it up, conveying a sense of great effort and strength.

"Very original." Duosion complimented as they waited for Skarmory to grade the picture. Farfetch'd smiled a little.

"Duosion, Meowth and Farfetch'd, you all pass. Scolipede you fail, big time." Skarmory announced the results.

"What? Why?" Scolipede questioned. "I thought I did well."

"Sure, throwing the bucket. Anyone can do that really. It is certainly not beautiful or smart. Not really brawny either, judging from the amount of effort you put into that pathetic throw." Skarmory evaluated his poor performance.

Scolipede sighed as he failed the task. He still got two more chances, though.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "I thought that I look brawny. I practiced the pose once with Ledyba and she said it was pretty good. Skarmory just doesn't get it." He looked disappointed.

* * *

The penalty was over and the double door got slammed opened. Grovyle, Lucario and Chef Drapion all returned.

The auditorium was left with only the unsuccessful contestants, they all stared at the three with mixed reactions. Darmanitan was overjoyed to see Lucario again while Dedenne looked terrified.

Grovyle got bandages all over his face, his eyes were twitching with pain.

Chef Drapion carried the boxing gloves back to the auditorium, he kept his medical kit with him as well.

Lucario looked eager to crush the competition, warming on his feet with rapid movements.

Once Skarmory declared the start of the fourth round, Lucario didn't hesitate to force the boxing gloves out of Chef Drapion's grip. The professional athlete rushed over to Darmanitan and handed both gloves to him.

"Are you sure about this, homie?" Darmanitan asked hesitantly, holding the gloves meekly.

"Remember what I told you." Lucario reminded, casting his eyes straight up to Darmanitan. The fanboy gave a reassuring nod and climbed up the stage.

Grovyle dragged himself across the stage, exchanging a glance with Aromatisse. Both of their faces looked equally damaged. Grovyle chuckled at his predicament and wandered around for any items.

Dedenne paced around, struggling to find any props. Most of the interns had nothing left. She foraged through the entire auditorium, including the backstage.

"Should I try to look under the seats?" Dedenne wondered since she had no clue to go with.

Everyone else was in a similar position, Lucario blazed around the entire room. He even threatened some of the interns, only to get nothing.

Ledyba flew up, trying to get an overview of the entire auditorium.

Scolipede practiced his pose to perfect it. However, Larvitar kept distracting him, trying to steal the bucket.

Grovyle smirked evilly as he saw an easy opportunity for a steal. He maneuvered quietly to the back of Scolipede. Larvitar noticed him but got the message through their devious eye contact. The bully decided to stay quiet.

"Stop annoying me and go away. You will never get it." Scolipede lifted the bucket too high for a shorty like Larvitar to reach.

"Really?" Larvitar said in a suspicious manner. Scolipede started to feel paranoid, something was wrong. Larvitar sounded too confident.

"Homie, watch out!" Darmanitan alerted as he saw it coming.

However, it was too late. Grovyle snatched the bucket and scrammed.

"Grovyle has stolen my bucket! He is a thief!" Scolipede yelled, attracting everyone's attention.

"Get him!" Lucario encouraged. Soon enough, everyone pursued Grovyle. The gecko had no choice but to retreat inside the backstage and locked the door.

"Get out of there, coward." Scolipede growled, knocking on the door.

"I can't believe that you resorted to such dishonest means." Dedenne said critically.

"He has no choice but to get out eventually." Heracross stated, leaning on the wall. "I mean he needs to take a picture."

Everyone agreed with Heracross and they all stood next to the backstage door, waiting for his sorry face to come out.

Darmanitan came up to check the situation, feeling sorry for Scolipede.

"What's up homie boy?" Heracross greeted, folding her arms. The beetle glanced at his boxing gloves before she swiftly looked at Raticate.

"Doing good, homie. I just want Grovyle to play a bit nice." Darmanitan replied.

"Nice? Did Lucario play nice in the Pokeathlon?" Heracross asked a difficult question for the fanboy.

Darmanitan considered this question meticulously.

"Don't worry about the question. I don't care if you have double standards. Miltank don't either. I mean I don't play nice as well. Life is a tough place, eh? Either you win or you lose. Is that Lucario slogan or something?" Heracross continued the conversation.

"You don't play nice? I mean I thought you only acted like that in front of Shedinja." Darmanitan doubted.

"Here is the thing, I don't like the emotionless type. Especially, when he screwed me up. If he screws me up and brags about it a little, I wouldn't mind losing. You see? He beat me and act like it was nothing. I can't stand that. Not in here and not where I live. Darmanitan, you should be careful…" Heracross walked closer to him.

"Why?" He scratched his head, confused.

"Because…" Heracross made a suspenseful pause, before she pulled the boxing gloves out of his hands.

"See ya." Heracross bolted away in an instant. Darmanitan was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe that so many Pokemon out here would play so dirty like that.

"Heracross stole my gloves!" Darmanitan alarmed the group and they all left to chase her.

The door creaked open and Grovyle sneaked up the stage.

Shedinja floated around aimlessly, not bothering with the chase at all. He noticed Grovyle but didn't bother telling anyone or go after him either. He seemed bored of the challenge.

"This challenge can't compare to the last one." Shedinja complained. He felt apathy consuming his soul and essence once again. He embraced it for a second.

Until, he couldn't live with it.

"Fine, Cryogonal. You got me. I will keep my promise. Make friends and have some sort of meaning in life. Whatever." Shedinja drawled as he observed the auditorium. He couldn't find an intern with an item. However, that wasn't the focal point. Shedinja thought outside the box and saw that Chef Drapion still got his medical kit.

The ghost bug floated to the grumpy chef.

"Chef, give me the kit." Shedinja said unenthusiastically. Chef Drapion muttered something under his breath before he handed it to him.

Now, Shedinja and Grovyle were both on the stage. The two didn't chat or even look at each other. There was nothing but awkward silence.

"Give that back!" Lucario shouted deafeningly. He no longer cared about Grovyle. He only wanted to keep his fanboy safe.

As Scolipede chased Heracross, he had a cruel realization.

"My bucket!" Scolipede hurried to retrieve his bucket.

"Let me help." Ledyba went with him as well.

Dedenne sweated and panted before she stopped. She couldn't keep up with the speedy Lucario or Heracross.

"I don't think there is a point for me to chase them." Dedenne told herself and decided to look under the seats instead. She started with the top row. Alakazam sat there, meditating.

"Excuse me. Can you move a bit please? I want to check something." Dedenne asked politely and Alakazam floated up for her. "Thank you."

There was nothing in the first row. The second, however…

Back to the chase, Lucario extended his arms toward Heracross and grabbed her left shoulder. The professional athlete twisted her around, striking the gloves away, and threw her against the wall of the auditorium. Heracross collided against it with a loud bang before she fell down.

"Darmanitan, put these on and hurry!" Lucario said urgently and Darmanitan obeyed.

Under the second-row seats, Dedenne could have sworn that she noticed something. She crawled down and investigated carefully. After several seats, she found a certain wimpy intern hiding under there.

"Eek, get out." Wimpod said out of fear, retreating deeper inside.

"Wimpod, do you have anything for me? I'm not scary." Dedenne asked, trying to be reassuring.

"No." Wimpod answered simply. "I have dropped my pink bowtie on the ground already. Why can't I have a manly item? Now, others are going to laugh at me. They are going to call me a loser that can only create the credits." Wimpod manifested his lack of confidence.

"Aw… It is alright. You don't need to fit in with the stereotypes to look good or have a 'cool' job. Just be yourself, no one has the right to criticize you unreasonably. Enough with all the generalizing. Who said that wearing a bowtie is girly in the first place? Who said that creating the credits isn't a respectable job? Your parents?" Dedenne asked with encouragement.

Wimpod shook his head slightly. "Maybe, you are right. Maybe, I shouldn't be so scared. Nosepass can last this long in the show so I should do just fine." He got out of his hiding spot, looking a bit guilty once he gazed at Dedenne's compassionate eyes.

"Sorry, I lied. I got another item." Wimpod confessed as he gave her a blue bowtie.

"Thanks." Dedenne said gratefully and headed up the stage.

Grovyle ducked and dodged both Ledyba and Scolipede. Raticate was about to take a picture. He needed to stall a bit longer.

"Give that back to Scolipede." Ledyba flew straight toward Grovyle's left side.

"Say cheese." Raticate was about to press the button.

Scolipede rammed straight to Grovyle from his right side.

Raticate raised his hand up and pushed down…

Grovyle placed the bucket down. He performed a backflip and inserted both of his legs inside the handle before he landed on his hands. The gecko managed to outmaneuver both of them and posed by doing a handstand with the bucket hanging from his legs.

Dedenne winked at the camera, trying to keep a wide smile with the bowtie on despite what Grovyle did.

Darmanitan flexed his biceps as he showed off his muscles.

Shedinja held the medical kit up in front of the camera. Otherwise, he didn't do much.

Skarmory checked the pictures and they all anticipated the results.

"Grovyle, Dedenne, Darmanitan, you all pass. Shedinja…" Skarmory paused to build suspense. Shedinja looked emotionless while Heracross cheered for Shedinja to fail.

"You pass. I mean doctors usually don't pose anyways. At least I think." Skarmory allowed.

"Yay." Shedinja celebrated unenthusiastically.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "What?! How the hell did he pass?"

 **Scolipede** **:** "I know who I'm voting for today."

 **Aromatisse** **:** "The last round will be hell. We are all up against Lucario."

 **Lucario** **:** "I'm going to crush all of them." He seemed very confident.

* * *

Skarmory exited the auditorium to prepare something while the contestants all waited for the final round of the first game.

"Hey kids, this time it will be first come, first serve. That's what Skarmory told me." Raticate informed. Lucario nodded while the other contestants looked at each other and dreaded the worst.

"Where is the item?" Lucario asked as he realized that none of the interns got anything left.

"It is here with me." The contestants all turned to the source of the voice. It was Skarmory, who just returned to the auditorium. This time, he wore a black cape like he did with the haunted mansion.

"Catch me if you can." Skarmory challenged as he flew away. Even though he tried to look confident, his nervousness was visible.

Lucario speeded toward the host first. He jumped from seat to seat, trying to propel himself high enough to grab the host. Lucario got awfully close to his talons, barely missing by an inch. Skarmory sighed in relief, sweating. Knowing that he couldn't survive with the professional athlete coming after him…

"Interns, if you can stop the contestants, I will quintuple all of your paychecks for this month, except you Raticate. I never really pay you." Skarmory stalled the inevitable. Deep inside, he had the unrealistic hope that Lucario could be stopped. Shaking his head and taming his expectations, he mainly aimed to prevent the final round from being boring and short-lived.

"Dang it! I want my smoking pay!" Raticate fumed. Druddigon laughed, rushing to block Lucario. However, a certain psychic halted him through psychokinesis.

"What the-?" Druddigon seemed irritated, squirming. "You better have a good reason for this, Alakazam! Lucario is going to *beep* catch Skarmory!" The other interns expressed their concerns as well. However, they were a lot less vocal than Druddigon.

Lucario was prepared to make another leap… Druddigon huffed and scowled at Alakazam. The psychic looked indifferent.

"Listen to my plan first before we charge recklessly at Lucario." Alakazam addressed everyone, freeing Druddigon. He snapped his fingers, moving Skarmory away from danger with Psychic. This erased everyone's anxiety. Lucario widened his eyes, riled up. The professional athlete increased his speed as a response. Anger and difficult challenges were the two triggers that break the boundaries of his power.

"Smart-ass." Druddigon muttered, folding his arms. While he sounded resentful, there was a hint of respect.

"Snorlax and Palossand, stay close to Skarmory. Both of you are the walls of this operation." Alakazam started managing the interns.

"I will hug Lucario if he tries to get close." Palossand said and Snorlax nodded.

"Ursaring, Trumbeak and Druddigon. You three will have the hardest job. Fighting against Lucario." Alakazam delegated.

"Finally, some action!" Druddigon seemed satisfied, Ursaring as well. Trumbeak, not so much.

"Wimpod, Shiinotic, Lurantis and yours truly will intercept the other four contestants." Alakazam designated.

"Smeargle, you are our last resort. Try to distract Lucario if you can." Alakazam relied on Lucario's fangirl to do the most important job. Smeargle nodded with a determined expression.

"What about me?" Larvitar tried to get Alakazam's attention. The psychic turned to him as well as the other interns.

"Just don't do anything impetuous and let us handle the job." Alakazam excluded Larvitar and the bully looked heartbroken.

"Help!" Skarmory shouted desperately as Lucario caught the end of his cape. The interns immediately rushed to help and the last round began for real.

Heracross joined in with Lucario to catch Skarmory while the other three stayed close to the stage.

"What should we do?" Ledyba asked, running out of plausible ideas.

"Maybe, we should find an opening somewhere." Scolipede observed the situation. It was so chaotic with Palossand and Snorlax clinging to Lucario's feet. They couldn't do much to stop him and got dragged across the floor like ragged dolls instead.

Heracross got a lucky headlock on Alakazam and threatened the other three interns not to get close.

Ursaring, Trumbeak and Druddigon prepared to surround Lucario with Smeargle next to them as their immunity shield.

Raticate grumbled with the chef about how unfair his internship was.

Lucario kicked both Palossand and Snorlax away. Palossand wasn't damaged as a ghost but Snorlax took a huge blow to the gut.

Druddigon opened his claws and slashed in a swipe motion only for Lucario to duck and countered with an uppercut. Rough Skin activated but Lucario didn't seem to get hurt by the recoil at all.

The professional athlete went all out. He threw Ursaring against Trumbeak. The latter collapsed under the weight of the bear. He then kicked Druddigon away before tailing after Skarmory once again.

Aromatisse trembled in fear as she witnessed all the violence, especially by Lucario. She hugged herself to soothe her delicate body. Every time, Lucario hit one of the interns, she could feel the pain jolting up her skin. This was especially the case when Lucario hit an area near the face. It was very sensitive to Aromatisse. She deplored these things. That's why she didn't want to get involved in the prison challenge. The fairy type couldn't tolerate physical pain. Her entire life was all about beauty and it will always be.

"Aromatisse, are you alright?" Ledyba asked with concern as she saw her friend in a trance-like state.

"I'm fine. It is just that I'm scared. I don't want to get hurt again like the Pyukumuku incident." Aromatisse told.

"Everything will be alright. The three of us can take the punishment together." Ledyba assured and Aromatisse nodded slightly.

Larvitar frowned as he watched the interns having all the 'fun'. Why couldn't he have nice things, too? The bully looked at his three golden chance cards and put them away. This wasn't the time yet.

"Lucario, give me a hug, please. I'm your biggest fan ever! Don't hurt the interns, they are all my friends. You won't do that, will you?' Smeargle implored. Lucario hesitated for a second before he continued to chase Skarmory. Every time Smeargle got close to him, he accelerated in fear that she will catch him. If she does, Lucario couldn't imagine himself knocking his fan away.

The professional athlete decided that it was time to end this quickly. He leaped up to the air for the final time and pulled Skarmory down before stealing the cape.

"Well, time to do my job." Raticate got off his lazy bottom and prepared to take the picture.

"No! My bonus!" Ursaring cried desperately like many of the other interns. They could never catch a break.

Lucario sprinted to the stage. Along the way, he flashed signs of disapproval to Aromatisse, Ledyba and Scolipede. The professional athlete expected much more from his teammates. They basically did nothing.

Aromatisse averted her eyes. She hated it when Lucario did something like this. It made her feel like she was worthless. Lucario was always like this, expecting everyone to perform like a real athlete.

"I'm sick of not even being in your eyes, Lucario." Aromatisse mumbled to herself, following Lucario up the stage. This time, she was different. There was something else, an unprecedented resolution in her eyes.

Lucario was about to tie his cape for a picture until Aromatisse unexpectedly stole the cape and tied it to herself at the last second. Ledyba and Scolipede gasped. Lucario was speechless as he gaped.

The last question appeared: brain, brawn or beauty?

In a spontaneous decision, Aromatisse slapped her cape away with the back of her hand, crossing her arms and glared at the camera before calling out a surprising answer.

"Brawn." She decided.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar** **:** "Before the second game, I will get to punish those four losers, yeah."

 **Lucario** **:** "She stole it from me? Her team leader?"

 **Aromatisse** **:** "I made my decision and I won't go back on it."

* * *

Aromatisse exited the auditorium, victorious. However, Lucario wasn't about to let her go easy.

"What the *beep* hell?! Why did you do that to your own team?!" Lucario raged, his face boiling.

Aromatisse slowly turned around to face him.

"Team? Am I still your teammate when you chose to kick me out heartlessly? Yes, I might not even try in some of the challenges, but have you ever seriously asked why? Why would Aromatisse choose to stay out of a certain challenge? Have you seriously considered the well-being of your teammate, not just physically but mentally as well?" Aromatisse bombarded Lucario with these questions. He took some time to process them.

"After I got eliminated, I realized something was really off. Why would everyone vote for me? An unanimous elimination is just too cruel, don't you think? You are the one who pressured everybody to vote me off, even my friends! Unnecessary, don't you think? I know that you probably see me as a backstabber, a traitor. However, please realize that this is the consequence of your actions. Anyways, I'm not your teammate." Aromatisse scolded before she left, not turning back at him.

"Aromatisse…" Lucario spoke up. Aromatisse didn't face him but stopped to listen.

"Being a leader isn't as easy as you think. Before the glorious days of the Aura Beast, I need to make many tough decisions. One of them is to kick out the most dedicated and hardworking member only because he just isn't good enough. Do you know the pain and agony that still haunts me to this every day?" Lucario asked. Aromatisse didn't respond.

"Even though it is painful, I won't regret that decision. It is for the sake of the team. These sacrifices are necessary for us to rise to the top. That's why, I didn't object to Machoke's elimination." Lucario tried to convey his convictions to her.

"That's why I can't be your teammate." Aromatisse was steadfast despite his words. "You are the kind of team leader that only cares about the team but not the teammate itself." She left him hanging with that last sentence.

Lucario clenched his right fist. "What the hell was her message? I don't understand!" Lucario yelled out in frustration.

"How immature of you." There was a new voice. The camera turned to focus on a floating Pokemon behind Lucario. It was Duosion.

"What do you want?" Lucario asked, hostility hidden in his voice. "Didn't Houndour tell you to forgive me for eliminating him? It is an honorable sacrifice." His tone was condescending at the end.

"Your arrogance blinds you, Lucario. You might think that you are so open-minded. Always thinking about the team, the bigger picture. However, that is really questionable when you have zero generosity toward everything else in life. You are willing to let someone starve as long as they aren't your fans, friends and family. You only care about those that make you feel less insecure." Duosion rebuked.

"Insecure?! I'm not insecure!" Lucario gritted his teeth, denying the claim.

"Without your fans to justify your actions, you are nothing but a heartless dictator. Houndour doesn't see that because his heart is too pure. However, I'm different. I see all of your glaring flaws. Therefore, despite what Houndour said, I won't be your teammate either. Not until you learn to grow up." Duosion left his side as well. This only escalated Lucario's anger. He clenched his right fist harder and harder.

Duosion noticed this in the corner of her eye before she was about to leave.

"Can't swallow your pride? Punch me then, show the whole world what kind of Pokemon you really are." Duosion said boldly.

"I will prove it to you." Lucario said in a quiet voice before he stomped away. Duosion floated away as well. The two took opposite directions even though their destination was the same.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "Those two *beep*. Who do they think they are? I will show it to them. I will make them crawl back to me."

 **Duosion** **:** "Houndour, if you watch this episode eventually… I'm sorry."

* * *

Everyone gathered near the first intersection to find a giant spinning wheel in the middle with four colors: red, yellow, blue and green.

Larvitar was grinning next to the wheel.

"Four punishments, four colors." Skarmory told. "Spin the wheel so that you can get your revenge on those four, Larvitar." Skarmory pointed toward Lucario, Ledyba, Scolipede and Heracross.

"With pleasure." Larvitar said as he spun the wheel. The bully jumped up and down, anticipating his well-deserved revenge.

It landed on red and Larvitar's grin widened. Scolipede and Ledyba held each other close. Heracross raised her eyes in question while Lucario was still ruffled by what Duosion and Aromatisse said.

"What is the punishment, Skarmory?" Larvitar asked the host, assuming the color red connoted to something extreme.

"Chef, bring the punishment out." Skarmory ordered and Chef Drapion appeared with a red toy hammer. Larvitar dropped his grin out of disappointment.

"What? A toy hammer? This isn't a proper torture weapon!" Larvitar whined.

"Great, whine. How ungrateful of you." Skarmory sounded annoyed.

Larvitar groaned as he took the toy hammer and walked over to the four contestants. Lucario stomped intimidatingly and Larvitar fled, hiding behind Skarmory.

"Maybe, I will spare them." Larvitar chickened out and all the other contestants laughed at him.

Larvitar face was reddened with both embarrassment and anger.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar** **:** "Just watch, I will make them all submit to my unrivaled awesomeness next time."

* * *

Skarmory guided them to the gate of the berry garden. The area of the second challenge. This time, it was locked. Apparently, there were countless number of keys (five hundred and sixty-four to be exact) lying around the gate. They all looked identical. Bland, dull and grey.

"This challenge is very simple. Just find a key. Use it to unlock the gate before time runs out." Skarmory already finished the explanation.

"Saving screen time because the broadcasting station has time restraints?" Drifblim asked curiously.

"Not all minigames can be long, Drifblim." Skarmory replied, rolling his eyes. A mischievous smile formed on his face.

"Start right away!" Skarmory suddenly declared and they all hastened to find the correct key. The host placed a sand hourglass down, pressuring the contestants with how fast the sand flowed down.

Rhyhorn struggled to fit the key inside the keyhole of the gate with the lack of proper arms. Therefore, Nosepass helped him by testing out the keys. They got a match early on and Rhyhorn allowed Nosepass inside first.

"Thank you." Nosepass said gratefully, finishing first. After the nose Pokemon entered, Chef Drapion locked the gate again from the inside. He also confiscated the key.

"Nosepass got first place. That's rare." Skarmory commented. Nosepass grinned triumphantly.

Grovyle threw all of his used keys at the other contestants, messing up their organized pile of keys.

"Stop, you jerk." Dedenne scowled. Grovyle ignored her and continued to sabotage the other contestants until Bisharp dumped a mountain of used keys on him.

"Hey, that's unfair." Grovyle said hypocritically.

"Taste your own medicine, Guilty Guy Grovyle." Bisharp retorted. Grovyle groaned as he sorted out the used keys.

Soon enough, Farfetch'd found a key with Mr. Stalk's detection skill and headed inside.

Larvitar couldn't do much to stop the contestants when Miltank sat on him for trying to steal her keys.

"My back hurts." Larvitar moaned in pain.

The hourglass was a quarter way done already. The entire challenge was mostly luck based, anyone could win.

Bisharp tried another key and got inside successfully. Drifblim followed him soon after.

Rhyhorn struggled to hold the keys properly without Nosepass. The guy must balance it on his horn.

Dedenne was small so reaching the gate was a problem. She got on her tip-toes and tried to fit multiple keys in. None of them made that glorious, clicking sound.

Duosion organized the keys efficiently with her psychic powers and soon found a match.

Darmanitan wasn't aware that Grovyle secretly replaced all of his keys with used keys. Therefore, he kept reusing the same, old ones. Meowth noticed this, however.

"Darmanitan, Grovyle tricked you." Meowth whispered and Darmanitan looked angry. The two decided to get back at him.

When Grovyle went up to test his keys and left his pile behind. Meowth replaced all of it with the used keys he gave Darmanitan. Grovyle was totally oblivious to this scheme.

Miltank found a match and freed Larvitar. The bully's back made a few cracking sounds before it snapped back together.

"Ahaha, time for my revenge." Larvitar rubbed his hands together excitedly as he randomly picked up a key and replace it with one of Dedenne's many keys. Larvitar snickered quietly to himself as Dedenne tested it, only to get inside successfully.

"Lucky me." Dedenne said, thinking that she was just lucky. Larvitar dropped his jaw and scratched his head furiously.

The hourglass was halfway done.

Aromatisse eventually got lucky and survived to the next round. The pressure was on as there were less correct keys and ample used keys.

It was a chaotic mess as the key wars started. Grovyle dumped all of his used keys on Shedinja.

Cyrogonal saw this and got her revenge by dumping all of her used keys on Grovyle. Grovyle got mad and transferred all of the used keys to her. Used keys were passed around so much that nobody knew which ones were which anymore.

"Is this a used key?" Darmanitan scratched his head as he inserted the key inside the keyhole and turned. It didn't work.

Meowth placed a key inside and prayed. He turned it clockwise and the gate opened.

"Time to check the premises." Meowth seemed joyful to be one step closer to immunity.

"One minute left." Skarmory updated. The rest of the contestants now panicked.

Rhyhorn ran back and forth crazily between the pile of keys and the gate. He still got difficulties fitting the keys inside the hole though.

Grovyle stopped testing the keys and kicked them all around, taking everyone else down with him.

Shedinja sighed and stopped trying.

"Worst challenge ever." Shedinja stated his opinion.

Cryogonal nudged for him to continue. Shedinja only groaned in irritation.

"Ten seconds left." Skarmory gave them the final call.

Darmanitan rushed to the gate to test his final batch of key. However, Larvitar blocked his way.

"Take this used key." Larvitar tried to switch things around.

"Homie, stop." Darmanitan pleaded as time was about to run out. Larvitar knocked all of Darmanitan's keys to the ground and gave him a used key?

"Hahaha, try that used key and lose." Larvitar said with a confident tone.

Darmanitan frowned as he tried to open the gate. Shockingly…

It didn't work.

"Haha, told you. Do you think I'm dumb enough to not test it first?" Larvitar said with satisfaction, raising his chin up high.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle** **:** "I don't care if I'm eliminated. As this point, I just want to take everyone down to the mud with me."

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Shedinja needs to try harder. He can't be picky about challenges."

 **Bisharp** **:** "That degenerate Grovyle, he is getting worse and worse every single day."

 **Drifblim** **:** "I'm pretty sure that the majority of this challenge will be edited out. It is pretty unsatisfying from the perspective of a viewer, honestly."

* * *

Chef Drapion dragged the wheel into the berry garden and allowed Larvitar to take another spin. The bully was still excited as he watched the wheel taking countless revolutions before it stopped on blue.

"What is it this time?" Larvitar hoped for an extreme punishment only for Skarmory to give him a blue, squirting water gun. Darmanitan shivered a little. It better be cold water or else the homie boy couldn't take it.

"This is it, a water gun?" Larvitar looked disappointed once again. Skarmory gave him an annoyed look and Larvitar stopped complaining. The bully targeted Shedinja as his first victim.

"Mwahaha." Larvitar laughed maniacally as he sprayed water against Shedinja non-stop. "Take this and that." Larvitar continued to attack relentlessly.

Shedinja wasn't fazed by it in the slightest with Wonder Guard in play. Eventually, Larvitar ran out of water.

"Refill." Larvitar demanded.

"Your punishment is over." Skarmory gave him the bad news.

"What?" Larvitar said in disbelief. "Lame."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar** **:** "This is my revenge. It is supposed to be harsh, cruel and torturous!"

 **Darmanitan** **:** "I luckily survived that. Even though I can swim, I still hate water, especially hot water."

* * *

Larvitar folded his arms grumpily, he wanted a real revenge. Maybe, he will get it this time.

"The third minigame has all of you competing directly against Larvitar." Skarmory started the explanation. This peaked Larvitar's interest.

"Do you want to own land, Larvitar?" Skarmory asked, stopping the explanation temporarily.

"Hell, yes!" Larvitar shouted with joy.

"Then you can own this entire berry garden for now. See the contestants? They are all thieves." Skarmory explained the situation to Larvitar and he glared at them angrily.

"Don't take my stuff." Larvitar snarled. He seemed to be taking it seriously.

Skarmory returned his attention to the contestants. "Your objective is to steal Larvitar's berries and put them into your own basket." Skarmory showed nine baskets for each of them to take.

"If you steal at least five Sitrus Berries from him, you move on to the penultimate round. Any questions?" Skarmory asked, looking around a bit. Bisharp raised his right hand.

"What is the losing condition, time?" Bisharp asked.

"Good question. Chef, bring Larvitar the meatball bazooka!" Skarmory ordered and Chef Drapion grumbled a bit before he brought the meatball bazooka to the little bully. Larvitar's eyes shined like diamonds at the sight of _real revenge_.

The contestants all showed varying levels of fear. Some like Nosepass was about to lose his mind while some like Miltank doubted that Larvitar could do much even with a weapon.

"Prepare to suffer, *beep*!" Larvitar used profanity and Dedenne scowled at him angrily.

"Nine shots in total. If Larvitar runs out of meatballs, you can stride around freely, picking off berries and win. However, if you collect five Sitrus berries before he used all of his shots, you can exit the berry garden and relax right away." Skarmory clarified. They seemed to have no more questions.

"Start right away!" Skarmory initiated the minigame. The contestants all spread out as Larvitar started chasing them.

"Wait for me." Larvitar sweated as he struggled to carry the heavy bazooka around. It was already fortunate that he could lift it up.

The berry garden was vast, yet only Oran Berries, Cheri Berries and Pecha Berries could be found. Sitrus Berries were rare, one required an observant eye to spot them.

Farfetch'd got immersed into the game, hiding beneath big patches of Oran Berries.

"Mr. Stalk, let's steal the berries and redistribute it to the poor." Farfetch'd motivated. He peeped through a small hole warily, looking out for Larvitar. The bully paced around, dragging the bazooka across the floor.

"My berries. Those filthy beggars will get none. They are mine and mine only." Larvitar seemed obsessed with his land, his eyes were all stingy. Lack any sign of generosity,

Nosepass stayed close near the edge of the garden, hugging the fence with anxiety.

"I'm scared. I'm scared." Nosepass repeated these same words again. He was and would always be scared.

"Why can't Rhyhorn be with me?" Nosepass whined. Needless to say, he didn't made any progress.

Larvitar guarded the fountain. Apparently, there were six Sitrus Berries around there at the very least.

Suddenly, a yellow arm touched his right shoulder. Larvitar turned around, frightened. The spectral creature was gone.

"Who are you?" Larvitar said, spooked out.

"Give me the berries or else I will put a curse on you." A mysterious voice threatened.

"Eek. Take all of it!" Larvitar ditched the fountain and ran away cowardly. Drifblim made herself visible and giggled before she took five berries and exited the garden.

Larvitar saw Drifblim on her way out. His face was livid.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar:** "How dare she tricked me like that? I will get my revenge one way or another."

 **Drifblim:** "That was easier than taking a candy from an infant."

* * *

Larvitar returned to the fountain. The sixth berry was gone as well.

"Great. Time to use my first chance card." Larvitar couldn't stand it anymore. He took a chance card out with the following words:

 _Guidance_ \- This card summons Alakazam to aid you once in a challenge.

"Minion, come to me!" He shouted out the spell and Alakazam teleported to him.

"May I be of assistance? Tell me your command, master." Alakazam said in a submissive voice.

"Tell me the location-" A berry suddenly hit Larvitar in the face, interrupting him. "Ow, get lost!" Larvitar yelled out carelessly.

"Much obliged." Alakazam understood and teleported away. Larvitar wasted his first chance card.

"Hey, come back! I didn't mean to tell you to get lost. I'm talking about the berry." Larvitar begged but Alakazam didn't return.

"*beep*!" Larvitar exploded in anger and shot a meatball pointlessly at the fountain. It collided and sent a jet of meatball sauce at the bully's eyes.

"Ow, my eyes." Larvitar rubbed his eyes. Once he opened them, he saw Farfetch'd rushing toward his bazooka.

"Are you the culprit behind those unacceptable actions against me? Your supreme and invincible overlord?" Larvitar accused, picking the bazooka up and targeted him before he got any ideas.

"Yes. In the name of Mr. Stalk, I will redistribute your ill-gained berries to the poor." Farfetch'd vowed.

"Drop your weapon down and surrender." Larvitar was about to pull the trigger. Farfetch'd was in a hard spot.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "No one can separate me and Mr. Stalk. Larvitar chose the wrong time to mess with us. We showed him how a real professional baseball player plays."

* * *

Larvitar shot the meatball at Farfetch'd. Using the same old trick like he did against the chef, he reflected it back. Larvitar ducked and dodged narrowly.

Farfetch'd made a sudden dive to the left and plucked Oran Berries of the tree out before tossing them all up to the sky. He swung and struck all of it, all at once, straight into Larvitar's eyes.

"My eyes." Larvitar lost his vision temporarily. Farfetch'd ran for the bazooka again. However, Larvitar pressed the trigger impulsively. Before the meatball got fired, Farfetch'd thrust Mr. Stalk inside the bazooka and made a jumping dive into the bushes nearby.

The meatball got jammed inside the bazooka and backfired on Larvitar.

"Owie." Larvitar collapsed in defeat.

"You did well, Farfetch'd." Bisharp heard the commotion and came to check near the fountain, congratulating the bird for knocking out Larvitar.

"No problem. It's nothing for us." Farfetch'd said, satisfied with the outcome. He pulled Mr. Stalk out of the bazooka and wiped it clean with his right wing. Even though his right wing was a greasy mess now, Farfetch'd didn't seem to care at all. He only cherished his priceless partner and held it with the clean part of his left wing.

"Anyways, we should all hurry and collect the berries. It is highly probable that we all will advance to the next round." Bisharp stated.

The contestants relaxed as they searched for the berries casually. Larvitar was knocked out, it was laughably easy. Soon enough, everyone exited the garden except for… Nosepass.

"I'm scared. Why is it so strangely silent? When will Larvitar run out of ammo? He should shoot nine times already." Nosepass tried to recall how many times Larvitar shot something. It didn't reach nine yet. The coward will hide until he felt safe enough to take the berries.

After a while longer, Nosepass sighed and left his hiding spot.

Larvitar regained his consciousness and glanced around him, steaming with anger.

"Damn it, is it over already? I didn't even get to show my awesomeness yet." Larvitar pouted.

Suddenly, patches of berries rustled and Larvitar picked his bazooka up. Nosepass came out and gasped.

"You are still here?" Nosepass expressed his shock, retreating slowly.

"Bye bye, nose minion." Larvitar smirked as he fired. Nosepass screamed and ran away. The first shot missed.

"Hey, come back." Larvitar chased after him. However, the bazooka weighed him down.

"I don't need this bazooka to finish that loser." Larvitar said overconfidently and dropped it down.

Once Nosepass realized that, he reversed back for the bazooka.

"Hey, that's mine." Larvitar blocked Nosepass and bit his nose to prevent him from heading any closer to the weapon.

"Ow, take my Tackle." Nosepass countered and tackled Larvitar. The bully got knocked away.

"Take my Bite." Larvitar returned with his own attack. The two exchanged weak blows until they both fainted out of exhaustion.

"Geez, when will this challenge be over?" Skarmory wondered as he came and checked on the two. He narrowed his eyes at the result.

"I will call this a tie between Nosepass and Larvitar." Skarmory judged.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Yay, I don't get the punishment. Although, I lost my shot at the immunity."

 **Larvitar:** "Nosepass just got lucky."

* * *

The eight contestants and Larvitar met Skarmory back outside the gate. Skarmory handed the eight contestants a camera each.

"Time for the fourth minigame. The objective is simple. Take a picture of Larvitar. However, there will either be one winner or zero winner. If Larvitar survives for ten minutes. Then, he automatically wins. The first Pokemon to show me a picture of Larvitar moves on to the final round. Clear?" Skarmory explained, glancing around for any questions. There were none.

"Good. Larvitar will get a one minute head start. Close all of your eyes." Skarmory ordered and the contestants obeyed. Larvitar smirked as he ran away, taking his second chance card out at the same time.

The bully hid behind a tree and revealed the second card:

Dark Resurrection- Summon an eliminated contestant to be your ally for a single minigame. (Note: The individual may disobey you.)

"Grovyle, come to me, my minion!" Larvitar summoned and the gecko got teleported over to him.

"Wait, why am I here?" Grovyle seemed baffled.

"Because you are now my minion." Larvitar showed him the card and Grovyle nodded. Both of them shared a devillish grin.

"Let's mess the contestants up. Although, you must promise me to eliminate Lucario." Grovyle bargained.

"Fine." Larvitar accepted the deal. The two then headed out for a 'suitable, evil hiding lair'.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "I won't ever forgive Lucario for what he did to this handsome face." He pointed to himself.

 **Drifblim:** "This challenge is nothing more than a glorified hide and seek. Disappointing, Skarmory."

* * *

The contestants started their hunt for Larvitar, unaware of Grovyle's presence.

Drifblim re-entered the berry garden in case Larvitar was there. Dedenne and Meowth followed her, in case she was right.

Farfetch'd squeezed himself through a few trees as he searched inside the forest. Miltank lifted up a few rocks. Duosion scanned the areas surrounding her.

"Larvitar shouldn't be able to get far." Bisharp thought to himself as he explored the forest. The camera was strapped on his neck and he held it up firmly, readying to take a picture at anytime.

He heard sounds of quiet footsteps and felt alarmed. He tightened his grip on the camera and looked around, only to see Aromatisse behind him.

"Oh, I thought you are Larvitar." Bisharp admitted, dropping his guard.

"I get it." Aromatisse said, looking around for any sights of the bully as well. "Do you have any clues?" She asked, trying to get some sort of information from him.

"Unfortunately, no. He doesn't seem to be fast though. I doubt that he can exit the forest with a given time frame of one minute." Bisharp analyzed.

"What about his chance cards?" Aromatisse brought up a subject that Bisharp totally forgot to take into consideration.

"My mistake, if it is teleportation, he can be literally anywhere." Bisharp speculated. "Perhaps, the snowy area or the desert area, far away places. Although, the odds are still pretty low. I won't suggest that kind of risky move."

"Alright then, I will head my own way now. This is an individual challenge after all." Aromatisse said and Bisharp nodded. The two parted ways, continuing their search.

Seven minutes left…

Aromatisse came across the familiar, torrential stream. Gazing into the water, Aromatisse saw the reflection of her damaged face. It still hurt, no matter how she looked at it. Changing the angle didn't help either. Worst of all, it reminded her of the time she flailed helplessly as Lucario rescued her. She was tired of being dependent on a jerk like him.

"I need to stay strong and find Larvitar." Aromatisse resolved and crossed the stream. She hopped from rock to rock cautiously. It required balance and Aromatisse at least got that.

She eventually got to the semi-final rock, there was only one obstacle ahead of her. The final rock got a sharp edge protruding out, jumping on it will hurt for sure. In addition, it looked pretty unstable. Aromatisse took a few deep breaths but didn't make that jump. Her body quivered in fear. No matter how she tried to convince herself, her body didn't listen. It wasn't used to a situation like this.

* * *

Five minutes left…

"Great job, minion. You carried me across that stream successfully. No one will get to us now." Larvitar said smugly.

"Indeed, there is no Lucario to mess up our plan. I doubt that even Bisharp will choose to cross it." Grovyle relaxed and sat down under the shade of a tree.

* * *

Four minutes left…

Aromatisee was still struggling in the same spot. She was petrified with fear. She was scared. She couldn't do it.

Therefore, nature forced her into action. A wave of water crashed against her rock. It was about to flip over. She had no choice other than to jump.

"Here goes nothing. Ah!" Aromatisse screamed as she made the courageous jump of faith and landed safely on the final rock. It wasn't that dangerous like Aromatisse imagined it to be. She hugged herself and checked her body for any injuries. There were none. The rock didn't stab her feet either. The fairy type smiled proudly at herself. She did it.

* * *

Three minutes left…

"Yeah, *beep* all of them. We don't need any of those losers." Grovyle swore.

"Minion, you got that right. Those losers don't understand us." Larvitar agreed.

There was a white flash covering their faces all of a sudden.

"What's that?" Grovyle squinted his eyes and looked around. His eyes widened once he saw Aromatisse running away.

"Larvitar, Aromatisse got your picture!" Grovyle alerted.

"Get her, minion!" Larvitar commanded and Grovyle ran after her.

Aromatisse stopped near the stream once again, hesitating to do it twice.

"I won't let you ruin everything!" Grovyle pressured her from behind.

"Here we go again." Aromatisse forced her dainty legs to work. She jumped again, faster this time. However, Grovyle was faster. The gap between them lessened and lessened.

"Just a bit more." Aromatisse encouraged herself, pushing herself for the last stretch. Successfully, she made it across for the second time. Unfortunately, Grovyle grabbed her shoulders.

"Let go." Aromatisse growled.

"No way, I need Larvitar to win." Grovyle kept a tight grip on her.

"I warn you…" Aromatisse prompted, performing a backward kick to his groin area. She hit the sensitive spot…

Grovyle held his groin, face twitching and howled in pain as he fell backward into the stream.

"That's for Jumpluff and Dedenne." Aromatisse said, satisfied with her revenge after she heard everything in Loser Island from Tyrunt. She hurriedly went back to Skarmory and showed the picture. She made it just in time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Larvitar:** "My minion sucks balls. Whatever, I save the best chance card for last."

 **Grovyle:** His groin was still burning painfully. "That really hurts…"

 **Aromatisse:** "Come on, Aromatisse. You can do it. You are this close to immunity."

 **Bisharp:** "Aromatisse won? Perhaps, this is a rise of a new threat. I must be careful proceeding further in the merge."

 **Drifblim:** "Interesting, Aromatisse isn't some dumb and pathetic fashionista or a valley girl archetype after all."

* * *

Back to the berry garden entrance…

Larvitar spun the wheel once again. It landed on yellow this time.

"I hope this one is good, Skarmory." Larvitar expected, crossing his arms like an ungrateful, petulant child.

"Did Meowstic get revenge? Did Skrelp get revenge? God, you are very ungrateful. Be thankful for once." Skarmory said, infuriated.

Chef Drapion appeared with a wooden stick and a pair of yellow boots. The boots looked slippery due to soaps being attached underneath.

"This punishment is called 'Slapstick'. Put the boots on Larvitar, you can hit the contestants as much as you _like_." Skarmory feigned to give him a real punishment. Drifblim snickered a little when she saw the boots. The other contestants showed similar reactions as well. However, they kept quiet so Larvitar wouldn't suspect anything.

"Awesome, this is what I want. *beep* yeah!" Larvitar seemed satisfied as he put the boots on and grabbed the stick.

However, as he made his way to the contestants, he slipped and fell backward. He even accidentally slapped himself with the stick.

"What the hell?" Larvitar tried to get up again, only to slip, fall and slap himself. Skarmory, Chef Drapion and the presented contestants all laughed at him.

"Hey, don't laugh." Larvitar's face was reddened in embarrassment. He kept slipping and hitting his own face, what a laughing stock.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank** : "That little brat got what he deserved after calling me fat."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk can also do slapstick." Farfetch'd faked slipping and hitting his own face with Mr. Stalk.

 **Larvitar:** "This is so unfair! *beep* Skarmory!" As he was about to exit the confessional, he slipped and fell again even though he already removed the boots. (Goodness, take care of your health, Larvitar.)

* * *

Skarmory led all of the contestants to the swimming pool, the final area of the challenge. Sixteen Pokemon were presented as spectators with the exclusion of Grovyle, who was recovering in the infirmary. They all sat on benches to the side, anticipating the final challenge.

The swimming pool was currently empty with an artificial cylinder island in the middle. The top of the cylinder was yellow and big enough for a fight to take place. There were two tubes attached to the ceiling, above the swimming pool. One on the far left and one on the far right.

Skarmory appeared alongside Aromatisse and Larvitar, the contenders for the challenge. He started explaining right away.

"Remember when I said that the duel games have three rounds? Well, this is the third round that I promised to showcase sometime in the future. The rule is simple, knock your opponent off the cylinder island and win. Moves prohibited. Any questions?" Skarmory asked the two.

Aromatisse shook her head and breathed in deeply, preparing herself mentally.

Larvitar only flexed his non-existent muscles, showing off. Some of the spectators rolled their eyes at this.

"Alright, head up the island." Skarmory ordered. The two eventually got into their positions, climbing up the island wasn't difficult as there were small steps attached below.

Skarmory clapped his wings together and suddenly mud descended down from the tubes, filling the pool. Aromatisse watched in horror as she was surrounded by the dirty substance. Larvitar only grinned overconfidently. The spectators were all surprised by this twist.

"If you lose, you will probably need a long shower." Skarmory added.

"Disgusting." Aromatisse commented as she looked at the smelly, stinking mud.

"Prepare to lose, you pathetic, ugly weakling." Larvitar insulted with a mocking smile. The spectators glared at him. Aromatisse looked a bit disheartened by the insult, especially the 'ugly' part. However, she was astonished when so many contestants encouraged and supported her.

"You can do this, Aromatisse. I believe in you!" Ledyba cheered.

"Yeah, girl power!" Cryogonal cheered as well.

"It is highly likely that you will win if you remain confident." Duosion stated.

"Just get this over with already so I can do something productive." Shedinja drawled.

"Don't let his pathetic insults get to you." Scolipede helped.

"Beat him fair and square." Dedenne reminded.

"Show him, homie!" Darmanitan clapped.

"Destroy Larvitar. I hate him." Nosepass joined in.

"Crush that little loser." Miltank raised her fist.

"Close his business down." Meowth supported her as well.

"Show me how stronger you have become after the pre-merge elimination." Drifblim said, her eyes were fanatic. She wanted to analyze Aromatisse.

"Mr. Stalk wants you to win." Farfetch'd told. "I want you to win, too." He added.

"Try your best with all of your vigor, effort and determination." Bisharp smiled slightly at her.

"Break a leg." Heracross used an informal term. Aromatisse and some of the spectators stared at her.

"Don't you all get it? It has a positive meaning." Heracross clarified, shaking her hands a little. The contestants soon understood.

"Thank you, everyone." Aromatisse teared up a bit with joy. "Thank you so much."

Rhyhorn stayed silent but observant as usual. His eyes didn't budge from the scene, his ears were widely opened and attentive.

Lucario folded his arms, staring at her in a cold and analytical manner. He wanted to see how strong she became.

Larvitar fumed and seethed at their reactions, he hated it. Why didn't they cheer for him? He didn't understand.

Skarmory started the countdown. "In three, two, one, start!" He blew a whistle and Aromatisse got into a defensive position, eyeing Larvitar's movements.

Larvitar immediately took his last chance card out:

Eternal Blindness- You can blind a single contestant for the entirety of a minigame.

"Prepare to lose!" Larvitar yelled out. Aromatisse gaped at the effect of the card. It was devastating. How is she supposed to win when she can't see?

Skarmory flew to the island and gave Aromatisse a blindfold. The fairy type reluctantly put it on before the game resumed.

"I can do this, I can do this…" Aromatisse repeated under her breath. Larvitar walked behind her, preparing to attack.

Cryogonal wanted to warn her but Skarmory gave a disapproving look, removing any unfair ideas.

Larvitar shoved her and she fell down on the island, luckily.

"Ugh." Aromatisse tried to get up but Larvitar kicked her on the back, sending her tumbling down again.

"You are just a weak girl. Give up now, you can't beat a strong and talented man like me." Larvitar degraded her, trying to assert his non-existent superiority.

Aromatisse rolled to the side, avoiding another kick before she got up and stood properly. She waved her arms around, trying to sense where Larvitar was. However, Larvitar only circled to her back and pushed her down again.

"Pathetic." Larvitar mocked her futile attempt.

Aromatisse got up again, frowning at her incompetence. "This is impossible. I can't beat someone while blindfolded. My face, it will get tainted by the mud for sure." She lost her confidence. The spectators started to feel nervous as the battle favored Larvitar.

"Haha, see. All you got is your look. Now that you are ugly, you got nothing. Your beauty is meaningless." Larvitar continued to offend her, he wanted her to just give up and jump off. The bully wanted that kind of humiliating defeat for her.

"My beauty is meaningless?" Aromatisse contemplated.

Throughout her entire life, she was always an artistic girl. Many praised her for being beautiful and creative. That was why she loathed sports, physical activities or anything that would get her dirty. She was scared that no one will appreciate her beauty anymore if she gets involved in those kinds of activities. She was also scared of injuries and pain in general as well.

Does beauty mean anything in life? It is her passion and sure she can get a job with it but it is frowned upon by many. Beauty is just a superficial concept to them, having a great appearance won't do you any good if you aren't smart or strong enough to survive in this world. However, she also realized what beauty is capable of.

Aromatisse once won in a beauty contest. During that time, she saw the joyful tears of her family and friends. She realized just then that art, appearance and elusive tricks of visible perceptions can invoke great joy and bliss. Just like music, it can't be described. Rather, you need to experience it for yourself. It isn't useless! Beauty can be equal to brawn and brain!

Larvitar pushed her down again.

"Are you going to give up yet?" Larvitar asked, tired of toying with her.

"No!" Aromatisse shouted with sheer resilience and resolution. She recovered from the ground quickly.

Larvitar sneered and went in for the finishing blow. He dashed to her back and prepared for a final push until Aromatisse dodged it by side stepping away.

"How? Gah, you just got lucky." Larvitar said, frustrated. He tried to attack from the side this time. However, Aromatisse turned around to face him and grabbed both of his arms.

"How is this possible?" Larvitar asked in disbelief.

"Your footsteps, I hear them. I listen to heel cracks and many sounds that a shoe can make. Sometimes, even Pokemon feet in general as well. Watching fashion shows isn't useless after all. It was tough at first because I didn't remember the sound of your footsteps precisely. Now, it's over!" Aromatisse spun around and threw Larvitar off the edge.

"No!" Larvitar screamed as he drowned in the mud.

The spectators applauded and cheered loudly. Even Lucario clapped for her, albeit with less enthusiasm than most. Aromatisse lifted the blindfold off and bowed to the crowd, accepting the applause jubilantly.

"Aromatisse, you are the second winner of individual immunity." Skarmory made it official.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I did it! I did it! This feels so surreal."

 **Nosepass:** "Take that, Larvitar. I will beat you personally myself someday as well."

 **Lucario:** "She has proven herself but that means nothing if she isn't my teammate."

 **Meowth:** "Exceptional performance. Bravo, Aromatisse. Maybe, I will hire you."

 **Cryogonal:** "I'm happy for her. Larvitar, how does it feel to lose to a 'weak and pathetic girl' now?"

* * *

Before the elimination ceremony, things were pretty quiet. Everyone already knew who to vote for. It shouldn't come off as a surprise. Grovyle even begged for Drifblim to save him only for her to reject and leave him alone. Grovyle got no one left. He looked down at himself in shame, not bothering to campaign any further.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Maybe, I should watch the show back at home and see what kind of Pokemon I truly am."

* * *

Farfetch'd met up with Bisharp in the forest area. The former was worried that Bisharp might plan any schemes to frame Grovyle.

"Don't worry, Farfetch'd. It was all an act. Yesterday and the days before as well. I need to keep it natural. In order to fool your enemies, you need to fool your friends. Remember, I'm a logician. I take most things into account." Bisharp assured.

"Wow, Mr. Stalk didn't even realize that." Farfetch'd admitted. "Anyways, hope that you are now happy. I have done my job, there is no longer a reason for me to stay close to you." Farfetch'd said before he turned to leave.

"Wait." Bisharp stopped him and Farfetch'd faced him again. "Maybe, we can be friends, you know? Jumpluff probably wants that. I can show you around the place." He offered.

Farfetch'd turned around, eyes drooping a little. "I'm sorry, Bisharp. I'm afraid that's impossible. Drifblim also already showed me everything." He rejected.

"Why? Is there any reason for you to isolate yourself in solitude? I can't comprehend it." Bisharp asked, trying to get a grip on the situation.

"There are two reasons. One, you might influence my vote and ruin the promise that I intend strongly to keep. Two, I already have Mr. Stalk. Adding an additional Pokemon to our little group is awkward. Please understand." Farfetch'd explained before he left.

Bisharp looked dejected as Farfetch'd walked away slowly. The steel type stared at his back as it slowly disappeared out of his sight.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I need some time to process everything."

 **Farfetch'd:** "We are sorry, Bisharp."

* * *

The elimination ceremony began. Friends sat close together, like Aromatisse, Cryogonal, Ledyba, Duosion, Scolipede and Dedenne also recently joined the group. Meowth sat next to Darmanitan and Lucario. Miltank sat next to Heracross. Rhyhorn with Nosepass. Bisharp, Farfetch'd and Drifblim formed a little group. Although, it was a bit awkward. Shedinja surprisingly stayed above Cryogonal. Grovyle sat alone by himself. Larvitar as well, especially when he smelled like crap.

"Contestants, time for the usual elimination ceremony. I will start right away." Skarmory announced.

He gave the first Leppa Berry to Aromatisse, she got the biggest one.

"Farfetch'd"

"Drifblim"

"Darmanitan"

"Duosion"

"Dedenne" Skarmory got all the D's out of the way.

"Bisharp"

"Ledyba"

"Scolipede"

"Meowth"

"Rhyhorn"

"Nosepass"

"Cryogonal"

"Miltank"

"Heracross"

"Shedinja, someone really hates you but you are safe." Skarmory threw Shedinja the berry. The ghost bug seemed a little more enthusiastic to catch it than usual. Heracross averted her eyes.

"Lucario, you are arguably the biggest threat in this game. Pokemon either like or hate you." Skarmory observed his reaction. Lucario looked calm and confident. The host didn't see any point of dragging this elimination.

"Grovyle, you had a great early game but blew it up. You are eliminated." Skarmory revealed it out of the blue.

Grovyle quietly left to the confessional.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Well, I'm very sorry to my fans. I messed up. If I'm given a chance to compete in season two, I want to perform better. Maybe last a bit longer and play a bit nicer, who knows? Who do I want to win? Dedenne, I feel very bad for her. I think I used her a bit. Oh, well. I guess I will leave now. All of you are probably sick of my face by now.

* * *

Grovyle left the confessional, he looked self-aware for once after today's events. He quietly left to the dock and boarded the Lapras.

"Minion, you suck. You are the reason why I lost!" Larvitar blamed him. Grovyle sighed.

"Grovyle, wait!" Dedenne was the only one to see him off.

"What?" Grovyle turned to face her slowly, overwhelmed by guilt.

"I still believe that there is little good left in you, you know?" Dedenne still had a tiny bit of faith and respect in him. "I don't understand why you ruined everything all of a sudden."

"Dedenne, maybe you don't really know me. I made it hard for anyone to know me. Maybe, because I don't really understand myself either. Sometimes, I act completely out of impulse, instinct and intuition. It is hard to explain. I-I…" Grovyle stuttered a bit. "Let's leave, Lapras." Grovyle cut the conversation short.

"Wait, what are you trying to say?" Dedenne called out to him but it was too late. Grovyle and Larvitar left. Dedenne frowned, returning back to the camp.

* * *

On the way to Loser Island...

"Minion, you suck." Larvitar poked Grovyle's face. "You are the worst."

Grovyle clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, he couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm not your minion! Give me the respect that I deserve after working hard for you!" Grovyle snapped. He angrily grabbed Larvitar and threw him off the Lapras. The bully got soaked.

"Help! Ah! I think I saw a Sharpedo!" Larvitar screamed but Grovyle plugged his ears.

* * *

Back to the dock, Skarmory ended the episode off.

"Well, Larvitar didn't get his revenge. Who could have expected that? Anyways, I'm tired of that thankless brat, I will probably not include him in the second season. A lot of things happened today and I'm sure tired. Too tired to talk about all of it. Let me talk about the future of this show instead. Next time, the challenge will take place outside the island once again. See you all in the next adventurous episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Votes**

Lucario: Grovyle

Darmanitan: Grovyle

Meowth: Grovyle

Drifblim: Grovyle

Bisharp: Grovyle

Farfetch'd: Grovyle

Duosion: Grovyle

Dedenne: Grovyle

Shedinja: Grovyle

Scolipede: Grovyle

Cryogonal: Grovyle

Aromatisse: Grovyle

Ledyba: Grovyle

Nosepass: Grovyle

Rhyhorn: Grovyle

Miltank: Grovyle

Heracross: Shedinja

Grovyle: Lucario

Grovyle: 16 (eliminated)

Shedinja: 1

Lucario: 1

Larvitar: Revenge Failed

* * *

Another fun fact, Grovyle is my favorite grass type. The Grovyle from PMD: Explorers of Sky is my childhood hero, actually. Unfortunately, I can't favor him. I guess I lied about not putting favorites in Total Skarmory Island. I couldn't help it. Not all villains are my favorite Pokemon though. I don't like Larvitar. That's why he is the laughing stock of this show.

Is this chapter unexpected? Did you really think that Bisharp acted that emotional genuinely? I write meticulously most of the time so every tiny detail is intentional. You can guess future events if you remember a lot.

What is your elimination list? I want to see how close you are.


	19. Chapter 19

This chapter comes out very late because of Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Switch. If you want to monitor how much I procrastinate, send me a friend request.

On an important note, I fixed Chapters 1-17 and a little bit of Chapter 18. New readers should have a better reading experience. Please understand that nothing will be perfect and there might be mistakes because I work on this story alone. I don't want to burden anyone with the task of proof-reading for me either. Sometimes, I need to choose between delaying an episode for one day to proof read more efficiently. Or release it one-day early with less proof reading time.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **InfernoMaster64**

I already PM a reply to your review. I feel like that's already enough.

 **Parousia45**

Yep, you are supposed to laugh at Larvitar when he failed. He is a laughing stock character. He served his purpose. Shedinja and Cryogonal relationship is unique and difficult to write. They aren't necessary romantic around each other or take care of each other well. Rough like you said.

 **Fallenstreet01**

Sorry that I made you hate Grovyle. He isn't the worst contestant in my opinion though. The likes of Skrelp and Larvitar are worse. Interesting choice, you like Heracross. Your predictions are interesting. That's all I can say.

 **Octoriter**

I understand. You don't need to feel sorry. I don't have enough time to read your story either. I'm plan on giving it a shot soon. I want to develop every character sooner or later. That's why Magikarp and Feebas will return for Season 2. Yeah, Grovyle really left a bittersweet feeling in our mouth sometimes. I create him not necessary as a villain but someone that is difficult to understand.

 **Worma-Sir**

I understand. In your shoes, I will probably do the same thing if all of my favorites are eliminated. The thing is I can't please everyone. Your favorite might be someone's least favorite contestant. Farfetch'd will get his development. Don't worry. Skrelp and Grovyle are kind of pre-merge villains. They served their purposes. They obviously can't compete with the likes of Lucario. Your prediction might change a little after this chapter or maybe not.

 **Guest**

I really appreciate your reviews. It really does make me feel motivated. I want to live up to that expectation of yours. Yep, you are lucky. But sooner or later, your favorites won't be safe.

 **Dark Ampithere**

You are by far my biggest inspiration. I already reply to your review so that should be enough. Knowing that you read my story really makes me want to step up the quality.

* * *

 **Episode 19** **:** **Local Delicacies**

Skarmory stared into his same old coffee mug. It was routine for him to consume caffeine daily at this point. The eyes of the host showed that he knew very well the negative side effects. Yet, his beak sipped the brown liquid subconsciously due to the addiction. The taste was stale and bitter. Regardless, it energized and stimulated the brain of the host to work.

"Welcome back viewers, to another exciting and entertaining episode of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory recapped, eyes wide-opened. "Last time, we got another revenge special, featuring Larvitar. The residential bully got his revenge against some of the contestants with a toy hammer, a water gun and a slapstick yet he was still ungrateful and unsatisfied." Skarmory crossed his wings and shook his head slightly.

"Aromatisse completely destroyed Larvitar in the final duel and earned herself individual immunity. Triple G got exposed and became Goner Guy Grovyle. What will happen next? Will Lucario finally win an immunity challenge? Will Cryogonal get what she wants with Shedinja? Stay tuned to find out in this tasteful episode of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory announced.

* * *

Bisharp sat on the edge of his bed, looking down solemnly on the ground. His arms were stiff and rigid like pillars of steel. Capable of resisting strong gusts of wind. However, they seemed unsteady at the same time. Very vulnerable to seeds of anxiety and distress.

Bisharp reclined and relaxed his arms on the bed, adjusting his sights to the ceiling. The lights were all off. Bisharp gazed at them ambiguously. Did he want them to be turned on? Up to your guesses.

"Must be nice to be with someone that understands you…" Bisharp mumbled quietly to himself, before getting off his bed.

Before he was about to leave the cabin, he caught a glimpse of the recently awoken Farfetch'd. Bisharp immediately set his sights on him.

Farfetch'd rubbed his eyes a little before replying to Bisharp's eye contact. "Yes?"

"Farfetch'd, I thought about what you said yesterday and… I think I can ease some of your concerns." Bisharp insisted. Farfetch'd's expression turned sour, cocking his head in disapproval a little. He didn't seem fond to hear this topic brought back up again.

Bisharp noticed his annoyed facial features and sighed quietly.

"Farfetch'd, you said that I might influence your vote. I can safely assure you that isn't the case." Bisharp pleaded. "Please reconsider."

"Really? In order to fool your enemies, you need to fool your friends. You said it yourself." Farfetch'd retorted. "I will be blunt. We don't appreciate being fooled, Bisharp. I don't know what you gained from acting all sullen about Jumpluff and faking a revenge plot but we don't like that. You got us worried for nothing. Jumpluff too."

Bisharp realized it just then what grave mistake he committed. He wasn't careful with his choice of words. What Farfetch'd said was true. Bisharp acted a little desperate for revenge so that Grovyle will dissociate his involvement with Lucario's doing.

Fortunately, Farfetch'd misunderstood and merely thought that Bisharp was just bluffing about getting revenge. Bisharp felt relieved temporarily.

The strategist dreaded the worst. If Farfetch'd was this mad because he merely got fooled... How would the bird react if he found out that Bisharp crafted a masterplan to fuel tension between Grovyle and Lucario that… possibly caused the fist fight yesterday? Jumpluff too…

"…" Bisharp struggled to come up with a reply, only silence was returned.

"Bisharp, I'm really sorry for your loss. I know that you are alone without any friends here. I wish to be your friend but I can't. I'm not popular either. Without Mr. Stalk or my girlfriend, I would be a man of solitude. My so-called 'friends' aren't the friendliest bunch either. They thought I'm crazy and hedged bets on when I will get eliminated!" Farfetch'd told, consoling a little with empathy.

With a friendly but apologetic smile, Farfetch'd exited the cabin. Bisharp stared at the wooden floor of the cabin wistfully.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "I shouldn't have done that, fooling him. But I need to! I need to plot some sort of revenge against Grovyle and show my aptitude to my parents. I need to fool them as well. If they don't see my revenge coming and can't piece things together before I reveal it, they will be impressed. I just can't balance things right! I don't want to lose Jumpluff or Farfetch'd either. Without them, I feel so lonely and scared like a helpless hatchling about to be consumed by darkness." He said gloomily.

* * *

Farfetch'd headed to the beach, viewing the waves until he saw Dedenne doing the same.

"Enjoying the view?" Farfetch'd asked. Dedenne turned to him with a bittersweet look on her face.

"I'm just wondering about what Grovyle was trying to say before he left. Is it something good? That's all. What about you?" Dedenne asked the same.

Farfetch'd gazed at the sea dreamily before he answered without eye contact. "My girlfriend… She looks so beautiful on the surface of the sea. She promised me that she will come and take a look at my progress. I sadly left too soon to see her." Farfetch'd sounded disappointed and depressed at the end.

"Girlfriend? Surface of the sea? Is she a Swanna by any chance?" Dedenne assumed.

"Yes. How did you know?" Farfetch'd seemed shocked, widening his eyes in surprise.

"I met with her on the fourth day. She is so nice. She helped me with my mission. What a righteous girl with an unwavering moral compass." Dedenne explained, describing their short but memorable meeting. She expected Farfetch'd to be happy upon hearing this but…

"Mr. Stalk, we just need to last one more day." Farfetch'd sobbed. "One more day…"

"Are you alright?" Dedenne asked with concern until the impending thought struck her. She caused this. The little mouse tried to console him to the best of her ability. Regardless, Farfetch'd cried for a while. The sounds of the soothing sea waves didn't help one bit.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk, we need to take this competition more seriously. No more failing, alright? We need to make her proud by winning with integrity." He sniffled before mustering up resolution.

 **Dedenne** **:** "I never thought that this game is going to be this heartbreaking and difficult. I start regretting joining now after _everything_."

* * *

Lucario had a wild temperament. The thought of Aromatisse and Duosion turning against him snapped him into a fit of rage. Lucario started pummeling trees around the forest area like an unrestrained beast.

"How dare they?!" Lucario roared.

Meowth heard the noise and quivered with fear before he made his way to the professional athlete, slowly.

Meowth coughed, getting his attention. "Lucario, I got something to report." He tried to sound normal but fear was preeminent in his voice. Especially after Lucario breathed heavily after beating the trees down.

"Perfect. Tell me right away." Lucario demanded, calming down a little.

"Miltank got closer and closer to Heracross. All the girls in our team seemed to interact with the enemy team. Scolipede as well in the instance Ledyba was with them. Bisharp is the most threatening contestant in the Crazy Crawdaunt. From my observations, you can only rely on Darmanitan, Shedinja and myself." Meowth informed nervously.

Lucario absorbed all the information in before he replied. "You have done well. Keep on spying. You are my ears and eyes. Make them feel safe, bond with them and when they are about to eliminate me, tell me." Lucario relayed his orders and Meowth nodded submissively.

Lucario smirked. "My team… Most of you need some mental adjustments."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "I will deal with Miltank first…"

 **Meowth** **:** "Yes, I'm his spy. That is the only way I can socialize with the other team… safely. Lucario, you can order me around for now. For I won't let you degrade me for long. _I_ _'_ _m supposed the boss around here, not some low rank employee_ _._ " His tone took a dark turn during the last sentence.

* * *

Darmanitan exited the cabin with Scolipede next to him. The homie boy looked at the skeptic in a friendly manner.

"Homie, want to hit the gym together? I want to meet some new faces. Lucario will be there too." Darmanitan invited. Scolipede didn't look interested.

"No thanks." He rejected the offer and left. Darmanitan looked disappointed, frowning.

"Did I do something wrong?" Darmanitan wondered.

Miltank heard and decided to answer. "No, not your fault, homie boy. It is Lucario's fault. No one likes him."

"Why? The homie is great." Darmanitan argued. "He saved me yesterday."

"Yes, you. His prized fanboy. He ditched Scolipede's item for yours, didn't he? Will he choose me over you? Hella no." Miltank gave him some food for thought before she left as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "Ow man, the homie should care about his other teammates too. Not just me. I feel like I got a special treatment." He looked guilty.

 **Miltank** **:** "When Darmanitan leaves Lucario's side. It is basically hay day for me and Heracross. With that beast out of the competition, no one can stand up to us."

* * *

Pacing around the forest…

Scolipede thought that it was ludicrous for Darmanitan to invite him. Was that guy dense or something? No one liked Lucario, even his own teammates. Yesterday made it worse. Everyone could feel the bloodthirsty aura of the professional athlete when he beat Grovyle up unprofessionally.

"Darmanitan is either a blind fanboy or he is trying to fool everyone. His zen thing is sketchy as hell." Scolipede mumbled to himself, questioning a lot of things.

"Scolipede, let's eat lunch!" Ledyba's words were like music to his ears. It made him relax every time he started getting anxious and doubtful about things.

"I'm coming!" Scolipede shouted, excited.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "I'm never thankful enough for her in this game. Without Ledyba, I'm a paranoid mess. She looks beautiful and has a vibrant personality. Why can't I find someone like this before Leavanny?"

* * *

Nosepass and Rhyhorn were making their way to the mess hall as well. With Rhyhorn around, Nosepass felt a tiny bit braver. With Nosepass around, Rhyhorn felt a bit saner. The two complimented each other very well.

"Rhyhorn, I wonder about your secret base. You don't go there lately. What are you going to do with it?" Nosepass asked, hoping for a specific answer.

Rhyhorn paused for a moment before generating a response to the question. "I abandoned it."

"Really? That's great. Who needs it anyways?" Nosepass said rhetorically. The answer elevated his mood, making him careless. The Nose Pokemon walked nonchalantly, each of his steps were unsettled. He didn't press his feet firmly on the ground enough. Therefore, a harmless, tiny rock tripped him up. Gravity was about to claim another victim until…

Rhyhorn caught Nosepass with his horn, preventing him from a nasty fall. The latter recovered his footing and faced Rhyhorn with grateful eyes.

"Thank you." Nosepass said in a very genuine tone. For the first time in his life, Nosepass felt… completely safe. His nose inhaled the sweet air around him, enjoying the escalating sensation of joy.

A smile grew on Rhyhorn's face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "Rhyhorn is like a real family member to me. Without him, I don't know what to do. Maybe… I can be _stronger_ with him around." He spoke with surprising confidence.

 **Rhyhorn** **:** "Having Nosepass around might be a good idea after all." He said things vaguely as usual.

* * *

Talks about Lucario spread like a wildfire in the mess hall. After his showcase of pugnacious violence yesterday, the target on his back enlarged multiple times its original size.

"Lucario is emotionally insecure. He voted Houndour out because he was scared that the Feckless Flygon will be less competitive with Houndour around." Duosion analyzed. "That is just the most ridiculous reason ever. I can point out so many flaws in that logic. Houndour is extremely loyal to him. He is willing to sacrifice himself for that _troglodyte_ _._ Yet, Lucario voted my boyfriend off!" She exploded in sudden rage, breathing heavily.

"Calm down." Ledyba appeased her anger, caressing her back slowly.

"Sorry, it is just that I miss him so much. Poor Houndour…" Duosion grieved.

"Also… What does troglodyte mean?" Ledyba asked, confused.

"A cave dweller. In ancient times, many Pokemon lived in caves, isolating themselves from the outside world. Troglodytes are narrow minded brutes, they only care about their fellow cave members. I believe that the comparison isn't far off from reality." Duosion explained.

Ledyba nodded as well as Scolipede and Aromatisse. All of their vocabulary paled in comparison to the likes of Duosion and Skrelp.

"You know what is a shame? Lucario seems to really care about his team. I remember the time when he saved me from that torrential stream… then yelled at me." Aromatisse's tone shifted immediately from sentimental to bitter. "Only if he acts less like a dirty barbarian and more like a civilized, fabulous leader, we probably won't turn against him."

"Good point." Scolipede agreed. "Eliminate him now will make things a lot more peaceful."

"Yeah, I guess…" Ledyba didn't seem to support the decision to eliminate Lucario like everyone else. However, she went along with it for now.

Meowth sat on the opposite table, remarking and noting down their harsh choices of words.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "I wonder if Houndour will be mad at me for saying all those things." She sighed.

 **Ledyba** **:** "Lucario did so much for us. I don't think I can bear to eliminate him."

 **Meowth** **:** "My, my… Such strong language. Lucario will be enraged if he hears their words."

* * *

More and more Pokemon entered the mess hall like Lucario, Darmanitan, Bisharp and Dedenne. They grabbed their plates of special delicacy and sat down. Currently, everyone was presented in the mess hall except for Cryogonal and Shedinja.

Dedenne held her head down on the table once again, agonizing over the events of the past few days. Grovyle still lingered in her mind, bugging her, tormenting her. She contemplated why Grovyle did all those horrible things. Surely, there must be a reason that she didn't take into account. Was Grovyle just a horrible Pokemon? No, Dedenne knew that much.

Suddenly, a poisonous voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

"I predicted that gecko moron will get second or worse and I'm right! Taste my delicacy, *beep*. Hahaha!" Chef Drapion bragged insufferably.

Suddenly, everything made sense. The way Grovyle acted around Bisharp and Skrelp… The way Grovyle tried to earn recognition from others… The way Grovyle perceived morals… Grovyle's background… Combine all of this with how Chef Drapion degraded him and Dedenne suddenly understood his behavior.

"Chef Drapion, it is all your fault! You triggered him! Only if you didn't hurt his feelings... Everything would turn out differently." Dedenne snapped, sobbing at the end.

"How dare you blame me? I did nothing wrong, you little *beep* mouse!" Chef Drapion fumed, swearing outrageously.

Lucario's ears twitched as the noise disturbed him.

"*beep*! Shut the hell up!" Lucario silenced them both with his deafening voice. Everyone blocked the voice from obliterating their ears, gritting their teeth.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne** **:** "Those rude jerks are making me running out of my patience. Can't they stop swearing?"

 **Aromatisse** **:** "I need an ear surgery after this."

 **Miltank** **:** "Is he trying to make us deaf?"

 **Bisharp** **:** "How inconsiderate."

 **Darmanitan** **:** "The homie needs to chill out, big time."

 **Lucario** **:** "In order to shut someone up, you need someone with a louder voice."

* * *

Cryogonal opened the door, Shedinja was behind her. The two finally arrived for lunch. They should felt fortunate as many were still groaning and suffering from Lucario's voice.

"What happened?" Cryogonal asked, glancing around with a confused expression. She wondered why a few still covered their ears.

"Maybe you are too loud." Shedinja joked.

"Not funny, Shedinja." Cryogonal wasn't amused.

"Lucario destroyed my poor ears." Nosepass whimpered.

"Rather than competing in Pokeathlon, you should make Pokemon deaf for a living, Lucario." Drifblim suggested, swirling with a headache.

Lucario didn't look guilty one bit. He simply crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath.

Cryogonal headed to the table with her friends (Duosion, Ledyba, Scolipede and Aromatisse) and motioned for Shedinja to sit with them.

The ghost bug followed with a placid expression. Once he sat, Aromatisse gave him a slightly resentful stare before she averted her eyes. Cryogonal noticed this, seemingly worried.

"Shedinja, maybe you should apologize. Make amends with her so we can all be friends." Cryogonal advised.

"Apologize? For telling Lucario the truth? Why?" Shedinja questioned emotionlessly.

Cryogonal casted him a disapproving glare. She was about to scold him until…

"No, he is right." Aromatisse interrupted. Cryogonal looked a bit surprised.

"He is just telling the truth. I messed up. Shedinja, let's put that behind us, shall we?" Aromatisse reasoned maturely, putting her right hand forward. Shedinja eyed the hand for a few seconds. Cryogonal anticipated his response nervously.

"Fine." Shedinja said unenthusiastically and shook her hand.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Wow, they dealt with it more maturely than I thought."

 **Aromatisse** **:** "I don't want to hold any ill-will toward Shedinja. Especially because of a petty reason like that. I'm the new Aromatisse now. Half as beautiful but twice as fabulous."

* * *

Skarmory called the contestants over to the beach area. There, they witnessed a familiar pirate ship sailing toward them.

A bowsprit in the shape of a Toucannon's beak… Black sails with a white skull design… Trumbeak stood next to the steering wheel…

"Reusing a challenge? I'm disappointed in you, Skarmory." Drifblim criticized, shaking her head.

"Sure, jump the cannon (idiom- jump the gun), why don't you?" Skarmory sighed at Drifblim's constant criticism of his profession.

"Anyways, today's challenge will take place outside the island. It's not good for your health to stay in a remote island for ages, you know? The objective is to get local delicacies for me to enjoy." Skarmory inhaled deeply, salivating at the thought of those delicious delicacies.

"Are you going to give us money?" Drifblim asked. "Because we need them to buy the delicacies for you."

"No, that isn't fun, isn't it? You can't buy those delicacies with money and no stealing either. In addition, you can't tell them that you are in a game show or else you will face disqualification." Skarmory explained. Many contestants looked baffled. However, a few like Shedinja got 'creative' ideas.

"Yay, begging." Shedinja drawled.

"You can beg but there might be a better idea. Let me tell you about the location first or should you, Trumbeak?" Skarmory gestured for his intern to explain.

Trumbeak brooded about something, holding his chin with his left wing in thought. However, Skarmory's words snapped him back to his senses. The intern quickly turned to face the contestants.

"We will go to Toucannon Island. A lively place for shopping fanatics. There are over one hundred food stalls and a wide variety of shops for many demographics. The Pokemon there are also friendly. If you help them, they will surely reward you with local treats. Oh, and there's Toucannon Mall." Trumbeak described in a matter-of-factly tone. Despite his connection to the island, his voice lacked any sort of euphoria.

Skarmory eyed Trumbeak a bit worriedly, alongside a few contestants like Shedinja and Meowth. Did Skarmory know Trumbeak's background? The host soon spun back to the contestants.

"Board the ship to Toucannon Island, contestants. Return after sunset. The contestant with the tastiest local delicacy wins. Quality over quantity, alright? One last thing, if two or more contestants happen to bring my favorite delicacy to me… I will award multiple immunities as long as there aren't too many of you. Have a safe trip." Skarmory finished his explanation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim** **:** "Multiple immunities? Interesting…"

 **Duosion** **:** "This slightly increases the odds of Lucario winning the immunity. Hopefully, that isn't the case. If that happens, we might need to vote Darmanitan out instead."

 **Meowth** **:** "A perfect challenge for a businessman like me. I expect to win this immunity out of the rest."

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk is a professional chef. This victory should be ours. For Swanna…"

 **Scolipede** **:** "I get to talk to the locals again. Hopefully, they are as nice as that Furfrou."

 **Aromatisse** **:** "A shopping mall? Hopefully, someone there can fix my face."

* * *

The contestants all boarded the airship, finding a comfortable seat (on the floor). This was especially true for Darmanitan, who meditated peacefully. Unlike the others, Lucario didn't sit. He leaned on the wooden mast instead.

Trumbeak activated auto-pilot mode and the airship flew on its own toward Toucannon Island.

Apparently, Heracross and Miltank couldn't sit still and invaded the captain's cabin. Wait, was the advantage from the pirate challenge inside there? Trumbeak didn't notice them trespassing into his private cabin.

"Girl, look inside this room." Heracross opened the door, inviting her friend inside. "We might find something good."

"Yeah, maybe those goddamn interns hide an advantage here, who knows?" Miltank wondered as she observed the room.

The room was neatly decorated to say the very least. A table located in the middle. On it, a bunch of paperwork organized perfectly in a pile. There was a small table lamp and a world globe to the side. A box of stationary equipment could be seen near the edge. The chair behind the table was made out of wood, yet it got a modern touch by having wheels.

To the left side wall, a pirate ship inside a bottle was hung up for show, alongside a golden painting of the ship itself. A cutlass leaned itself against the wall as well.

To the right, there were many books lining up inside a glass container bookshelf. Next to it was a black safe, hiding something precious inside.

Most noticeably, a painting of a Toucannon family hung on the middle wall. Seemingly, they took the picture near a luxurious mall.

The Toucannon to the left was feminine, wearing a magenta business suit and a fedora with a similar color scheme. She got lipstick on the end of her beak. Her most prominent feature was her affectionate eyes, light blue and wide-opened like the vast ocean.

The male Toucannon to the right wore a black and gray business suit. A necktie bound his neck tightly. He held his head up high; he was a man of serious disposition.

In the middle, a small Pikipek could be seen. He was very young and premature. However, that wasn't necessary a bad thing as his innocence created a smile on his face.

"This room is filled with a bunch of garbage. If I own all these junks, I will sell all of it in a garage sale. Except, maybe this sword." Heracross lifted the cutlass up and slashed the air a few times just for fun.

"Check the safe. There's gotta be something." Miltank gestured for Heracross to come closer. The two inspected it, trying to find a combination to crack the safe. However, their attempts ended all in vain after the door creaked open.

"What are you two doing inside my room? Get out!" Trumbeak shouted furiously, pointing outside.

Miltank groaned as she walked out with a disgruntled face. Heracross tried to plunder the cutlass only for Trumbeak to seize it out of her hand at the last second.

"Geez, stingy much?" Heracross frowned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank** **:** "There is still the returning trip. Something good must be inside."

 **Heracross** **:** "I'm not trying to steal. Back where I live, we call it _borrowing_." She emphasized.

* * *

Trumbeak sighed as he fixed his eyes at the painting. Nostalgia overwhelmed him for a second. Until…

There was a knock on the door.

"Are you trying to steal my personal treasures, again?" Trumbeak assumed with a hostile voice, turning to the door.

"No, it's me, Shedinja." Shedinja drawled. Trumbeak sighed again.

"Come in." Trumbeak allowed, turning back to the painting.

Shedinja opened the door and looked with interest at the painting.

"Are you fine? If you don't want to see your old man then why don't you just tell Skarmory the whole story?" Shedinja asked.

Trumbeak answered without eye contact. He kept gazing at the painting. "Skarmory is very close to my old man. Toucannon Mall is the second biggest sponsor of his show, just behind Bronzong Enterprises. That's why I work here. Skarmory knows everything by now. I don't know whether he supports my side or my old man though."

"I see…" Shedinja looked deep in thought. He never acted like this around anyone… "I will leave now then." The ghost bug exited the room, leaving Trumbeak all alone to himself.

Cryogonal waited for him outside, curiosity burning in her eyes.

"Why did you go inside? You really do like your captain, huh? You should act like this around everyone else." Cryogonal advocated.

"There are only two Pokemon around here that made me feel something. You are the first and Trumbeak is the second." Shedinja explained.

"I get it. Maybe, we can do it again, you know?' Cryogonal hoped.

"You better if you really want me to open up to everyone else for real." Shedinja stated apathetically before he left. Cryogonal looked at his back with sorrowful eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "I spent so much time and effort for him. I can't give up now."

* * *

The airship finally arrived at Toucannon Island. Why was it named like this, anyways? Was it just because the Toucannon pirates own the island? Not really…

The entire island was shaped like a Toucannon. The island had a rather unique naming system…

Countless boats parked near Toucannon Talons…

Toucannon Chest had countless visitors lying around, enjoying the food and view...

There were no houses… This island existed for a sole purpose, shopping.

The airship landed on the dock near Toucannon Beak. Many sales-boats floated around it, inviting customers with aquatic goods.

The contestants descended down the ladder one by one. Some like Lucario opted to go down first. Some like Nosepass decided to go down last.

"It's a long way down." Nosepass whined as he climbed down slowly.

After the contestants landed, they got a closer look at the island itself. Some like Meowth eyed the place with familiarity. Some like Scolipede felt like a foreigner totally.

The dock itself was like a floating market. Many sales-boats surrounded it, advertising their products. Some waved flags to get attention of customers. Some used music boxes to attract customers. Some were lazy and did nothing.

The most eye-catching area, however, was Toucannon Beak.

(Let's use our imagination for a second, shall we?)

The dock itself was like the tongue of the Toucannon. It gave visitors the first taste of an unforgettable experience. Heading deeper, we met the upper beak and the lower beak. To be precise, the shops were the beak itself…

Fifty stalls lined up on the left side were known as the upper beak. The right side had fifty stalls as well, lining up in a straight line. The roofs of the stalls were colorful. Some red, some blue, some green, etc. This gave the beak an appearance of a rainbow.

As visitors walked down the tongue, they entered the beak, the mouth. They got their eyes chewed by the stalls to the left and then the stalls to the right. Everyone worked hard to sell their delicacies. All the stalls got their own specialty, their signature dish. Smoke rose out of grills… Food melted on a frying pan… A knife slammed down to chop artificial meat…

Before the visitors were digested, they met the Toucannon Eye. More accurately, the Toucannon Mall itself.

The mall was a five-story building. On the top, giant letters spelt out the name of the mall itself. It was painted blue for the first floor, black for the second, white for the third, red for the fourth and rainbow for the fifth. The color scheme was wild but attractive.

Lastly, there was a path to the right of Toucannon Mall. It connected to Toucannon Chest, a resting area for eating and relaxing. After that, the visitors boarded their boat and departed. The island worked in a systematic order like the digestive system. However, for maximum enjoyment in this island, it was recommended to not think of it that way.

Many contestants were astounded by the unique beauty of Toucannon Island.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "Why am I unaware of this place's existence for so long? This place makes me feel young again, like a little boy running around inside an amusement park."

 **Meowth** **:** "I have been here multiple times. I'm no stranger to Toucannon Island or any other places where business deals can go down. Heh, heh."

 **Aromatisse** **:** "I will come back here again and again. Hopefully, there are a lot of beauty boutiques in the mall."

 **Nosepass** **:** "I like this place but there are just too many Pokemon around here, you know what I mean? Too many scary Pokemon." He gulped.

 **Duosion** **:** "Maybe I can bring Houndour here for a date in the future."

 **Darmanitan** **:** "Time to chill out, homies. Take this one easy, Lucario. Relax and chill. Chill and grill."

 **Dedenne** **:** "I'm not a shopping girl by any means but this place doesn't look half bad. Hopefully, the prices are fair and square."

* * *

"Contestants, meet me near Toucannon Talons before sunset, alright? This is the arrival dock not the departure one. I hope you all understand." Trumbeak informed before he drove the airship up into the sky once again. Many visitors eyed the unusual occurrence with astonishment. It wasn't every day that you will see a flying pirate ship. Although, the shop owners seemed used to it.

"Team! I suggest that we help each other to win multiple immunities. Then we can vote out the other team." Lucario addressed the Feckless Flygon members. However, none of them seemed keen to work with Lucario, except Darmanitan.

"You are alone, Lucario. Oh, you got Darmanitan." Duosion said coldly before she and the others left. Lucario gaped, shocked at how his 'teammates' treated him. Darmanitan patted his back consolingly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "They all… left me?" His eyes were stupefied.

* * *

Duosion felt a mix between satisfaction and guilt after she did that to Lucario. She wondered how Houndour will react and dreaded the worst.

"Duosion, we are going to work for a pizza stall, want to come with us?" Ledyba invited, derailing her thoughts.

"No, thanks. You can go with Scolipede." Duosion rejected the offer. She needed some time alone.

"Alright, take care." Ledyba said before she left with Scolipede.

Duosion started her analysis of the food stalls. She took the number of customers, the types of food and the price into consideration. The psychic tried to find the delicacy with the most optimal chance to please Skarmory. However, nothing fitted all of her criteria just yet.

Therefore, Duosion decided to tour the mall for restaurants instead. This was a risk. Unlike the stalls, the food was much more expensive and take-outs weren't always available.

On the interior of the Toucannon Mall, stores were jam-packed with customers. There were two methods of travelling between floors: escalators and elevators. Heavier Pokemon required the use of elevators by standard. Between the escalators going up and down, there was an information board for visitors to check.

Duosion read the information board, searching for ideal restaurants. There was one restaurant that caught her eye. It was called 'Psycho Churros'. Perhaps, it involved an element of psychic that could potentially be affable for Duosion. The restaurant was on the second floor, just to the right of the escalator.

Duosion floated up the mall and observed the restaurant from outside.

It was a café-based restaurant with light brown wallpaper. As a result, take-outs were available. The café itself was pretty small, holding up to twenty customers at maximum. Currently, fifteen customers sat inside. A list of food and beverages was seen on the top of the counter. Apparently, only one Grumpig worked there. He wore a purple cape with a hood attached.

Duosion entered the café to check the following prices:

Classic Churros = 50 P each, Chocolate Churros = 60 P each, Deluxe Churros = 80 P each, Coffee = 30 P each, Hot Chocolate Special = 50 P each, Psycho Churros = 100 P each (recommended).

Duosion nodded at the prices. The café seemed to fit her criteria.

"Want any churros? They are dirt cheap and tasty." Grumpig persuaded once he saw her nod.

Turning to the Grumpig, Duosion requested to work there. "Mr. Grumpig, can I work here in exchange for the churros instead?"

"You want to join the Secret Psycho Churros Society? I will gladly accept a new member. Yes!" Grumpig exclaimed, upper-cutting the air with his right fist in joy. Duosion looked a bit weirded out by his actions.

"Come here." Grumpig gestured for Duosion to float inside the counter. She obeyed and looked at him, expecting further instructions.

"First, you need to wear this staff uniform." Grumpig opened a drawer and took out another purple cape. He gave it to Duosion, who wore it and gave him a questioning look.

"What is the Secret Psycho Churros Society?" Duosion asked out of curiosity.

"The Secret Psycho Churros Society is a sacred group of legendary churros lunatics that swear an oath to only eat churros every single day. Awesome, isn't it?!" Grumpig revealed dramatically, flying a churro through the air with Psychic before dipping it in chocolate sauce.

"Junior! Stop talking about your Secret Psycho Chubby Society and get back to work!" Suddenly, someone from the back of the café shouted. The voice was feminine and a bit senile.

"Mom! Don't embarrass me in front of my friends. Also, it is the Secret Psycho Churros Society, not Psycho Chubby!" Grumpig pouted. Duosion snickered.

"I thought you work alone." Duosion acknowledged a door behind the counter.

"That's my mom. She makes the churros and I sell them. Churros are just the best!" Grumpig proclaimed, floating a churro in front of her face temptingly before he tossed it inside his mouth. The pig chewed mannerlessly, bits of churro flew out of his mouth. Chocolate infested his teeth. Even worse, his breath was smelly as hell.

"Ew." Duosion showed revulsion on her face.

"Sorry." Grumpig apologized and stopped eating. Duosion started to doubt the idea of working in this strange café. However, it was too late to change her mind. Grumpig promised to pay her with a cup of coffee and one serving of Psycho Churro if she helped him with the calculations and receipt printing.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "Well, my work experience there was interesting…"

* * *

One stall drew the attention of Ledyba and Scolipede. It was a pizza stall in the name of '1, 2, Go Pizza!'. A male Gogoat apparently worked there, accepting orders from multiple customers. The toppings on the pizza had both variety and quality. Shrimps, berries, pork and much more gave off an alluring smell. The cheese complimented the bread greatly, making this a prime candidate to win the challenge.

"Mr. Gogoat, can we work here in exchange for two slices of pizza?" Ledyba pleaded, clasping her hand together.

"Alright." Gogoat accepted. He eyed the couple, trying to find a suitable job for each of them.

"Ledyba, can you bring my Skiddo son to his special class on the third floor of the mall? Head up the escalator and turn right for a while then turn right again and you should see it." Gogoat made a rather humiliating request. His son skipped his special class and he failed as a parent to force him there. He couldn't do it himself with all the customers lining up in front of him either.

"Of course." Ledyba accepted the task. Gogoat gave his Skiddo son a criticizing and mean stare.

"Go with her, _son_." Gogoat demanded in a harsh tone. Skiddo grumbled before he exited the stall and followed Ledyba.

Suddenly, a phone rang inside the stall. Gogoat received the call and nodded, writing something down before ending it.

"Scolipede, please deliver five plates of pizza to Skarmory Island." Gogoat ordered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "Skarmory Island? How am I supposed to travel across the sea over there without a boat?"

 **Ledyba** **:** "My job doesn't seem difficult. Hopefully, Scolipede has an easy time as well."

* * *

Heracross glanced around the Toucannon Tongue. She tried to find a sales-boat with a delicious-looking delicacy. Most Pokemon sold seafood there, whether it be sushi or fish fillet.

"Heracross, want some of my oysters? I got the best oyster sauce around here." A Dhelmise close to her encouraged. He sounded somewhat old.

"Is it for free, gramps?" Heracross assumed rudely.

"Hey, I'm still young. No way I'm giving my oysters away for free. You got to work for it." Dhelmise replied, annoyed.

"What is this work, then?" Heracross asked.

"You see, I got the best oyster sauce around here. However, my rival, Minior got tastier oysters than me. We eventually agreed to exchange our recipes. Please do it for me. He should be around the right side of Toucannon Beak." Dhelmise requested, concealing a grin.

"Seems easy enough." Heracross accepted, taking a cookbook from Dhelmise.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross** **:** "Gramps is just old. He can't do much by himself. Like they say, pensions aren't for everyone."

* * *

Around the right side of Toucannon Beak…

Miltank watched a few amateurs ruined their food and sneered at them. It wasn't unusual at all since there were over one hundred stalls. Not everyone was experienced in Toucannon Island.

"Fools. I can cook better. Enjoy the hell out of your cardboard food." Miltank scoffed at their cooking skills.

"Miltank, try my oysters." A blue core Minior persuaded in a young, energetic voice. He was smaller than most Minior.

"Sorry, kid. I will pass unless you give it to me for free." Miltank was being one tough customer.

"Hey, I'm not a kid. Ugh, if you want one for free... You see, I got the best oysters around here but my oyster sauce is just horrible. My competitor, Dhelmise got the better oyster sauce. We decided to exchange our recipes. Can you do that? He is around the dock." Minior requested, smirking deviously.

Doesn't seem difficult." Miltank accepted, catching the cookbook Minior threw at her.

Both Miltank and Heracross met each other around half way, eyeing each other's cookbook.

"You got a job from a Minior?" Heracross asked.

"Yep, you got one from Dhelmise?" Miltank asked back.

"Perfect, let's exchange and get this challenge over with." Heracross smiled at how easy it was. The job was done. The two quickly returned to their respective shops.

"Dhelmise won't know what hit him." Minior giggled quietly to himself.

"What?" Miltank didn't seem to hear it.

"No, nothing." Minior acted innocent. "Return back here after I learn the recipe and I will give you one of my oysters, served with a delicious sauce.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank** **:** "It better be good. That kid better not play a trick on me or else I will let him taste my light but powerful fists."

* * *

Dedenne surveyed through the stalls with a disgusted look on her face. Some of the chefs didn't even bother washing their hands/wings/limbs.

"I don't think these Pokemon follow the Consumers' Health Protection Law." Dedenne mumbled to herself.

Worst of all, a Munchlax sat on a pile of pancakes! He rubbed his butt cheeks against the delicacies. As expected, he got no customers.

"Anyone wants to buy my pulverizing pancakes?" Munchlax asked, looking around with pleading eyes. Everyone (even poison types) either ignored him or looked at him with disgust.

"Why is everyone so mean? Nobody buys my pancakes." Munchlax cried quietly to himself.

"Munchlax, don't you know about the Consumers' Health Protection Law? Why are you sitting on perfectly edible food? I can report this to the authorities." Dedenne reprimanded.

"I'm sorry! This is the only method of cooking I know." Munchlax cried even louder. Pokemon around him murmured among themselves.

Dedenne sighed. He looked so sympathetic to her. Maybe, it was too cruel to report him to the authorities. Just maybe…

"Stop crying, I will help." Dedenne submitted to his pitiful condition.

"Really? You can have as much pancakes as you like if we get some sales." Munchlax offered.

"Yeah, the clean ones." Dedenne stated as she observed the stall. The little mouse criticized him for many things. After all the scolding was done, she suggested many improvements to the store.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Dedenne;** "It feels good to help those that are in need without an incentive for reward. Only if Grovyle is really like this…"

* * *

Evidently, not every stall had high standards. Some stall owners like Munchlax were newbies to this business. It was a very competitive environment in Toucannon Island. If you couldn't break-even, you couldn't pay rent and you couldn't stay there.

A few stalls like '1,2, Go Pizza!' made a name for themselves. They got reputation, they got loyal customers. This made it much more difficult for new stall owners to get the right footing on the ground. They couldn't really rent the expensive space inside the Toucannon Mall either.

Other than Munchlax, there was Garbodor…

"Anyone wants my special delicacy?" Garbodor asked, lifting up his plate of green sludge for the public to view. The reaction wasn't pretty. Some even puked and vomited.

"Looks like we are closing down, my poor special delicacy." Garbodor said depressingly. He then started crying.

"Mr. Stalk wants to know why are you crying?" Farfetch'd asked as he passed by.

"It's over for me. I used to have a Drapion friend. We learned in the same cooking school (a one-star cooking school). He got first place while I got second. We owned the store together. Back then, we got poison type customers until… a Skarmory hired him!" Garbodor cried in rage.

"A Drapion? Mr. Stalk outperformed one in a cooking contest before." Farfetch'd told.

"It must be a different Drapion. Back in school, I was known as the Gastro Green Sludge and he was known as the Putrid Purple Sludge. We invented our special delicacies together. However, he was a better chef than me. He was perfect. Without him, I'm nothing. It is time for me to live on the streets." Garbodor moped, crying a river.

"But is he a five-stars chef like Mr. Stalk?" Farfetch'd bragged.

"Five-stars? Are you serious? I mean we don't use that kind of grading system around here. Isn't that for restaurants chefs? We are just stall owners." Garbodor seemed taken by surprise.

"Do you want us to demonstrate?" Farfetch'd asked. Garbodor nodded. The duck and his leek stalk entered the stall, stretching a bit before showing off their cooking expertise.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk isn't surprised at all that Chef Drapion used to work there. Their cooking methods are too similar. Garbodor mashed everything together carelessly like Chef Drapion. I wonder what kind of cooking school educated them. We really want to win this challenge. Not only because of Mr. Stalk's pride as a chef but also for Swanna."

* * *

Drifblim observed both sides of Toucannon Beak. She tried to find the most popular stall, preferably one with ginseng tea. However, the ghost blimp already reached the entrance to the mall. Yet, she couldn't find one.

"Hey, want my meat skewers? One costs 60 P, two cost 100 P." Magmar bargained, his stall was at the end of the left line.

"No thanks, I'm buying one for my friend. He is a Skarmory. I doubt that he likes something hot." Drifblim told as she glanced at the grill. The flame was weaker than she expected but that didn't convince her. Would Skarmory eat something like this?

"Rest assured, my meat skewers aren't hot. Steel types can eat them. I got one customer that is a Skarmory, you know?" Magmar assured.

"No thanks." Drifblim refused, floating away. She wasn't convinced one bit. Magmar looked dejected but he said nothing.

Drifblim got lured by a different stall instead. It located at the end of the right line. It was Halloween themed with paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling. The color scheme was primarily purple, fake dead trees were behind the stall. A painting of a haunted mansion hung behind the counter. The stall owner was a male Dusknoir. On the counter were pumpkins of various sizes.

A face was carved on each of them. The smallest pumpkin got a frowning face with a cheap price of 100 P. The biggest pumpkin got an overjoyed face with an expensive price of 750 P.

"Welcome to my stall, buy or I will haunt you in your nightmares forever!" Dusknoir threatened, making a scary face. Drifblim didn't seem scared one bit.

"Oh, I jest. Welcome, what do you want?" Dusknoir immediately stopped once she didn't fall for it.

"What are inside these pumpkins?" Drifblim asked, eyeing them with curiosity.

"Life leeches of death!" Dusknoir screamed with a horrifying voice. "I jest, gummy worms. I have all kinds of flavors. Ghost ones, flying ones, choose right away." He informed.

"I want the biggest pumpkin with steel gummies for a friend. Can I work here instead?" Drifblim requested.

"Oh, definitely… no! I will kill you! I jest, I jest. You aren't scared at all, are you?" Dusknoir sounded disappointed. Drifblim shook her head.

"You know what? I like you. We are both ghost types and I scared enough customers to earn a decent amount of P. You just need to go to Toucannon Talons, find a boat with a black flag and retrieve a box of steel gummies for me." Dusknoir instructed, handing his boat key to her.

"If you fail…" Dusknoir was about to try scaring her again but Drifblim already left for the gummies. He muttered quietly to himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim** **:** "I'm a ghost type as well. Should I be scared? I don't think so. What a lame publicity stunt. I wonder if Skarmory will like the steel gummies. This is the next best option I got other than finding ginseng tea."

* * *

Darmanitan toured around Toucannon Beak with Lucario. The homie boy sought after something chill to eat. A certain stall enticed him…

"Homie, we should go over there together." Darmanitan pointed toward a stall with an Infernape. The guy sat, meditating. Surrounding him in a circle were frozen yogurts, cold and chill like he wanted.

"I will pass. You should go with me…" Before Lucario finished, Darmanitan already left him.

"Sorry homie, I gotta chill out with my other homie." Darmanitan looked apologetic as he left Lucario's side. The professional athlete was now alone.

"Homie, can I work for one of these yogurts?" Darmanitan asked, pointing.

"Sure, brotha. Help me look after the stall. Keep it chill and meditate." Infernape instructed.

"This is how I like it, homie. It is a shame that Lucario didn't want to come." Darmanitan said, a bit disappointed. He then crossed his legs in a meditative position and chanted out "zen" slowly.

"Perfect, brotha. You are a natural. Zen, zen…" Infernape did the same.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "I don't understand why everyone thinks that us fire types are hot-heads. I mean we are chill most of the time."

* * *

Nosepass and Rhyhorn entered Toucannon Mall after the former complained about how the knives and grills looked scary outside.

"Can't they stop with all the chopping and burning?" Nosepass complained, clinging to Rhyhorn.

"Then, how are we going to eat?" Rhyhorn responded, giving Nosepass food for thought.

Nosepass sighed. "I guess you are right. I'm just a coward." He bashed himself.

"No need to be harsh. Just try to fight the fear." Rhyhorn advised. "Besides, you got me."

Nosepass lightened up as he heard this. "You are right about that, big brother." Rhyhorn smiled as well.

The two approached the escalator and Nosepass suddenly looked tense. His legs shook rapidly.

"We should head up the second floor. There's not much other than clothes around here." Rhyhorn suggested, noticing Nosepass' fearful demeanor. "You are scared of escalators?"

Nosepass nodded, his face reddening in the process.

"We can take the elevator then. I can't take the escalator because of my weight anyways." Rhyhorn indicated. Nosepass beamed in joy immediately.

The two entered an elevator. It was gigantic, twenty times the size of Rhyhorn himself. Huge Pokemon like Aggron stayed in the elevator with them. Nosepass didn't seem comfortable with their presences, but was reassured with Rhyhorn next to him.

The elevator made a ringing sound as the door opened. Nosepass and Rhyhorn excused themselves as they exited.

"Look, there's a café." Nosepass pointed out the nearby Psycho Churros. "Should we work there?"

"Let's check." Rhyhorn replied. Everything seemed normal at first. They were just checking a store. What could possibly go wrong? Well…

Rhyhorn came to a sudden halt in front of the café. His red eyes turned bloody… They were deeper than tunnels… They were blackholes.

He started hyperventilating, gasping for air. " _Psychic_ …" He said with a dark, threatening tone. One that hid years' worth of suffering. What caused all of this? The purple cape was the answer.

"Rhyhorn, are you alright?" Nosepass asked in concern.

"Die!" Rhyhorn yelled menacingly. He rammed through the door of the café and charged at both Grumpig and Duosion with bloodlust. The customers were all petrified in fear. Grumpig hid behind Duosion in cowardice.

"Rhyhorn, what the hell are you doing?!" Duosion tried to knock some sense back into him. "Stop!" She tried to use Psychic to stop him but she failed. Rhyhorn was too powerful, his adamant willpower thwarted the control.

Rhyhorn got alarmingly closer and closer. Was there about to be a tragedy?

"Big brother Rhyhorn, stop!" Nosepass' words cured the rage disease.

Rhyhorn stopped inches away from harming both Duosion and Grumpig with his sharp horn. His eyes returned back to normal alongside his breathing rate. He glanced around at those around him. They were all scared to death.

Suddenly, Rhyhorn speeded out of the door, disappearing from the sight of everyone.

"Rhyhorn, wait!" Nosepass chased after him.

"Should we call the police?" Grumpig asked, traumatized from the event.

"No." Duosion didn't want to worsen the situation.

"Big brother!" Nosepass called, extending his right arm out. "Wait!"

Rhyhorn entered the elevator and the door closed before Nosepass got the chance. He didn't dare to take the chance with the escalator and lost Rhyhorn in the end.

Suddenly, Ledyba approached him frantically. "Have you seen Skiddo? I lost him."

"Who? I lost Rhyhorn." Nosepass got a problem of his own. The elevator finally arrived and Nosepass hurriedly entered. The Nose Pokemon pressed the close button immediately.

"Wait." Ledyba couldn't get any information out of Nosepass.

Nosepass chose the third floor as his destination. He exited the elevator and wandered all alone for Rhyhorn. Unknowingly, he stumbled into the 'Romantic Dining Area'.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "It _was_ highly improbable for Rhyhorn to act that way. Now, it _is_ highly likely for him to commit a repeated offense. There must be something that he is hiding from all of us. What if he tries to hurt me again?"

 **Nosepass** **:** "Was that why he didn't want me around him at first? His insanity?"

* * *

Ledyba anxiously flew around, trying to find Skiddo. She lost him when he asked for a toilet break. She didn't think for a second that he would escape. Was she supposed to enter male Pokemon restrooms and keep him in check?

"Skiddo, where are you?!" Ledyba shouted, hoping for a reply. This didn't work.

Ledyba flew up to the third floor. Looking above, she saw him on the fifth floor (the floor of the movies). Her eyes widened in absolute fear immediately.

Skiddo rested his front legs on the safe railing guard. He was merely taking a view of Toucannon Mall.

"No! Don't do it!" Ledyba mistook it for a suicidal act. Other Pokemon in the mall gave her looks as they complained about how loud she was being.

"Don't do what?" Skiddo dropped his front legs down from the railing as Ledyba flew up hurriedly to the fifth floor. Once she arrived, he gave her a confused look.

"Aren't you thinking of doing something stupid?" Ledyba seemed flushed out.

"Suicide? You acted as if you saw someone commit suicide before." Skiddo stated.

"What? No!" Ledyba's face heated up.

"Whatever. You are paranoid. I don't want to go to special class." Skiddo wasn't being cooperative.

"Why?" Ledyba started to recover now.

"It is just stupid. It's not like I got bad grades or anything. Special classes make me look bad. I rather stay in the stall and help my dad." Skiddo explained.

"I see but your dad wants you to. It isn't that bad. You might get to skip ahead of your class and learn new things faster." Ledyba tried to convince him.

"Skip ahead of the class? Then, everyone will call me a nerd. Whatever, I will attend it. You are just horrible at your job. I feel bad for you." Skiddo insulted. Ledyba averted her eyes, clearly upset. However, she wasn't being vocal about it. Skiddo got to his special class and Ledyba finished her job. Although, she didn't seem proud or happy with her accomplishment.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba** **:** "I hope Scolipede is having a better time than me."

* * *

Cryogonal was having a very difficult time with Shedinja.

"What about that steak stall, Shedinja?" Cryogonal pointed.

"No." Shedinja rejected.

"What about that dumplings stall?" Cryogonal suggested.

"No." Shedinja rejected again.

"What about-" Cryogonal didn't even finish.

"No." Shedinja cut her off. Cryogonal was infuriated with his actions.

"Why are you so goddamn picky?!" Cryogonal yelled. Shedinja didn't care.

"This challenge means nothing to me. There's something else that I want to do." Shedinja drawled as he floated away.

"Wait." Cryogonal followed him to the best of her ability. Seemingly, he headed toward Toucannon Talons.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Sometimes, I really do wonder what is wrong with him."

* * *

Nearby Toucannon Talons…

To be precise, Toucannon Talons referred to two docks. Both were painted blue with a black edge near the end. The shape was exactly the same as the legs of a Toucannon. A multitude of boats and ships surrounded it, giving the appearance of a perch for the Toucannon to roost on.

Trumbeak stood on the crow's nest of his ship, viewing Toucannon Island from a high vantage point. It was certainly beautiful and breath-taking. Trumbeak's eyes showed that he held close and sentimental values to it yet, deep pain was predominant.

Suddenly, a luxurious white speedboat dashed across the surface of the sea to Toucannon Talons. It was unusual for visitors to arrive here. However, that didn't apply for the owner of Toucannon Island himself, Trumbeak's father.

The boat stopped and two opulent birds flew out. One was a Toucannon and the other was a Pikipek. Trumbeak's father and sister respectively. The Pikipek dressed in a business suit like her father. (Like father, like daughter, they say.) Both of them seemed to be in a middle of a conversation.

"Father, if a stall owner doesn't earn enough to pay rent, I will kick that unsuccessful waste of space out." Pikipek talked in a rather mature and cold manner for someone of her age-10.

"That's my daughter. You are learning fast." Mr. Toucannon seemed proud of her. His smile turned into a frown, however, when he saw Trumbeak.

"Won't you even greet your family?" Mr. Toucannon scolded.

"Good day, father and sister." Trumbeak greeted half-willingly. He flew down to meet them up-close.

"How dare you lied to me? You said that you will use our heirloom (the airship) for transportation purposes. I know that you used it for a pirate challenge, which wasn't wrong until you decided to be the pirate yourself. Don't you know that it brings ignominy into our family?" Toucannon patronized. Trumbeak looked down on the ground.

"Yes, brother. Shameful." Pikipek supported. This annoyed Trumbeak. His sister always acted like she was older than him.

"Is it so wrong? Reminding the world of our bloodline. In ancient times, Toucannon Pirates were far from the worst. There were bigger criminal gangs like Sharpedo Mafia, the bandits and much more." Trumbeak defended himself.

"It is wrong, very wrong. It damages our reputation, which can possibly damage our sales. If you want to be a pirate, I will disown you." Toucannon threatened. Trumbeak gritted his beak, clenching his fists.

"Father, I'm hungry. Let's reserve our seats at Red Quill's Nest (the most luxurious restaurant in Toucannon Island). Toucannon ignored Trumbeak completely once he heard the sweet voice of his daughter.

"Oh, we don't need to reserve a seat. Let your father demonstrates the authority that your brother doesn't want." Toucannon flaunted.

"My brother is irrational. He rather be a pirate than an heir." Pikipek remarked to Trumbeak's annoyance.

"That's my daughter." Toucannon said proudly. The two cackled as they flew away together.

Trumbeak sighed as he slumped down on the ground.

"Are you alright?" Trumbeak was shocked to hear Shedinja's voice.

"No, why are you here? You got a challenge to win." Trumbeak questioned, raising his right eyebrow.

"Well, rather than winning immunity when I don't need it, I rather help you instead." Shedinja explained.

"Help? You, out of all the contestants? When did you start feeling sympathy for me?" Trumbeak was shocked. He couldn't believe it.

"Not only sympathy but also empathy. I want to feel it once more, that feeling of joy even if it means that I will also feel pain. I'm tired of being desensitized." Shedinja insisted.

"Fine, I got an idea but we will need more help." Trumbeak told.

"Shedinja, why are you so fast? Freaking wait for me!" Cryogonal shouted from a distance.

"There, we got our help." Shedinja drawled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Shedinja is a Shedinja but he is fast like a Ninjask. God, annoying emo kid."

 **Shedinja** **:** "Not my fault special snowflake can't catch up. Never did I say that I want her around. Well, at least she will now be useful."

* * *

Scolipede arrived at Toucannon Talons, carrying a brown pizza bag over his neck. He immediately eyed the airship and looked around for any signs of Trumbeak.

"Trumbeak, can you fly me back to Skarmory Island?" Scolipede requested. There was no reply. He sighed. "Time to do this the hard way."

Scolipede observed his surroundings. Many boats were left without their owners. Only cargos and goods were on them. Scolipede wondered why the owners were so careless. Some stuff could be stolen. However, that was none of his concern. The bug type eventually found someone pitching coins into a seafood can.

"Mr. Zoroark, can I borrow your boat?" Scolipede asked, trying to be polite.

"Zero chance, kid." Zoroark refused. Scolipede seemed disappointed as he moved on to a different boat owner. This time, it was a Scrafty who placed his hands inside his pants.

"Mr. Scrafty, can I borrow your boat? Please." Scolipede begged.

"Kid, I got something for you." Scrafty said as he delved deeper into his pants. Scolipede looked horrified as he quickly fled.

"Hey, wait." Scrafty pulled out his boat key a second too late.

"Creepy guy." Scolipede shivered as he searched for more boat owners, eventually finding one.

"What do you need, kid?" A male Octillery asked. He had greedy gleams in his eyes.

"A boat." Scolipede answered simply.

"Have a place in mind? Tell me and I will bring you there." Octillery offered to help, glancing at the bag swiftly with intrigue.

"Skarmory Island, can I trust you?" Scolipede analyzed his facial features skeptically, squinting his eyes. He seemed skinny, perhaps not well-fed. His tentacles rubbed the ground slightly in a nervous demeanor. His eyes reeked of greed. It was normal for Scolipede to doubt others, it was in his nature. However, Ledyba changed him a lot as well…

"Kid, don't make me nervous. I'm trying to help." Octillery fidgeted with his tentacles.

"I guess I can trust you." Scolipede was tired of distrusting others. He decided to trust a stranger for once.

"Good." Octillery smiled as the two got on a shabby looking wooden boat. It was already a miracle that it supported Scolipede's weight. It was more of a miracle that it got a turbo motor to speed up the trip. Scolipede tried to make himself comfortable, humming a tune to himself to pass some time.

Nothing was wrong in the first ten minutes or so. After that…

"Look, behind you! A Sharpedo!" Octillery gave off a false alarm, pointing behind Scolipede.

"What?" Scolipede turned away gullibly. Octillery took this chance to steal the pizza bag and pushed Scolipede off the boat.

"Hey!" Scolipede shouted angrily, struggling to swim.

"Hahahaha… Learn to be less gullible. What did you eat for breakfast, gullible soup?" Octillery mocked.

Unexpectedly, an orange motorboat boosted toward the two. The driver was none other than Scrafty. Octillery widened his eyes, accelerating the boat to its max speed.

"You will never catch me!" Octillery made a rapid escape.

"Kid, get up." Scrafty stopped and pulled Scolipede up his boat before the two chased after the Octillery thief.

"I thought that you are going to do something bad to me." Scolipede admitted.

"What did you think I put in my pants? A knife to stab you?" Scrafty scoffed, rolling his eyes. Scolipede looked embarrassed.

The motorboat was obviously faster. They were catching up to Octillery fast.

"No, don't come any closer." Octillery fired Octazooka at them out of desperation. Scrafty made a swift turn to the left to avoid the attack. Octillery continued to bombard them with ink. However, Scrafty successfully dodged them all with great mobility.

As the boat got close enough…

Scolipede widened his eyes as Scrafty jumped across and kicked Octillery to the face. This knocked the thief out in one hit. The pizza bag was returned to its rightful owner. Scrafty dragged Octillery's body over to his motorboat.

"What are you going to do with him? Who are you and why did you help me?" Scolipede got many questions in his mind.

"Slow down, kid. Don't you have a place to go? Tell me. Not too far and I will bring you there." Scrafty offered kindly.

"Skarmory Island." Scolipede told.

"Fine by me." Scrafty allowed, tying Octillery up with ropes before placing him down next to the driver's seat.

"Can you tell me now? Who are you?" Scolipede persisted.

"Just a Toucannon Talons guard. My job is to protect the goods from thieves." Scrafty revealed, shocking Scolipede.

"I thought the goods are unprotected." Scolipede admitted. This made Scrafty chortle.

"Did you eat gullible soup for breakfast? That's common sense. There are more guards than just me, kid. Most of us blend in with the visitors. You can call us undercover guards. For your information, I'm going to arrest this Octillery." Scrafty clarified everything and Scolipede felt like an idiot.

The two eventually arrived at Skarmory Island, just in time. After thirty minutes, the pizzas would be free.

Ursaring tapped his feet impatiently as he waited for the pizzas.

"Took you long enough. The party is about to start. How much?" Ursaring said impatiently, taking some coins out.

"1,000 P." Scolipede answered, wondering about this _party_ thing. Ursaring paid him and took the pizzas away.

"Hurry up!" Druddigon shouted from a red truck. "The pizzas will be cold by the time we reach Skarmory Area." He mentioned, careless that Scolipede was there and heard it as well.

"I know, I'm coming." Ursaring ran to the truck and quickly entered with the pizzas. Scolipede stared at the parting truck momentarily before he got back inside Scrafty's motorboat and returned to Toucannon Island. His job was a success.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede** **:** "Pokemon like Octillery make me distrustful of others…" He was deep in thought. "…while Pokemon like Scrafty and Ledyba make me trustful of others. I guess this world isn't so bad after all. Also, what is 'Skarmory Area' anyways?"

 **Raticate** **:** "Trumbeak will miss the smoking party. That's what he gets for forcing me to wear a bucket hat."

* * *

Drifblim was carrying a box of steel gummies back to Dusknoir. As she made her way through Toucannon Chest, she took a closer view of the place.

Toucannon Chest was like a food court area. There were tremendous numbers of tables and chairs for visitors to sit on and enjoy their food. A few drink stalls were also available around the entrance connecting to Toucannon Mall. Trees surrounded the place, giving a strong sense of nature. A Snivy ran around, flying a kite… Families talked to each other… The atmosphere was something special, hard to find anywhere else.

Suddenly, a female Piplup ran into Drifblim, holding a bunch of coupons in her arms.

"Sorry, you want a coupon? Mr. Meowth said that if I give all of them out, he will give me a free ice cream." Piplup apologized as she handed the coupon out with cute, irresistible eyes. It didn't work on Drifblim but she accepted it with a smile nonetheless.

"Thanks." Piplup left to hand out more coupons.

Drifblim read the coupon, it advertised an ice cream store. The coupon itself gave a five percent discount. Drifblim looked amused.

"Nice try, Meowth." Drifblim commented.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim** **:** "I see… so that's how Meowth wants to play. Using little kids to attract business."

* * *

Lucario seemed demotivated. He wandered around lifelessly. His eyes lost that competitive spark. As a result, the visitors didn't realize that he was the famous professional athlete.

"Everyone… left me?" Lucario said miserably. He glanced at Darmanitan temporarily. His fanboy was having the time of his life, meditating. Lucario just couldn't understand it. He walked around aimlessly until a Magmar called him.

"Hey, Lucario. You." Magmar pointed. "Want my meat skewers? They aren't hot at all, perfect for steel types."

With nothing better to do… "Can I work instead?" Lucario negotiated.

"Fine, you look strong and muscular. Slice the meat into smaller pieces for me." Magmar instructed.

Lucario breathed in deeply as he gathered his energy back inside his body. The professional athlete lifted the knife up and slashed the meat into pieces at an insane speed. His cutting movements were advanced sword techniques. The meat got obliterated, turning into neatly thin slices.

Magmar gaped, stunned by the performance.

"I think you did enough to earn yourself one serving of meat skewer." Magmar rewarded.

"Are you sure? I can do much more than this." Lucario was just warming up.

"Alright. You can do more if you want." Magmar didn't object, obviously. The professional athlete was making his work a lot easier.

Magmar pierced the meat slices with a stick and placed it gently on the grill. He breathed a weak flame to cook it.

"Steel types eat them, you say?" Lucario wanted confirmation, chopping meat in the process. Personally, he ate hot food just fine as a steel type. However, Skarmory was different.

"Yes, I once had a Skarmory customer. You believe that? He came to my stall with his Furret wife, or at least I think. I mean she wrapped herself around his neck and they both wore similar, pure silver bracelets with bronze stripes on them. Both of them complimented my meat skewers. I'm telling the truth here." Magmar reassured.

"Wife?" Lucario wondered. Was that Skarmory his host? The host never did wear a bracelet before to his knowledge. However, he recalled that Skarmory sold a silver bracelet to Duosion. The design was different but there was some sort of similarity there.

"Those lovebirds…" Magmar evoked a memory. "Ah, I remember when Furret blew the meat skewer for him. Skarmory was scared that it will burn his tongue. In the end, he realized that it wasn't hot at all. Rather, it was tasty. I wish there is someone that cares for me that much…" He daydreamed.

To Lucario, love was merely a distraction. He didn't care about all that romantic stuff at all. If this news broke out, imagine how his fangirls would react. They would weep rivers of tears for sure. Still, the question remained, was that Skarmory, the host? A sudden thought interrupted him, however.

"Magmar, I will leave the stall for a while." Lucario excused himself. Magmar didn't seem to mind it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "Miltank... you will pay for what you _did_." He manifested a dark expression.

* * *

Bisharp worked in a burger stall, collecting money and giving out changes. The female Breloom owner was pretty nice. She promised him a deluxe burger for such an easy job.

Working there, he caught sight of her Shroomish daughter.

"Mom, I'm going to play with my friends in Toucannon Chest. I will be back." Shroomish said energetically. She reminded him of Jumpluff so much…

"Alright, have fun. Come back before dinner." Breloom waved to her daughter as she left.

Bisharp couldn't help but to feel nostalgic. Without Jumpluff, the experience changed entirely for him. He was conflicted between making friends and trying to win. On one hand, he needed to keep the honor of his family. On the other, he was exhausted from the competition. He wished that everything would be easier.

Farfetch'd worked in a stall not far from him, serving luscious and succulent chocolate soufflés. The Garbodor owner was ecstatic. Bisharp glanced at him before quickly averting his eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "Farfetch'd, how I wish you would be my friend and fill this empty hole inside my chest. Or else I got nothing left other than my desire to win…"

* * *

Nosepass looked around the 'Romantic Dining Area', many restaurants were designed with the concept of love in mind. Whether it be a candlelight dinner in a restaurant called 'Lavishing Love' or a secret, seaside balcony rendezvous in 'The Sea in You'. The tables inside these restaurants were all created for a one to one date. However, a double or triple date could be requested.

There was a major coincidence in the making. A fate and destiny that entwined between two Pokemon…

Three girls and two boys waited outside Lavishing Love:

A male Charmeleon wore black sagging trousers with a hole on the back for the freedom of his tail. In addition, he wore a blue jacket.

A female Flaaffy stood next to him, holding his right hand. She wore blue jeans with a hole on the back as well. Similarly, she wore a yellow jacket like the Charmeleon.

A male Lucario read a book called 'The Miracle of Love'. He didn't wear any clothes. His body portrayed his scrawny features.

A female Lopunny leaned on his shoulder. She didn't wear any clothes as well. However, she painted her lips and eyelashes pink.

Last but not least, a bipedal, scaly Pokemon with a light gray body. Her arms and legs were dark gray and very masculine. The scale on her forehead got chipped a little, a proof of battling. She wore an Everstone necklace and a beige backpack. She didn't have much of a feminine trait. However, her red eyes were mighty, not in a threatening way but rather dependable. This Pokemon was a Hakamo-o. She folded her arms as she looked around for someone…

"Come on, Hickery-o. Why isn't he here yet? Do we need to wait for your boyfriend for decades?" Lopunny complained.

"Be patient." Hickery-o replied simply.

Flaaffy gasped. "Is it possible that he ditches you? Or did you lie about having a boyfriend?" She narrowed her eyes as she nudged her friend.

Hickery-o looked really frustrated. She paid a Fraxure to act as her boyfriend but he didn't keep his promise and left with her money. Wait until she got her hands on him…

All of her friends already got a boyfriend. She was the odd one out of the group. It would be really humiliating if her friends find out what really happened.

"We better hurry if we don't want to lose our reservations." Lucario told the group.

"Yeah, hurry." Lopunny pressured. Hickery-o sweated anxiously.

It was a mere coincidence that Nosepass passed by at that very second. He turned his head around, trying to find Rhyhorn. He approached the group to ask about the location of his big brother.

However, never in a million years did he expect a random Hakamo-o to pull his right hand by force into the restaurant.

"He is here, let's get inside." Hickery-o lied. It seemed believable, considering how Nosepass approached the group.

Nosepass panicked, he was about to scream for help until the mysterious lady whispered something to him.

"I will pay you." Hickery-o promised. Nosepass didn't say anything not because of money but rather fear. As he observed her scaly body, he gulped.

Lopunny and Flaaffy raised their eyes in suspicions. However, their boyfriends seemed oblivious.

"Wow, a Nosepass? Cool." Lucario commented, putting his book away.

"Yeah, new friend." Charmeleon nodded in agreement.

Both of their girlfriends rolled their eyes before they locked arms with their partners. Hickery-o saw this and did the same with Nosepass. The timid coward felt uneasy but didn't argue.

The six Pokemon split up into three tables. However, the tables were very close to each other. The table included a clean plate, a spoon, a fork, a knife, a napkin and a wine glass for each Pokemon. On the middle of the table was a blazing candle. A Kricketune played a romantic music, building up the mood.

"Wow, romantic." Charmeleon commented as he pulled the chair for Flaaffy. Lucario did the same for Lopunny. Hickery-o signaled for Nosepass to copy them.

The Nose Pokemon obeyed. However, he did it in a very awkward manner. Sliding the chair to the left and then right, he eventually managed to force it out with a horrible creaking sound. Hickery-o looked a bit worried but she tried to act natural. Flaaffy and Lopunny grew more suspicious, while their boyfriends were as oblivious as ever.

"Let's order some food. I'm hungry." Charmeleon diverted their attention.

"Yeah, I agree." Hickery-o said as she critically glared at Nosepass. The Nose Pokemon felt agitated. He needed to step up his lying game.

Nosepass looked into the menu, searching for something delicious to eat. Once the Noctowl waiter arrived, Nosepass ordered like an inconsiderate madman right away. The Hakamo-o was paying anyways, right? It was her fault that he got stuck in this predicament.

"I want a plate of Slowpoke tails (1,080 P), the Lavishing Love Delicacy (2,500 P), the Lavishing Love Deluxe Delicacy (3,000 P) and…" Hickery-o stopped him before she went bankrupt. (6,580P!)

"My love, I think that's enough." She took the menu away from him, before flashing him a furious glare.

"Wow, man. Are you eating all of that by yourself?" Lucario widened his eyes.

"Of course not, he is sharing it with me. We have been with each other for a long time now. He knows very well what I like to eat." Hickery-o lied, giving Nosepass a swift eye contact.

"Yeah, I know her very well." Nosepass went along with it.

"Nice to see that you two are in a healthy relationship." Lucario believed it completely. Lopunny rolled her eyes.

Everyone finished ordering their food and the difficult part started. The conversation…

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Luca. I want to be a professional scholar. I love reading, especially romance novels. I have been dating with my girlfriend for a year now. We plan to move on and live together soon." Luca the Lucario introduced.

"Let me do it next." Charmeleon seemed eager. "My name is Chamel. I'm taking it slow and don't have a job in mind yet. I like hanging out with my friends, especially my girlfriend." He winked at Flaaffy. She returned a loving gaze.

"Hickery-o, why don't you try to introduce your boyfriend?" Lopunny suggested, trying to trip her up. However, Hickery-o remained confident.

"His name is Elionose." Nosepass nodded, going along with it. "We are gym buddies for a while now." Nosepass widened his eyes. "He is very strong but humble and shy. He likes to make others look bigger than him to cheer them up. In reality, he can actually evolve but he just can't find the special magnetic field yet." Hickery-o fabricated.

"Gym?! I always Nosepass-out there!" However, Nosepass blurted out something that he shouldn't. Hickery-o suddenly looked nervous. Flaaffy and Lopunny thought they were about to catch her red-handed until…

"Funny joke, man. Using your own species as a pun. But, I don't expect someone like you to pass out at the gym. Why did you pass out?" Chamel sounded confused.

Hickery-o fanned herself with a napkin and Nosepass immediately got an idea.

"I Nosepass-out because Hickery-o is so hot every time she works out at the gym. My heart melts and fails to function." Nosepass charmed romantically. Hickery-o was shocked at his accomplishment.

"Romantic! Perfect. Ah, my heart melts as well. You are one charming boyfriend." Luca admired.

"Wow, I want to come up with those lines as well. Great job, Elionose." Chamel praised, eyeing him with jealousy.

Flaaffy (Flona) and Lopunny (Lapiz) still didn't seem convinced.

The food started arriving. The Slowpoke tails were caramelized with honey and served alongside side-salad. Nosepass and Hickery-o took turns feeding each other. They seemed like a real couple. Every time she fed Nosepass, the coward felt protected and confident like when Rhyhorn was with him.

The Lavishing Love Delicacy was served next. It was a gigantic plate of spaghetti. Designed to be eaten by having both lovers suck opposite ends of the pasta until they touched their lips for that kiss. The difference between this and the deluxe version was that the more expensive version contained rarer meats (Flygon's, Dragonite's), which were hard to create artificially.

The couple didn't eat them the recommended way through. They just met each other! What did you expect?

They chatted for a while during their meals. Nothing much, Luca talked about his diet. Brababah… Most footage got skipped over. (This is Total Skarmory Island you are viewing, not The Triple Date.)

The Noctowl eventually came to collect the money. Hickery-o was about to pay until…

"Isn't he supposed to pay?" Flona pointed at Nosepass. At this point, Hickery-o believed that Nosepass could squeeze himself out of trouble.

"Err… I gave her all of my money. She takes care of the f-financial stuff." Nosepass stuttered a bit.

"The same man, hi-five!" Luca raised his hand up. Nosepass gave him a weak hi-five.

"Why is it so weak?" Luca wondered.

"I go easy on you. You look skinny. I don't want to hurt your hand." Nosepass didn't sound confident. However, he fell for it regardless.

"Wow, how did you know that I got a health condition? We are best friends already." Luca was oblivious. Lapiz sighed as she shook her head.

"Hey, you should give me your money too. You love me more than money, right?" Flona pressured, getting close to Chamel's face. The Charmeleon reluctantly pulled money out of his right pocket and gave it to her before he sobbed quietly to himself.

The date was about to be over…

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass** **:** "Wow, that was just unreal. I got to eat expensive food without paying for it and met so many new Pokemon. Luca is so weak and skinny like me. I feel like I can be his friend. Chamel is friendly and pretty chill. Hickery-o is like another Rhyhorn to me. Wait… I forgot about Rhyhorn!"

* * *

Aromatisse worked in a stall called 'Face Pancakes'. The owner was a female Clefable. She made the pancakes while Aromatisse accepted the orders.

Unfortunately, the beauty boutique requested too much money for Aromatisse to afford. Her face was still messed up. This made most customers look at her as if she was some sort of _monster_. The way they avoided eye contact with her, it inflicted deep pain inside her bosom.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse** **:** "This is why I hate looking ugly. Look at how they treated me. Stupid sports and their facial injuries."

* * *

Lucario finally spotted Miltank inside the mall. He motioned for her to follow him to somewhere quiet and private. The two stopped near an abandoned, closed-down store. Apparently, the store-owner failed to pay rent.

"What do you want, Lucario?" Miltank asked, placing her hands on her waist.

"Why did you betray our team? Why did you choose Heracross over us?!" Lucario demanded an answer.

"Why? I'm never in your eyes, Lucario. I like you. You are tough, you aren't afraid to boss others around but Darmanitan is the only one in your eyes. I have done so much for you but I got nothing in return." Miltank answered coldly.

"That's it? You just want my attention? You are jealous of Darmanitan? How foolish!" Lucario lifted Miltank up by her neck with one hand. She didn't seem scared, however.

"I don't need your attention anymore, Lucario. No one needs your attention, even Darmanitan. You are the only one that needs him!" Miltank countered. Lucario fumed, clenching his right fist. His left hand tightened the grip. He throttled her a bit before he threw her away.

Miltank crashed on the ground but she wasn't injured. She slowly lifted herself up and stared at Lucario with disobedient eyes.

"I'm not your teammate as well, Lucario. I will also make sure that Darmanitan isn't." Miltank threatened.

"Enough!" Lucario exploded, he rushed at her with his right fist.

"Exposed. You are one hella good leader. Treating your 'teammates' like this." Miltank said sarcastically and Lucario stopped abruptly mere inches away from her face. Miltank grinned as she walked away slowly, leaving Lucario seethed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank** **:** "Lucario, your reign is over. I will take over the livestock, the barn, _everything_." She grinned smugly.

 **Lucario** **:** "I will prove it to them all, I will prove it to them all… that I'm a great leader!" His eyes looked demented.

* * *

It was getting late. One hour before the sunset…

Duosion completed her working hours and Grumpig gave her a cup of coffee and one serving of Psycho Churro as promised. The Psycho Churro came with extra chocolate and revitalizing jam.

"My mum prepares the revitalizing jam herself. It makes you more energetic. Perfect for someone who lacks sleep." Grumpig informed. Duosion nodded.

"Please come back again." Grumpig wished.

"I will think about it." Duosion made her answer tentative. As she was about to exit, Grumpig held her back.

"Wait." Grumpig blushed as he held something behind his back. "You are so smart, brave and beautiful. Will you… be my girlfriend?" Grumpig asked her out, showing a churro ring. He was unaware of one important fact.

"Sorry, I already have a boyfriend." Duosion rejected politely. Grumpig gawked, heartbroken.

He started sobbing, snot coming out of his face. Afterwards, he ran inside the door behind the counter. "Mom, I got rejected. My life is over!" Grumpig cried, moping miserably. Duosion cringed and quickly left the café.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "There is zero percent chance that I'm coming back."

* * *

On the airship, there were boxes and boxes of coconut juices. In addition, there was a box of fireworks next to them as well.

Trumbeak, Shedinja and Cryogonal were all inside the captain's cabin. Captain Big Beak sat on his chair while the other two floated in the air.

"Everything is ready except for one thing. I need my old man to see the show. This is the most important job. Can you go to Red Quill's Nest and check for him, Cryogonal?" Trumbeak requested.

"Where is it?" Cryogonal asked.

"Fifth floor of Toucannon Mall." Trumbeak told.

"I won't fail." Cryogonal assured. She glanced at the two and gave each of them an encouraging smile before she left.

Trumbeak looked tense as he turned his chair around and fixed his eyes on the painting.

"Are you nervous?" Shedinja asked.

"Very nervous, aren't you?" Trumbeak asked the same. Shedinja shook his head.

"I guess I'm the only who feels that way." Trumbeak stated, staring at his mother in particular.

"It looks like you need some time alone, I will leave." Shedinja assessed the situation and left. Trumbeak didn't argue with his decision. He actually needed some time alone.

After a while, there was a knock on the door. Trumbeak turned to the voice.

"Trevor, I'm here. Your mother. Can I come in?" Mrs. Toucannon asked.

"Come in, mom." Trumbeak allowed.

The door opened slowly and a female Toucannon entered. She looked exactly like the bird inside the painting. The only difference was her age.

"Thank you for supplying us with everything, mom. I just wish you are there for me… sooner." Trumbeak expressed his disappointment.

"You are all grown-up now. I can't treat you like a hatchling anymore. Besides, we got your sister to take care of." Mrs. Toucannon replied with a hint of guilt in her voice.

"That's all both of you care about, my sister! Am I even your child anymore?" Trumbeak vented off his frustration, turning the chair back toward the painting.

"Trevor, your father… he was very sick when your sister was born. You didn't know the joy in his face when he saw her for the first time of his life. He suddenly got better. I don't want this dispute to curse and tear us apart anymore. So, please forgive all of us after the show's over, alright?" Mrs. Toucannon pleaded.

"That's up to how the _old man_ reacts." Trumbeak said in a detached tone. Mrs. Toucannon frowned slightly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja** **:** "I'm not nervous. I'm terrified. Trumbeak's fate rests in my hands."

* * *

Customers cluttered near Garbodor's stall. Farfetch'd's soufflés were extremely popular right now. Not only because they were delicious, but they were also cheap. Each one costed 20 P.

"I want twenty chocolate soufflés." Hariyama ordered.

"I want ten!" Swinub shouted from the end of the line.

"Give me fifty of those." Swalot showed a 1,000 P coin.

Farfetch'd's struggled to fulfill the demand of his customers. Eventually, he raised the price to 30 P. There were still a lot of customers. He raised it to 50 P. The line still stretched for quite a while. Some customers even bribed other customers to skip ahead of the line. God!

In the end, he was forced to close the shop down.

"Mr. Stalk apologizes for any inconvenience. We are out of stock. No more soufflés can be made." Farfetch'd bowed his head down. The customers complained among themselves as the line dispersed.

Garbodor drooled as he gazed upon his riches. Today, he earned a total of 30,000 P worth of profit.

"Thank you, Farfetch'd for everything. For teaching me the recipe and turn me into a better cook. Thank you, thank you, thank you…" Garbodor thanked profusely. He then lifted up 15,000 P for Farfetch'd to take.

"Mr. Stalk wants you to keep the money. Five-stars restaurant pay more than that. It is his decision, not mine." Farfetch'd refused to accept it.

"Thank you, Mr. Stalk. Thank you, thank you…" Garbodor repeated the same word over and over again for Mr. Stalk as well. Farfetch'd sweat dropped.

"Before you leave, both of you, I got a present. Ta-da!" Garbodor showed his newly improved special delicacy. It was a green tea soufflé.

"Mr. Stalk knows someone who will like this." Farfetch'd accepted the gift.

"From this point onwards, I'm now the Gastro Green Soufflé." Garbodor changed his nickname dramatically.

Farfetch'd smiled as he held Mr. Stalk close to him. The professional chef then left the stall. However, he immediately witnessed something horrible.

* * *

Meowth strode jubilantly as he dragged a cart of local delicacies behind him. The businessman helped so many stalls that he lost count. Imminent victory should only be ahead of him, that's what he thought.

"Munchlax, we got some money, see? You improve the hygiene of your store and suddenly, there are customers." Dedenne taught Munchlax an important lesson.

"Yeah. You can have all the pancakes you want." Munchlax offered generously.

"I will take one." Dedenne was being very fair toward Munchlax. She packaged the pancake with a smile until she saw Meowth checking their stall.

"My, only one measly pancake? The future is dark for you, Dedenne. How about I help you? Sausages, sushi?" Meowth showed off.

"No way that I'm accepting your ill-gained delicacies, Meowth." Dedenne rejected with a frown.

Meowth gasped as he covered his mouth. "Such strong accusations, Dedenne. I earned them within fair share of my rights." Meowth assured, faking a charming smile.

"As if I will believe you, dirty, little businessman." Dedenne degraded.

Meowth scowled at her as he left with his cart of goods.

Dedenne looked satisfied with the outcome until… Lucario sprinted at her with a bottle of meat sauce. He opened the cap and aimed for the pancake.

Munchlax cowered in fear as Dedenne trembled. Lucario struck as fast as lightning, ruining the pancake with an overflowing amount of meat sauce.

"You jerk!" Dedenne yelled.

Farfetch'd witnessed what happened and came to the rescue.

"As a professional chef, Mr. Stalk discourages any sabotage, especially against well-made food." Farfetch'd proclaimed. The duck tried to pull Lucario back from doing any damage but…

Farfetch'd became the second victim instead.

Lucario took the green tea soufflé by force and dumped the rest of the meat sauce on it. Lucario was shameless, he felt no guilt at all. This wasn't against the rules. He wouldn't be disqualified.

"Lucario, if you don't win immunity today, you are gone." Dedenne said with spite as she left. Farfetch'd shook his head in disapproval with a mean glare before he left as well.

Darmanitan watched all of this with depression.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "How unprofessional. Mr. Stalk has never seen someone so cutthroat in a kitchen before, even with years of experience. Is this how you play in the Pokeathlon? I hope you are proud of yourself, Lucario. Your fans sure won't."

 **Dedenne** **:** "I'm tired of all this cheating and drama! It is just too much for me. First Grovyle, now Lucario." She sobbed.

 **Lucario** **:** "I'm only doing this against the other team. I'm helping my team to win. That's my job as the leader." He was lost in the deep end.

 **Darmanitan** **:** "Homie…"

* * *

Heracross walked over to collect her delicacy from Dhelmise. However, she was shocked to see black, rotten oysters. The sauce was still perfect but it wasn't enough of a saving grace.

"Minior, you will pay for tricking me!" Dhelmise shouted as he headed straight for the meteor Pokemon.

Heracross groaned as she took the black rotten oysters. At least, she got something.

On the other side…

"Dhelmise!" Minior headed for the anchor Pokemon as well. The sauce was poisonous, greasy and vile. It dripped all over his perfect oysters.

Miltank groaned as well, taking the inedible oysters.

The two met halfway and started insulting each other.

"Minior, you impudent child! Respect your elders." Dhelmise scolded.

"Dhelmise, you old geezer! Respect the next generation!" Minior countered.

"Minior, you are a coward. You need Shields Down to win fights." Dhelmise mocked.

"Dhelmise, you pathetic seaweed. You need an anchor look tough." Minior returned the favor.

The two continued the exchange for a while until a firework appeared on the sky.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross** **:** "Great, those two tricked each other and I'm screwed because of them. When will I get an immunity win?"

* * *

As the six exited 'Lavishing Love', the two dense dudes separated with the group. Not before they waved at their girlfriends, of course.

Flona and Lapiz glared at Hickery-o immediately after the two were out of sight.

"You lied, don't you? Elionose or this random Nosepass isn't your boyfriend!" Flona accused, pointing threateningly.

"Totally, did you think that we are stupid?" Lapiz questioned angrily, raising her chin up.

"He is really my boyfriend." Hickery-o kept this pretense going, trying to look serious by stressing her eyes.

"Tell me, Nosepass. Where does she live? Don't intervene, Hickery-o." Flona tested.

Nosepass sweated his bullets as he struggled to answer. He glanced at Hickery-o, who only looked down on the ground.

"Maybe Lesteel?" Nosepass guessed randomly, shrugging.

"Wrong! Lesteel is extremely far away from Toucannon Island. What makes you think that? Your answer is also vague. You guessed with the name of a main land." Lapiz criticized.

"I'm sorry! She promised to pay me if I lie!" Nosepass threw her under the bus out of fear.

Hickery-o widened her eyes. She didn't expect Nosepass to submit to them so easily.

"Pathetic. See? You can't find a boyfriend even if you pay them millions and millions of P. You are one ugly, scaly Pokemon. Just admit it." Flona sneered. Hickery-o averted her eyes.

"You will be even uglier when you are a Kommo-o. Might as well stay this way forever." Lapiz suggested coldly. Hickery-o clenched her fists. However, she didn't harm them. This Hakamo-o cleary had more self control than a certain 'professional' athlete. Nosepass only observed the situation like a passive observer.

How ironic, he became a coward because no one helped him. In the end, he was no better than his parents, or his teachers. He idly stared as the two girls bullied the one who paid for his food.

Nosepass remembered something else as well…

He lost Rhyhorn because he didn't take the escalator. He hated it, he despised it. His cowardice.

"Stop!" The three girls turned to him. "You two are so mean. Is this how you normally treat your friends and boyfriends?! Yes, she might look ugly to you because the outside is what matters the most to you narrow-minded freaks. I don't care about any of that. I just want someone strong that can protect me. To me, she is the most beautiful Pokemon in this world. Even if we aren't a couple before. We are now." Nosepass finished and took Hickery-o left hand by force as he left. She looked touched. The way Nosepass asserted himself and grabbed her hand… It left a lasting impression, a lingering sensation inside her.

Lapiz and Flona stood there, dumb-struck. They got burned by Nosepass out of all Pokemon. Their lips pressed and their faces strained. In a petty fit of rage, they turned around in a huff.

After the two mean girls were out of their sight, Nosepass let go of her hand. He then quivered.

"Are you going to beat me up because I told them everything?" Nosepass was still the same good old coward, shutting his eyes tightly for no good reason. A coward that suddenly became brave then reverted back to his unattractive former self soon after. Nosepass lacked that confidence. He believed that all of his bravery acts were just flukes.

"Ridiculous! No one has ever done something like this for me before. I-I appreciate it so much." Hickery-o blushed deeply. Nosepass aroused great joy inside her.

"Really?" Nosepass slowly opened his eyes. Hickery-o nodded. She then quickly grabbed his left hand.

"Let me thank you for what you did. I will buy you my favorite delicacy." Hickery-o said eagerly, she didn't wait for his response. Rather, she pulled him over to the escalator right away. Nosepass' worst nightmare. He resisted immediately.

"No, not the escalator!" Nosepass squeaked. Hickery-o faced him with a confused expression.

"What's wrong?" She asked with concern.

"I'm scared of… escalators." Nosepass confessed in an embarrassed tone, looking away in shame.

Hickery-o eyed him with sympathy but a smirk quickly replaced it. "Let me help you face your fear." She tugged his hand forward and hopped on the escalator. Adrenaline rushed down Nosepass' body.

The coward expected the pain of tumbling down the escalator. His poor body would collide against the rough surface, making him howl in agony. Then, he would be transported to a hospital, removed from the game. Who will pay for the medical bills? He thought.

In reality, he landed safely. His heart skipped a beat as his feet found the right balance on the escalator. The way the escalator gradually descended down overflowed his body with joy. It made him feel like an angel descending down from the heavens. It made him feel invincible. For the first time in the seventeen years of his life, he took the escalator.

"I'm safe?" Nosepass doubted the reality, looking around for any signs of injuries.

"Yes, silly Nosepass." Hickery-o assured. "It doesn't look scary now, isn't it?"

Nosepass tightened his grip on her hand. Hickery-o understood Nosepass more and more, every second she spent time with him. Nosepass was insecure like an abandoned child that never received that helping hand. He was haunted by his fears, alone. No one gave him the support. Consequently, he learned the only defensive mechanism the world taught him.

'Prioritize yourself over others. Do whatever it takes to survive even betraying what little friends you have.'

"Nosepass, what is really your name?" Hickery-o spoke up after a while. They were on the second floor now.

"Um, I can't really tell you." Nosepass remembered what Skarmory said.

"Oh, alright." Hickery-o seemed disappointed. The two took the escalator again. Nosepass was still hesitant but he eventually did it after several deep breaths. A few Pokemon behind them complained.

"How about your age?" Hickery-o asked something else. She wanted to know more about him.

"Seventeen." Nosepass told truthfully. He didn't see any reason to hide that. The coward was younger than most contestants. Although, a few like Tyrunt was younger than him.

"Nice, you are only two years younger than me." Hickery-o commented, revealing her age.

Hickery-o noticed that Nosepass was unusually quiet. Every time she talked to him, his replies were short, simple and straight to the point. Something was on his mind.

"We compliment each other well, you know? When you evolve into a Probopass, you can fend off fairy types for me while I take care of fighting and ground types for you." Hickery-o pointed out. Nosepass merely nodded. He was lost in thought. She frowned at this.

"I'm sorry but I need to go now. I need to find _someone_." Nosepass released her hand. Hickery-o forced a small acknowledging smile on her face.

"I understand. Just wait here for a moment. I will bring a treat back to you really quick." Hickery-o gestured for him to stay near the entrance of the mall as she ran out to a stall. It was pretty far away, right around the middle of lower Toucannon Beak.

Nosepass looked around, tapping his feet to pass some time. He dodged to the left slightly to not obstruct the entrance.

Hickery-o soon returned. "Here you go." She delivered him a chocolate crepe, it got extra cream and Oran Berries inside. Nosepass accepted it, holding the wrapping paper around it.

Hickery-o scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I want to pay you with real money but you ordered too much. Sorry." Hickery-o apologized.

"It's okay." Nosepass didn't mind it. He started snacking on the crepe right away. (What about the challenge? The crepe was a present from his 'potential girlfriend' for god's sake. If you are Nosepass, will you give it to Skarmory?)

"I need to go now." Nosepass bid his farewell, waving to her before he continued to search for Rhyhorn. Hickery-o got a bittersweet smile on her face.

Snacking deeper through the crepe, Nosepass saw something hidden inside the wrapping paper. It was her phone number, redacted to protect her privacy. (Kudos to Skarmory for being professional.)

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "She wants to continue being in a relationship with me? A coward like me? I actually didn't mean it when I said we are a couple… Maybe, we really are a couple now." Nosepass' face turned pink.

* * *

The firework show started. Blazing flames lit the sky, capturing the attention of everyone. Stall owners and visitors alike headed to the Toucannon Tongue to witness the spectacle. The contestants did the same. Most of them finished their tasks already. However, Rhyhorn was still missing.

High into the sky was an airship. Trumbeak held his megaphone to announce something. He donned his usual pirate uniform. Eyepatch… A hat with a skull design, red quill hanging out… A fancy pirate shirt with cuffs… Golden toggle chain…

"It be a perfect day, mateys of Toucannon Island. For plunderin' and treasure huntin'. Me, Captain Big Beak be sellin' drinks. Buy more and more, put a smile on me face. Then, ye enjoy the show more and more. Ye ready for some keelhaulin' and pirate battles?!" Trumbeak stimulated the crowd, encouraging a wild reaction as he flapped his wings in an upward motion.

Wild cheers and cries were heard as everyone was excited for the show. Mrs. Toucannon opened a coconut juice stall in the center of the dock. This attracted many thirsty customers. Behind the stall were several giant treasure chests. What could possibly be inside?

"Let the show begins!" Trumbeak initiated things by firing off a cannon into the air, alongside multiple fireworks. They all exploded and formed a skull shape smoke in the air, increasing the excitement of the audience. Trumbeak threw the megaphone away. He got an earpiece that connected to the speakers near the dock. Shedinja as well.

"Captain Big Beak be the most notorious and dirty pirate of Toucannon Island. He be rich!" Trumbeak kicked a treasure chest filled with chocolate coins down the airship. They all scattered as the audience fought for them.

"He be strong and powerful!" Trumbeak lifted his cutlass up and multiple side cannons fired. The crowd screamed.

"Hell yeah, awesome!" Heracross threw her fists into the air.

"Best of all, me beak be loud-" Trumbeak got cut off by a certain ghost bug.

"And raucous." Shedinja added monotonously. The crowd turned to face him as he floated right in front of the ship with a wooden sword.

"I'm Captain Monotone Mouth. I want your blissful beak of a real pirate. I shall sever it off your face and the power of pirate speech shall be mine." Shedinja drawled in a threatening manner. While his tone was certainly not enthusiastic, he succeeded in creating a dark tone for himself.

"In yars dream, scurvy dog! Ye challenge me, ye pay with yars life!" Trumbeak flew ahead and struck Shedinja with his cutlass. The ghost bug blocked it lazily.

"Enough talking, Trumpet Beak, we fight." Shedinja catalyzed the action. This was the moment the crowd was waiting for.

Shedinja nodded at Trumbeak determinedly, signaling the message. Trumbeak understood it very well that they must succeed at all costs.

Failure was unacceptable.

Shedinja knocked Trumbeak back with a diagonal strike. The bird landed on the forecastle deck and positioned his sword in a guard position. The bug floated in swiftly and performed a powerful vertical slash, pushing the cutlass down. Trumbeak gritted his beak. With a determined grunt, he tried to push his sword back up only for Shedinja to slam his chest with the hilt of his wooden sword. Trumbeak got pushed back to the rails of the deck.

The crowd gasped. How could a wooden sword be this strong? The show was obviously scripted but most of them didn't know that Trumbeak went easy on Shedinja.

"Boo! Destroy Shedinja! Get him, Captain Big Beak." Heracross cheered.

"Just warmin' up. Time for the eight deadly strokes of death!" Trumbeak announced. He jumped straight at Shedinja for a vertical strike. Shedinja parried it but Trumbeak spun midair to the side for a sneaky upwards diagonal strike. Wonder Guard nullified the attack but the pirate didn't give up yet.

Trumbeak struck twice quickly in a horizontal motion from right to left, left to right. Shedinja easily blocked it by holding his sword straight and followed Trumbeak's sword movements.

Trumbeak thrust his sword forward but Shedinja merely floated to the side.

The sixth stroke was a high-level horizontal strike, Trumbeak knocked Shedinja's wooden weapon away successfully. He went in for a stab and then a powerful spin attack. Both attacks failed because of Wonder Guard. Trumbeak sweated heavily. Shedinja was invulnerable, what was he supposed to do? The crowd spectated attentively, curiosity burning in their eyes.

Shedinja quickly retrieved his sword. "Tired yet?" He seemed bored.

"Captain Big Beak, nay ne'er exhausted!" Trumbeak went in for a desperation attack. Shedinja smirked as he vanished with Phantom Force. He appeared behind his back and slashed diagonally. Trumbeak yelped in pain as the attack connected. Shedinja relentlessly struck again, this time knocking him down the forecastle deck. Trumbeak had a rough landing with his back on the main deck. His cutlass pierced the wooden board close to him.

"Who are ye?" Trumbeak panted as he tried to get up only to fall back down.

"Your mere mortal attacks aren't a match for me for I'm already dead. I'm the legendary pirate of one hundred years ago. The great captain who commands a crew of formidable pirates. The one who got everything but the voice of a pirate, Captain Monotone Mouth." Shedinja explained as he flew over to the steering wheel.

"I shall plunge you into the sea of darkness and then sever your beak off!" Shedinja threatened aggressively as he dived the ship down.

Trumbeak looked down at the crowd with pleading eyes. Most of them looked at him with sympathy. They cheered for Trumbeak because he was the underdog in this fight. The viewers all thought that this was the climax. In reality, it was just the beginning. Everything went according to the plan so far…

"I need yars help, blast me power-ups!" Trumbeak begged the audience as he pushed the giant cannon down the airship with his last remaining strength. The cannon landed safely on the shallow sea next to Toucannon Tongue as planned. Therefore, it wouldn't accidentally smash someone's head to bits.

Shedinja stopped the ship momentarily, pretending to be confused.

What power-ups? Well…

"Blast mysterious power-ups to help Captain Big Beak. Each present box costs 1,000 P!" Mrs. Toucannon pitched, opening the giant chests. There were numerous present boxes inside, varying in sizes.

"I want three! For Captain Big Beak!" Garbodor announced loudly, having more than enough money to waste. He paid 3,000 P and quickly shoved one small present box and two large ones inside the cannon. He lighted it up quickly and fired. Many cheered for his generosity.

Shedinja quickly directed the airship down, trying to drown Trumbeak. The present boxes exploded mid-air. The small one got three Leppa Berries and two Sitrus Berries. The other two got a boomerang and a wooden shield.

Trumbeak instantly ate all the berries, recovering his strength and flew over to Shedinja with his newly-acquired boomerang and wooden shield. The boomerang was crafted to deal flying type damage.

The bowsprit nearly submerged under the depths of the sea. Luckily, Shedinja was alarmed by the boomerang and ditched the steering wheel before the ship sank.

Trumbeak threw the boomerang and Shedinja ducked. The boomerang missed but it soon returned. However, it hit the wooden mast and got stuck. Trumbeak hurriedly flew over to retrieve it but Shedinja intercepted. The bug swung his sword at him. The wooden shield protected Trumbeak but it got knocked off the airship. Shedinja and Trumbeak exchanged an eye contact.

They wanted to drag this battle as long as possible before sunset.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "Cryogonal, please hurry up."

* * *

Cryogonal reached Red Quill's Nest. The entrance got blocked off by two red, giant grand doors. The door handles were designed to look like a bird's nest. A male Talonflame stood guard, holding a fake lance. He wore a fiery, red knight armor. Was this a restaurant or a castle?

"Excuse me, can I go and see Mr. Toucannon inside?" Cryogonal asked politely.

"Your reservation?" Talonflame asked.

"Err, I got none." Cryogonal answered.

"Then, please wait for another five hours." Talonflame told, checking a list. He was just doing his job.

"Can't it be faster?" Cryogonal complained. The Talonflame shook his head.

Cryogonal frowned. This wasn't going to be easy. She needed to come up with an idea. Bribing? She doubted it. Not like she got any money with her anyways. Forcing her way in? He was a fire type. Surely, that was a bad idea.

The Talonflame brushed dust off his knight armor, preening himself. Perhaps…

Cryogonal smirked as she got an idea. She left momentarily to a popcorn shop near the movies. No one was there, they all left for the show. Perfect. She sneaked inside and stole a cup of soda pop.

Cryogonal then returned and acted natural, drinking the soda. However, when she got close to the Talonflame, she intentionally spilled it on his armor.

"Hey!" Talonflame looked annoyed.

"Oops, sorry." Cryogonal whistled innocently. Talonflame groaned as he went to the restrooms to clean up the mess.

Cryogonal floated comfortably inside, trying to act like she got a reservation so none of the staff members grew suspicious.

The interior of the restaurant was majestic. Floors were plated with top quality wood seamlessly. The walls were red and shiny. The chairs were all designed like throne chairs of kings and queens. The tables were decorated with red quills, hence the name of the restaurant.

Mr. Toucannon sat with his daughter, enjoying their food together. Cryogonal approached them.

"Who are you?" Mr. Toucannon raised his brows.

"I'm a friend of your son. You need to come with me." Cryogonal said urgently.

"Why? How can I trust you? Lastly, why should I care about what the hell my disobedient son is doing?" Mr. Toucannon refused. "I want to enjoy my time with my daughter."

"Indeed." Pikipek agreed, nodding.

"Because he is your son! Don't you care about him? You need to go with me, right now." Cryogonal ran out of her patience. It was getting late. She didn't have much time left.

"I don't care. I will call the guards." Mr. Toucannon threatened. However, Cryogonal wasn't about to deal with his crap. She kidnapped him with her snow chains and stormed out of the restaurant.

"Guards!" Mr. Toucannon alerted, resisting to no avail. He wasn't much of a fighter. He couldn't even use Beak Blast.

The Talonflame heard his voice and started chasing Cryogonal immediately, alongside Pikipek.

"Hurry up! Save my father." Pikipek hastened and Talonflame nodded. He used Flame Charge to build up his speed. Flames consumed him as he rushed toward Cryogonal.

The snowflake Pokemon floated down the mall, glancing behind her swiftly to see the Talonflame catching up fast. Luckily, Rhyhorn was nearby on the fourth floor. He was pacing around aimlessly.

"Rhyhorn, help!" Cryogonal shouted desperately as she floated past him. "That freak is trying to hurt us." She wrapped Toucannon's beak to prevent him from talking. Mr. Toucannon's eyes showed signs of fear. Talonflame was getting closer, pointing the lance at Cryogonal.

Rhyhorn evaluated the situation and faced the Talonflame. "I won't let you hurt them." He rammed straight at the bird. Because he was too fast, Talonflame couldn't change his direction.

"Ouch!" He yelled in pain as Rhyhorn dealt major damage, penetrating through his armor. Cryogonal grinned as she floated down to the first floor.

"W-ere ar- t-e oth- gu-rds?" Mr. Toucannon wondered in a muffled voice.

* * *

A Hitmontop and a Hawlucha were currently watching the show, drinking coconut juices. They wore black glasses.

"Did someone call for us?" Hawlucha got a weird hunch.

"Nah, man. Just your imagination." Hitmontop shrugged it off. "Let's help young master to win this." He suggested, taking a 1,000 P coin out. Hawlucha did the same.

Heracross and Miltank sat on both Dhelmise and Minior respectively.

"Help, she is so heavy. Argh!" Minior screamed in pain as Miltank punched him.

"Don't you dare insult my weight." Miltank shook her right fist threateningly. "Got it?!" Minior gulped.

"Hey, you two got some money? Pay us 1,000 P and we will let you two go." Heracross offered.

"I only have 500 P." Dhelmise told.

"I got 500 P as well." Minior said the same. Heracross snatched both of their coins and left with Miltank. The two groaned as they cursed under their breath.

Heracross bought a giant present box and shot it at Trumbeak. "Beat Shedinja up!"

The airship was filled with weapon and items. Rocks, flaming torches, berries, swords of various kinds…

However, Trumbeak got knocked down on the ground even with all the items. He struggled to get up, trying to use a long steel sword to support him but failed. Luckily, a box of Sitrus Berries landed in front of him. Trumbeak slowly chewed the healing items and got up, as good as new.

Currently, Shedinja piloted the boat down at the sea. Of course, the boat could stay afloat (common sense). All those drowning threats were just lies to make things more intense for the viewers.

"Give up, now?" Shedinja asked.

"No!" Trumbeak refused, glancing at the audience. He wasn't trying to see their reactions. Rather, he wanted to find his old man. He wasn't there yet.

The sun descended from the sky, shining its orange light upon Toucannon Island. The orange light symbolized vulnerability and exhaustion. Even celestial bodies needed rest. The sunset proved that. It was about to head off to sleep. This was their last opportunity. Trumbeak got his responsibility as Skarmory's intern. He couldn't prolong the fight any longer.

A present box that Heracross bought arrived in front of him. It exploded and revealed itself.

A long, pure silver blade with a curved, sharp edge. The hilt was decorated by tufts of black feathers.

The mythical, legendary Toucannon Sword. The most durable and powerful of all flying type weapons.

"This be Captain Big Beak's last stand." Trumbeak lifted the sword up and tried to get a comfortable grip.

"Your head will fall off where you stand!" Shedinja lifted a stone sword that he stole from Trumbeak up and rushed at him.

Trumbeak flew up with the legendary sword. The two traded blows mid-air. Neither of them got hurt.

Shedinja vanished using Phantom Force. Skillfully, Trumbeak turned around with great agility and blocked the attack. Shedinja vanished and appeared behind his back again. Trumbeak performed a spin attack mid-flight to intercept the attack. Trumbeak then flew up the crow's nest and braced himself for Shedinja's next move.

Shedinja never felt this thrilled and excited before in his life. He felt exhilarated. Feelings rushed back into him.

"Sever!" Shedinja shouted excitedly as he clashed swords with Trumbeak. The finale was edging closer and closer. He couldn't wait for it any longer. He vanished…

Shedinja reappeared above Trumbeak and thrust his stone sword down. Trumbeak sidestepped, making Shedinja missed. The bug stabbed the sword deep into the crow's nest and couldn't get it out.

Trumbeak ascended to the sky as the sun descended. He then dived down for a finishing blow…

Shedinja wasn't scared at all. He welcomed it. The agonizing feeling of defeat…

The intern gently knocked Shedinja's head with the sword and he fainted. Heracross groaned in disappointment. She expected something more torturous than this.

The audience cheered, entertained by the exceptional show.

"That's my son!" Mr. Toucannon shouted. Apparently, Cryogonal brought him just in time to see the finale. The Toucannon was overjoyed by the amount of sales. They earned over 50,000 P within a duration of an hour. Even though it was debatable whether or not he cared more about money than his son…

He uttered those words. Trumbeak never heard them before. Tears started falling from his eyes.

"Dad!" He quickly flew down to see the Toucannon. They reunited in a touching reunion.

"You should do something like this more often. Imagine how much more popular Toucannon Island will be." Mr. Toucannon encouraged, placing his wings on Trumbeak's shoulders.

"Brother, you should!" Pikipek supported the idea as well.

"I guess I'm back in the family now, right?" Trumbeak stared at his father with pained eyes. They held back so much agony and misery. Mrs. Toucannon glared at her husband critically and he sighed.

"Son, I'm truly sorry for what I did. Sometimes, I never really see you eye to eye. Sometimes, all I see is Toucannon Island and its blinding beauty. I should accept you the way you are no matter what but I failed as a father figure. I'm sorry." Mr. Toucannon held his head down and apologized.

"It's okay, dad. It's okay." Trumbeak cried tears of joy. His father cried as well.

"What a happy reunion." Shedinja commented as he floated to them for a closer look, Cryogonal was behind him. Apparently, she was the one who revived him.

"You two helped my son, thank you. How should I reward both of you?" Mr. Toucannon asked.

The two eyed each other, having the same idea.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "Looks like we might win immunity, after all." He lifted up a plastic bag with a mysterious item inside.

 **Cryogonal:** "I don't know what is inside but Skarmory should like it. They don't recommend us to open it just yet." She got the same plastic bag.

* * *

Trumbeak quitted being an intern. Skarmory received a quick call from Mr. Toucannon and didn't seem to mind it. The boy wanted to spend more time with his family, after all.

The Talonflame piloted the airship back to Skarmory Island instead. He occasionally gave Rhyhorn a nasty glare. Along the way…

"Team, I want to give each of you a meat skewer. I'm confident that this is Skarmory's favorite delicacy." Lucario got enough meat skewers to distribute to everyone on his team.

However, none of his teammates wanted it.

"We know what you did to Farfetch'd and Dedenne, Lucario." Duosion eyed him coldly.

"Very, very comtemptible." Scolipede loathed Lucario. Miltank smiled at how they reacted.

Lucario looked furious. "Fine, none of you need to win! Darmanitan-" He was interrupted by none other than his fanboy.

"Homie, I like my yogurt." Darmanitan averted his eyes. Lucario couldn't believe it. Even Darmanian… left him? He was helping his team. What did he do wrong?

On the other hand, Nosepass approached Rhyhorn.

"Big brother, where are you the entire time? I'm worried." Nosepass asked with concern.

"…" Rhyhorn was silent. He just turned away and left Nosepass.

Nosepass reached his right hand out, signaling for him to come back but… it didn't work.

Duosion observed the situation. She didn't tell anyone about what Rhyhorn did yet. The psychic didn't want to worsen the situation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Why? Rhyhorn, big brother… I'm not mad about what you did. Please come back to me."

 **Duosion:** "For my own safety reasons, I should keep quiet about this for a while. Perhaps, it was just a one-time incident that we should forever banish in the past as history."

 **Dedenne:** 'I hate Lucario. I hate Skrelp. I hate Meowth. I hate Miltank. I'm tired of the contestants here."

 **Lucario:** "This must be some kind of sick joke. I did nothing wrong." He was in denial.

* * *

The contestants arrived at the beach area as the airship forever departed Skarmory Island. Miltank and Heracross forgot about the advantage completely.

"One less intern, one less contestant. Let's see who won't be that contestant." Skarmory said, walking to Heracross first. He eyed her delicacy and covered his mouth with his wings.

"Try it, it might be good." Heracross encouraged. Obviously, Skarmory didn't bother tasting the two oyster dishes.

He ate the churro from Duosion and commented that it was fine. He appreciated the coffee though.

He commented that Bisharp's burger was a bit too oily and bland.

The host appreciated that Aromatisse got a pancake in the shape of his face but that didn't earn her any bonus points.

Skarmory hated Darmanitan's yogurt. He criticized it because it was frozen solid. Darmanitan scratched his head, looking apologetic.

Skarmory checked Drifblim's pumpkin next. "Steel gummies, as if you can win with a cheap trick like this." He shook his head in disapproval.

"Hey, gummies make you smarter." Drifblim argued.

"Yeah, as if I believe that. It has been scientifically proven otherwise." Skarmory didn't buy it. Drifblim grumbled as Skarmory rated it below average.

He tasted Dedenne next with a revolted expression. "Too much meat sauce." Skarmory commented.

"Yeah, because of someone around here." Dedenne glared at Lucario.

Skarmory walked over to Farfetch'd next with high expectations. However, he was disappointed to eat something with an overabundant amount of meat sauce again.

"Farfetch'd, the soufflé is very good. I never heard of this delicacy in Toucannon Island before but it might be my new favorite. Sadly, the meat sauce ruins it." Skarmory shook his head in disapproval. Farfetch'd and Mr. Stalk glared at Lucario.

Rhyhorn was next. The host was surprised that he got nothing.

"Alright, I will move on." Skarmory skipped to Nosepass. He was enjoying his crepe as of right now.

"Can I taste some, Nosepass?" Skarmory reached his wings out to grab it but Nosepass quickly moved it out of his reach.

"It is mine. I won't even give you the wrapping paper." Nosepass said stingily. Skarmory looked disheartened.

"Fine, Nosepass, play it that way. I don't even deserve the wrapping paper. Man, my self-esteem has gone down." Skarmory suffered quietly. Drifblim gave him a mocking smile.

Skarmory walked with low expectations to Ledyba and Scolipede next. The two gave him their slices of pizza.

"Not bad. You two are in the lead." Skarmory said to their delight.

Next, everyone anticipated Skarmory's reaction as Meowth prepared a feast table for him.

"Bon appetite." Meowth saluted. "My dear customer, choose whatever you want." He guided Skarmory around, informing him about each delicacy.

Skarmory seemed a bit impressed.

"Meowth, it is great and all that you got so much food for me…" Meowth smiled as he heard his critic. "…but quality over quantity. None of this really stands out to me. You are still behind Ledyba and Scolipede." Meowth's left eye twitched, gaping in disbelief. Dedenne seemed content at the result.

Shedinja and Cryogonal were next. They opened their plastic bags to see… meat skewers. Drifblim was shocked.

"I got them as well." Lucario showed Skarmory his bag of meat skewers, glancing at his team coldly.

Skarmory decided to judge the three of them at once. He ate three meat skewers in total, one from each of them. The taste was exactly the same. Nostalgia overwhelmed his eyes.

"Lucario, Cryogonal and Shedinja, all of you are winners of this challenge." Skarmory announced. He sounded natural and looked quite normal. In actuality, he suppressed the great joy inside his heart, refraining from crying in front of the contestants.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "They are all stupid for not listening to me!"

 **Duosion:** "I don't want to win if it means that I need to accept his dirty meat skewer."

 **Miltank:** "Maybe I should take his meat skewer. Meh, not like I need the immunity anyways."

 **Meowth:** "Time to take charge as the boss around here. If I can't win the challenge, I will win the elimination."

 **Bisharp:** "Looks like we can't all vote for Lucario. An interesting change of plans."

* * *

Shedinja met Cryogonal once again in the grassy clearing with the giant tree.

"You got great sword skills, you know?" Cryogonal complimented. "Maybe, you can find a job with it."

Shedinja chuckled. "Maybe you are right… Cryogonal… I want to say… thank you. Thank you for… everything." He said gratefully, albeit many pauses. His voice changed entirely. He didn't drawl or talk in an emotionless manner.

Cryogonal thought she was dreaming. Did she hear that right?

"Did you say thank you?" Cryogonal was unconfident in her hearing abilities.

"Yep. I never really say that until now. Just want to get it out of my chest." Shedinja assured and Cryogonal smiled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "He is getting better. I think he is no longer the old Shedinja."

* * *

Meowth met up with Lucario in the forest area. The professional athlete looked relieved that at the very least Meowth was still in his good graces.

"I assure you that I'm on your side. However, I can't make it obvious." Meowth reassured. "Stay quiet for a while and let me take charge."

"Perfect, Meowth. Just like you said, I can only trust you, Darmanitan and Shedinja. I will make sure the rest crawl back to me like the little losers they are. Lead the way, Meowth. We will show them all!" Lucario kept echoing his words to himself. Meowth purchased an echo chamber for the poor guy, gaining his vote for tonight.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Lucario, I'm not really on your side. Just PR talk."

 **Lucario:** "See? I did nothing wrong. I got Darmanitan who idolizes me, I got Meowth who understands me and I got Shedinja who helps me. Everyone else is just stupid and blind. They don't see their perfect leader!"

* * *

Duosion, Aromatisse, Scolipede, Ledyba, Shedinja and Cryogonal were inside the mess hall together. Meowth and Drifblim soon joined their conversation.

"I suggest that we eliminate Darmanitan. He is too obedient and loyal to Lucario." Duosion proposed Darmanitan as the alternative choice.

"I agree. I don't exactly trust him either." Scolipede supported.

"Homie boy can go." Shedinja said with more enthusiasm than usual. Cryogonal looked really surprised.

"Are you sure about this? He is nice." Ledyba disagreed and the other members turned to look at her with concern, especially Scolipede.

"What's wrong with me voicing my own opinion?" Ledyba looked uncomfortable.

"Nothing is wrong with that but we should go with the majority. If we don't get rid of Darmanitan, he will surely turn against us." Scolipede tried to change her mind.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Darmanitan opened the door slowly and entered with his head down.

"Homies, I want to apologize for what Lucario did. The homie can sometimes be too overcompetitive. I understand if all of you want to vote me out. I'm his fanboy after all so no hard feelings, alright?" Darmanitan gave them a sheepish grin as he left.

"I feel bad. Can't we go for Heracross instead?" Ledyba was really conflicted.

"I disagree. Statistically, Darmanitan has a higher chance of winning this game than Heracross." Duosion objected.

The discussion was a mess. The group couldn't reach a general consensus. Some wanted to vote for Heracross. Some wanted to vote for Darmanitan.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "I got my eyes on someone that annoys me for ages."

 **Heracross:** "Miltank said that if I vote with her this time, we can vote for Shedinja next."

 **Meowth:** "I manage to convince Drifblim, Ledyba and Darmanitan to vote for someone, perfect."

 **Shedinja:** "Honestly, I think I might vote for Heracross."

 **Drifblim:** "I will listen to Meowth for now, let him take charge."

 **Ledyba:** "I trust Meowth's judgement. I managed to convince Scolipede to vote with me as well."

 **Scolipede:** "Ledyba trusts Meowth too much. I don't feel comfortable about this."

* * *

Skarmory seemed to be in a hurry as he threw the Leppa Berries to Lucario, Cryogonal and Shedinja right away before they even got to their seats.

"What's the matter with you today?" Drifblim asked, wondering what's wrong with the host again.

"I have an appointment with _someone_." Skarmory answered vaguely.

"Who? Chef Drapion?" Drifblim assumed, giving him a mocking smile.

"You don't need to know." Skarmory parried the question.

Once everyone arrived, Skarmory gave the berries out right away without any redundant explanation.

"Bisharp"

"Aromatisse"

"Rhyhorn" He didn't move a muscle. Nosepass looked extremely worried about him.

"Nosepass" He put the berry away, not feeling hungry.

"Ledyba"

"Scolipede"

"Drifblim"

"Farfetch'd"

"Duosion"

"Miltank"

"Meowth" Dedenne didn't look satisfied.

"Heracross, you are a physical threat but you will stay for now." Heracross sneered at Shedinja, believing that he was the only Pokemon that voted for her.

"Darmanitan and Dedenne. Both of you have your flaws. Darmanitan, you are too loyal to Lucario. I doubt that anyone wants to keep you around." Skarmory commented. Darmanitan sighed with his head down.

"Dedenne, your attitude can really be annoying. You like to complain about businesses and fairness in general. The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory built up suspense.

…

…

…

…

…

"Dedenne." This generated shocked reactions from certain contestants.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

What? Where is fairness in this show? Why did they choose to eliminate someone like me over Heracross? I'm done with this show. I'm leaving for good. If there is still any good and fairness left in the world, Farfetch'd deserves to win. Lucario deserves to lose.

* * *

Dedenne quickly left to the dock. There were contestants there to see her off. Two to be exact.

"Mr. Stalk wants you to have a good trip. You played fair and square, Dedenne. Even though you sided with Grovyle for a long time, we know that you did it out of good intentions." Farfetch'd waved with Mr. Stalk.

"Have a safe journey and greet Jumpluff for me. Tell her than I'm still fine." Bisharp requested.

"No problem." Dedenne accepted. "I hope both of you outlast the likes of Lucario." She said before her Lapras departed.

Skarmory didn't land to end the episode off. The ending was a bit different today.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I can't let an annoying customer like her stay in this island. I want to avoid lawsuits and her constant complaints about manufacturing variations and defective products. I need none of that."

* * *

Nosepass ventured into the mountain area to find Rhyhorn. Apparently, he wasn't in the cabin.

Darmanitan got something to tell Lucario before they headed off to sleep.

Nosepass heard some noises.

"Homie, I'm tired! I'm tired of how you take things too seriously in this game!" Darmanitan exploded, slamming his arms against his thighs.

"I hunted that psychic for years and years. I joined this game to win the money to fund my research into his whereabouts." Rhyhorn talked to himself.

"Darmanitan…" Lucario tried to speak but his fanboy didn't give him a chance.

Nosepass trembled in fear, holding the wrapping paper close to him.

"You know what, homie? I won't be your teammate either until you change your attitude!" Darmanitan entered the cabin and slammed the door shut.

"When I find him, I will kill him in cold blood. Hahaha… Nosepass, I'm sorry. This insane revenge-fueling psychopath can't be your big brother." Rhyhorn apologized.

Lucario dropped down to his knees in front of the cabin.

Nosepass collapsed down on the ground.

A drizzle soaked the two. It soon turned into a stormy, thunderous, rainstorm.

Credits started rolling but the show wasn't over yet.

On the left side of the screen, Nosepass lay shivering on the ground. He only got the wrapping paper to protect him.

On the right side of the screen, Lucario dug up wet dirt from the ground, dirtying his own hands and slamming them down in rage.

* * *

 **Votes**

Meowth: Dedenne

Dedenne: Meowth (a game of cat and mouse)

Lucario: Dedenne

Darmanitan: Dedenne

Drifblim: Dedenne

Heracross: Dedenne

Miltank: Dedenne

Ledyba: Dedenne

Scolipede: Dedenne

Duosion: Darmanitan

Shedinja: Heracross

Bisharp: Darmanitan

Cryogonal: Heracross

Aromatisse: Darmanitan

Nosepass: Heracross

Farfetch'd: Darmanitan

Rhyhorn: Heracross

Meowth: 1

Heracross: 4

Darmanitan: 4

Dedenne: 8 (eliminated)

* * *

How is it? This is the best chapter by far in my opinion. I can understand if you don't like the ample size of extra characters but they are necessary for character development of certain contestants. (Hickery-o, Wimpid for Nosepass) (Trumbeak for Shedinja). Nothing would work without them considering how I plan my story from the start.

Trumbeak will disappear forever. Honestly, he is my favorite intern. However, I feel like he got more character development than some of the contestants. He might make a cameo once in a while but I feel like his character is done.

I feel like I can be too ambitious sometimes with original locations and all that. However, my creativity is just brimming and I don't want it all to go to waste.

If you are interested about the world I'm trying to create. Wait for Desire Land or Desire Tunnel Remake. Check my profile for updates as well.

Initially, Bisharp and Aromatisse parts in this chapter are longer but I feel like it diverts the focus from the main trio of this episode: Lucario, Nosepass, Shedinja. Aromatisse already got her spotlight in Chapter 18 anyways.

Good news for all of you. I will stock up on coffee and go back to weekly updates for the next two chapters. These merge chapters are 20k words long by standard so I hope you appreciate them. I want to promise all of you this time to push myself.

Next time, we return to the haunted area for my creative, original challenge.

Are there less mistakes this chapter?


	20. Chapter 20

I apologize for the long delay. There are three reasons as to why I failed to keep my promise. First, I underestimated how much time it took to complete this chapter. Second, I procrastinated. Third, my health suffered from excessively long periods of writing. Halfway through this chapter, I began to feel sick. Next chapter won't be coming soon as I will take a vacation to Japan for a week. I really need that rest.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Parousia45**

Rhyhorn's backstory is a plot point that I will continue even beyond this story. That psychic isn't ordinary, per say. That's all I'm willing to tell. Trumbeak needs to go. As much as I like him, I don't want him to leech the spotlight.

 **Random Potato Master**

I really appreciate your kind words. I never thought that I would be an inspiration. Your prediction is certainly interesting. For the sake of both of our time, I will keep this short. If you happen to release your story, I might check it out.

 **OctoRiter**

It means a lot to me that you are willing to read until the very end. I will make sure the ride is enjoyable till the finale. I finished plotting out points already. Casting for season two is going pretty well also. I got even more unique locations coming. Stay tuned if you like them.

 **Fallenstreet01**

What's up with people thinking my favorite Pokemon is dead? I don't understand. Hickery-o might even return as a contestant. Hint, hint.

 **Worma-Sir**

Yes, Lucario is mad at Miltank because of Heracross. You can see that there is tension between them. Lucario didn't talk to her often, did he? He only ordered her around to deliver messages and stuff. You can get the idea that their relationship isn't smooth. Meowth might also play a part in this…

Shedinja got disowned. His song doesn't explicity say it but it should be pretty obvious at this point.

Don't worry about the villains. I will admit that Meowstic's elimination could have been better but not all the villains will go down the same route. One might even win…

 **InfernoMaster64**

That zen moment is glorious, I agree. Well, I don't want to keep you waiting anymore. Why don't you read the chapter now? I already PM you multiple times anyways.

* * *

 **Episode 20** **:** **Savor Your Weakness**

Skarmory yawned as he walked unsteadily to the dock after a long night. He shook himself awake before focusing at the camera.

"Viewers, I got personal matters yesterday. Hope you all understand. Anyways, last time, our contestants entertained themselves in Toucannon Island. They socialized with the stall owners and visitors alike, working hard to bring back the best local delicacy to me." Skarmory yawned a little.

"Sorry, I missed my breakfast coffee. Like I said, they worked hard. Like, Nosepass. He went on a date. That sure was hard. Scolipede got some stuff stolen. Yeah, hard on him. Lucario gave Dedenne and Farfetch'd a hard time while Shedinja and Cryogonal made Trumbeak's life a lot easier. In the end, most of the local delicacies tasted horrible except for the meat skewers. Yummy. Trumbeak quitted and Dedenne got eliminated. What will happen this time? Find out on Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory looked lethargic as he finished the intro. His eyes shut themselves.

* * *

Nosepass sneezed and shivered inside his blanket, hugging the wrapping paper. The rainstorm from yesterday really did a number on him. He pulled his blanket over his face, not feeling like doing anything for the rest of the day. His bed felt warm and comfortable, pulling him magnetically into a state of laziness.

"Call me when the challenge starts or better, just forget about me." Nosepass told no one in particular.

As Bisharp heard what Nosepass said, he turned to look at him worriedly. "Are you alright? You seem sick. Do you require my assistance?" He asked, urgency and kindness mixing in his voice.

"No." Nosepass rejected simply. Bisharp nodded and left the cabin.

After Bisharp closed the door, he sighed quietly to himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "I feel very lonely. Even Nosepass didn't want my help. Everyone here gives me the cold shoulder. Do I look that threatening to them?"

 **Nosepass** **:** "It is morning already but Rhyhorn is still inside his secret base. Does he even care about his little brother anymore?"

* * *

Darmanitan was stuck in a trance, staring at the ceiling of his cabin on the edge of his bed. He eventually frowned and lowered his gaze on the ground.

"Am I too harsh on the homie?" Darmanitan wondered.

"I doubt it." Scolipede stated his opinion. Darmanitan lifted his eyes to face him.

"That will knock some sense into Lucario. You did the right thing." Scolipede reassured.

"I guess." Darmanitan didn't sound reassured. Scolipede stared at Darmanitan skeptically before he left.

The fanboy glanced around the room and sighed, stopping at the sight of Lucario's empty bed. The bed was properly organized. The pillow located exactly in the middle. The bed sheets had scents of sweat on them. No windows connected it to the outside world. It wasn't an inviting bed to sleep on by any means.

However, the bed was surrounded by many other beds, making it the center of attention. It enjoyed company and friendship of others. Something it held dear…

Yet, the owner was nowhere to be found since the rainstorm.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "I want the homie back. The homie that cares about his team but doesn't take things too seriously. I guess that's too much to ask for. The homie never seems to chill."

* * *

Ledyba hummed happily to herself, flying around the forest area. Apparently, the bug type got attracted to a flower patch. She picked up a rose and smelled its sweet fragrance.

"Ah, love. This is what it smells like." Ledyba relished, inhaling deeply. However, her happy-go-lucky mood ceased once she saw the thorns. She frowned and accidentally dropped it. Looking down, she gasped at the sight of the yellow chrysanthemums (slighted love). They all swarmed the rose, consuming it completely.

Ledyba was very knowledgeable with the subject of floriography. She knew the meanings of these flowers.

"Don't remind me…" Ledyba muttered under her breath, averting her eyes and quickly left.

Coincidentally, Meowth passed by. He raised his eyes in question at how she reacted.

"My lovely customer, what is wrong? Did you receive a defective product?" Meowth asked in concern.

"No, nothing." Ledyba denied, shaking her head. "I'm just enjoying my time, smelling flowers."

Meowth glanced at the flowers and returned his attention to her. "I see… Do you own a flowering shop by chance?" He asked in a friendly manner.

"Me? No, my parents own a berry garden. However, we happen to grow flowers as well. They make everything look nicer." Ledyba informed.

"Wise idea. They can also be an extra source of income. Many events need flowers whether it be a wedding or funeral ceremony. Perhaps, you should consider selling them. A friendly advice from me." Meowth suggested, flashing her a warm smile. Ledyba nodded.

"Alright, I will think about that. Thanks, Meowth." Ledyba took it into consideration.

"Oh, another thing. I appreciate the fact that you stay loyal to me and voted for Dedenne." Meowth said gratefully.

"It's no big deal. We are friends. Dedenne didn't seem happy staying here anyways. She complained all the time." Ledyba assured.

"Good point. Why don't we-" Meowth was interrupted by someone, he skittered with a worried expression to his girlfriend.

"Ledyba, you are here! I told you to leave a note or something, didn't I? I was worried sick because I couldn't find you. Why are you with Meowth as well? Tell me!" Scolipede expressed his anxiety.

"Scolipede, can't I have my privacy for just a moment? Do I need to tell you everything?" Ledyba looked annoyed, tired of his overprotective nature. Meowth stared at Scolipede disapprovingly.

"I guess you are right. I will leave now, take care." Scolipede seemed hurt by what she said. He reluctantly left… Not before he glared at Meowth momentarily.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba** **:** "I like that Scolipede cares about me but… I need my time alone as well. I'm not ready to share everything with him yet."

 **Scolipede** **:** "Is it so wrong that I want to keep her safe? Do I really look like an obsessed, paranoid freak in front of her eyes?" He sighed. "I guess she is right. I should be more relaxed and carefree. Let go of your worries, Scolipede. Come on, you can do this. For your girlfriend."

 **Meowth** **:** "What a bickering couple. Let's say I'm a family lawyer, a divorce lawyer to be more specific. And… I want my income, what will I do? Just like Houndour and Duosion, I will make sure to break them apart and collect my pay. No hard feelings, right? I'm just doing my job." He grinned evilly. "Ledyba will be in my hands, Scolipede…"

* * *

Duosion floated over to the mountain area. Based on her intuition, he would be there. The psychic wanted to clear things up with Rhyhorn. She wanted to tell him that she didn't tell anyone what happened and that his secret was safe with her. She wanted to understand him more.

Duosion knew that it was risky going there alone but from her calculations, this was the move with the highest chance of success. The move that could lead to a peaceful solution.

The psychic observed around the rocky pathways and lifted a few rocks up. She found nothing for now. Going up the stairs, she noticed a giant rock was covering up something. Using Psychic, she revealed the entrance to the secret base.

Gathering her confidence, she infiltrated Rhyhorn's lair. There was nothing but silence the entire time she was heading down deeper and deeper.

"Eerie." Duosion commented, braving through the threats with weakening bravery. To the psychic, fighting fear was nothing more than calculating the probability of danger and coming up with counter measures to minimize the risk afterwards. As a result, she was fearless most of the time.

Duosion gathered data on many things. She knew the rate of death by car crashes, the rate of death by drowning, the rate of death inside caves and etc. Therefore, she didn't have any fears of the irrational kind. Rather…

She feared uncertainty. Things like love and Rhyhorn's sanity couldn't be calculated or translated into statistics.

Duosion finally reached the moment of truth. Rhyhorn stood in front of her, surrounded by his traps. He didn't utter a single word or turn to face her properly. He was still and solid like a stone.

"Rhyhorn. I want you to know that I didn't tell anyone about what happened yesterday. However, I feel unsafe around you. Can you please justify your actions yesterday to ease some of my concerns?" Duosion asked, anticipating his reaction nervously.

Rhyhorn lifted his eyes at her slowly and replied. "Just get out. Don't be near me and you will be safe."

Duosion didn't seem pleased with that answer. However, upon seeing how tense Rhyhorn was, Duosion decided to flee.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion** **:** "I feel pretty fortunate. Things could have been worse."

* * *

Drifblim spectated from a far distance as Lucario threw multiple Aura Spheres at trees and nature in general. The professional athlete rampaged in the forest for ages, destroying everything to quench his anger.

"How dare they?!" Lucario charged all of his rage into a single, giant Aura Sphere (roughly the size of himself). He then blasted it against a group of trees. The ball of destruction exploded in a huge radius, sending trees flying into the air.

Drifblim clapped silently as she left, not reckless enough to mess with Lucario.

What Drifblim didn't see was that Lucario dropped down to his knees shortly after. He did the unbelievable…

Lucario teared up, pounding the ground.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim** **:** "While I want to push myself and try something _impossible_. I rather not risk my health and try to manipulate Lucario. Meowth can have all the pleasure of doing that. I got different targets and plans." She smirked.

 **Lucario** **:** "Why, Darmanitan, why? Why, everyone, why?"

* * *

Miltank and Heracross chatted with laughter inside the mess hall. They were content with the events of yesterday.

"I beat the Minior kid up, wrestled control out of Lucario's hands and eliminated pipsqueak. My co-workers sure are going to praise me. With our mighty fists, everyone will listen to us! We are the strongest!" Miltank asserted, raising her fists up proudly.

"Yeah girl! We will mop all of them on the floor and win this stupid show. No one can stand up against us, we will just intimidate all of them after Lucario is gone. They will all submit to our might." Heracross agreed, raising her fists as well.

"Geniuses, learn to be quiet. I'm tired of listening to your foolproof plan." Shedinja mocked sarcastically. The two weren't aware of his presence the entire time.

Heracross seethed. Miltank gave her a good slap on the right shoulder.

"Ignore him. He is a goner. Nobody likes him. We will vote him out today." Miltank assured and Heracross got a smug grin.

"You are right. It's my turn. Finally, Shedinja. I will get my final, ultimate revenge against you." Heracross' eyes danced impatiently for Shedinja's elimination.

Shedinja scoffed as he left to sit with Cryogonal. The two shared a great time together as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank** : "Heracross and me got a real bond going. We will split the money if either of us wins."

 **Heracross** **:** "The nerve of that guy. He thinks he is the *beep* around here? I will mop you on the streets first, Shedinja. The money will be mine. I deserve it more than a convenience store, burger flipping boy like you."

 **Shedinja** **:** "Those meatheads will never win. All they know is how to abuse their strength. I will butcher their brains up."

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Shedinja is smiling and enjoying his time more. I'm glad to change his life for the better."

* * *

Bisharp took a stroll around the forest, widening his eyes at the damage a certain Pokemon caused. Fallen trees blocked his path, leaves scattered across the ground messily.

"Lucario is crossing the line. What gives him the right to destroy someone else' property? Trees take time and effort to grow, you know? Skarmory should penalize him." Bisharp castigated.

"Mr. Stalk agrees. Lucario should be considerate, only cut trees when it is necessary." Farfetch'd supported from behind.

Bisharp turned around to face him, staring deep with loneliness.

"Indeed. Mr. Stalk and Farfetch'd, why don't we take him down together? We need to prevent him from winning immunity today." Bisharp proposed, pleading for company.

Farfetch'd glanced at Mr. Stalk and nodded to Bisharp. "We accept your offer. You work hard and we will also work hard to win the challenge."

It wasn't exactly what Bisharp expected but he gave a weak smile nonetheless.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "Lucario is worsening this experience for me. I lost Jumpluff and now I have to deal with him. His competitiveness reminds me of my parents and I can't live with that."

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk is still mad that his soufflé got ruined by Lucario. As a professional in many areas of expertise, he won't give in to that athlete."

* * *

Nosepass finally got out of his bed and entered the mess hall once it was lunchtime. Looking around, he spotted Rhyhorn in the corner all by himself. Nosepass grabbed his plate of special delicacy and slowly headed over to his big brother, fear prevalent in his steps. It took a long time for Nosepass to make any sort of progress.

Placing the plate down, Nosepass turned to him and gathered his confidence.

"Rhyhorn, are you a-alright? I-I'm w-worried about you." Nosepass stuttered, shaking slightly.

"…" Rhyhorn's reply was silence.

"Big brother, y-you care about me, right? Y-you aren't some murderous, bloody psychopath, right? What I heard yesterday wasn't t-true, right?" Nosepass questioned in a very unconfident manner.

"…It is better if you are no longer around me." Rhyhorn finally spoke up, advising Nosepass to distance himself. He then quickly averted his eyes and focused entirely on the food.

Nosepass grabbed his plate and changed his seat depressingly. He turned back to look at Rhyhorn one last time. The rocky rhino completely ignored him, munching on the sludge. Nosepass drooped his head on the sludge as well.

The door of the mess hall slammed open and Lucario entered. He scowled at all of his 'teammates' and sat alone in a corner as well. Rhyhorn took the top left corner and Lucario took the top right one. Many contestants seemed to notice this.

Darmanitan lifted his plate up and hesitated, wondering whether or not he should sit with Lucario. He hastily eyed his 'role model' for a second. The professional athlete folded his arms grumpily as he isolated himself from everyone.

Darmanitan returned his attention to his current table. Upon seeing his actions, Duosion, Scolipede and Aromatisse gave him disapproving looks. Ledyba gave him a sympathetic smile.

In the end, Darmanitan sat back down on his seat with sagged shoulders.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn** **:** "Nosepass, it is safer for you that way."

 **Nosepass** **:** "Looks like Hickery-o is the only one I got left."

 **Meowth** **:** "While those lower-class Pokemon enjoy their sludge, I savor some meat skewers. Skarmory seemed more energetic than usual selling them today, I wonder why."

 **Scolipede** **:** "That corporate monster, Meowth was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Did he have limitless supply of Skarmory tokens or something? Skarmory sells stuff nowadays at ridiculous prices. No one but him can afford them."

 **Drifblim** **:** "I like the tension. This is what Total Drama is all about. Arguments, petty conflicts and fragile relationships."

 **Duosion** **:** "Personally, I will vote for Rhyhorn after Lucario is eliminated. I won't feel safe until he is gone."

 **Darmanitan** **:** "Once the homie gets better, I will go back to him."

 **Lucario** **:** "No one crawls back to me… I'm meaningless to them? Even in the eyes of Darmanitan?" He looked emotionally broken.

* * *

Skarmory announced that the challenge will take place inside the haunted area. As usual, Nosepass was scared. However, there was one difference this time around…

Rhyhorn wasn't there beside him.

Nosepass sluggishly walked alongside the group, trailing behind Drifblim and Meowth for comfort.

"Want me to carry you?" Drifblim offered helpfully.

"No, I can walk on my own." Nosepass was too ashamed and embarrassed to take the offer. Drifblim looked a bit surprised, smirking a little.

The group eventually reached the haunted Skarmory mansion once again. As scary as a kindergarten, a contestant once said.

Skarmory stopped and turned around just before the entrance.

"Contestants, this time, I won't explain the rules to any of you." Skarmory revealed a shocking piece of news.

"Lazy host, you will make Chef Drapion explain it for you?" Drifblim assumed scornfully.

"No, what makes you think that? Ridiculous…" Skarmory muttered. "Anyways, there will be no rules regarding the challenge given. You need to find everything out on your own with your brains, exciting?" He observed the reactions of the contestants.

"Boo! Stupid, complicated challenge." Heracross complained.

Miltank groaned. "Just make it simple."

"Meatheads…" Shedinja whispered something to Cryogonal and she laughed. Miltank and Heracross glared suspiciously at him.

"I appreciate a mystery challenge." Duosion had the opposite reaction.

"Mixed reception, I see. Well, follow me inside. We are about to start." Skarmory instructed.

Soon enough, everyone gathered inside the foyer. Some glanced around the slightly familiar surroundings, trying to find clues of some sort.

Skarmory faced the contestants, standing in between the two grand staircases.

"Everyone, get close in the middle." The host motioned with his wings. "Perfect."

Afterwards, Skarmory communicated with a certain psychic through his earpiece quietly. None of the contestants heard what he said. Soon enough, the host finished his private conversation and faced the contestatants.

"The challenge begins…." Skarmory paused dramatically. "Now!"

Suddenly, the floor underneath them disappeared and a vacuum sucked all of them down the mysterious black hole.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse** **:** "Way to start things off the non-fabulous way, Skarmory."

 **Drifblim** **:** "This is just like the prison challenge. I can't believe that I fell for it again."

 **Nosepass** **:** "This isn't a Nosepass friendly challenge. Can't Skarmory be considerate for once?"

 **Duosion** **:** "Skarmory designed the surprise trap well. Pokemon that levitate and fly couldn't escape because of the vacuum."

* * *

The contestants slowly recovered, opening their eyes. They found themselves collapsing on the ground, somewhere.

The place got torn, plain white wallpapers, revealing the rotten and disgraceful wooden walls. There were no lights, only a chandelier on top. The flames flickered a little. The candles vacillated between blissful death and insufferable life.

Couches got damaged. Red paint turned to brown. Cuts and scratches were evident all over, cotton leaking out.

An antique black wooden table settled next to the couches, luring the contestants with second-handed leftovers.

A grandfather clock passed away, living in heaven by now. The hands stopped at exactly six o'clock.

Located to the sides were four doors, two on each side. The lower left door said 'Confessional' while the lower right showed the multi-gender restroom.

The upper left door connected to the west wing of rooms while the upper right door connected to the east wing.

Front of them was a pair of staircases. Obviously, they weren't grand this time around. They were made out of wood, the worst kind that bends when you step on it. Luckily, concrete and stone blocks supported them, preventing accidents… hopefully.

Behind them was another door, leading somewhere.

Locating around the center between the stairs and the couches was a receptionist counter. On it were many items, including a box of stationary equipment, a guest list book and an obsolete, rotary dial phone. Behind the counter was a wooden stool with a broken leg.

To summarize it all, this place was an ancient, ruined hotel.

"Where the hell are we?" Heracross asked as she rubbed her bottom. Apparently, she got a rough landing.

"I don't care. I want to get out. Help!" Nosepass panicked, running around wildly. The uneven wooden floor made creaking sounds and Nosepass screamed. Rhyhorn looked at him with pity but didn't do much.

"Now, this is a little bit scarier. From a kindergarten to a primary school." Drifblim seemed impressed, nodding at the neat little touches.

"We should investigate. Our objective is to find out about the challenge and compete for the immunity." Bisharp reminded the contestants and they separated to explore either individually or in small groups.

"This place isn't chill." Darmanitan commented as he looked at the wallpapers, touching it a little. Dust collected on his fore finger immediately. He blew it away before noticing Lucario next to him. Darmanitan quietened and soon distanced himself from the athlete.

Lucario frowned, noticing how everyone isolated him as if he was a monster. The professional athlete tried to open the west wing door but it was locked.

Aromatisse rested on the couch uneasily. It certainly wasn't comfortable but it wasn't as bad as she thought.

Nosepass eyed the bag of chips. He picked one up and stared at the black burn marks before putting them back inside.

"Who burns the chips?" Nosepass wondered.

Miltank opened up a bottle of milk and invited Heracross over. It got a logo of a Miltank. The color of the milk was yellow and the smell was wretched and sour.

"Girl, this milk reminds me of my farm. Try it." Miltank encouraged, handing her the bottle.

Heracross smelled it. "Not bad. I have tried worse on the streets." She told before drinking the entire bottle.

"That's it, girl. Don't be scared of spoiled milk. You are the real deal around here." Miltank praised with a look of respect.

"The expiration date is one year ago." Shedinja drawled, pointing out the date on the bottle cap.

Heracross scoffed it off. "Not a big deal. I'm not scared of the expiration date like a burger-flipping, convenience store boy like you." She dealt a low blow at his occupation.

In the past, Shedinja wouldn't care but, times changed. He felt humiliated to work at a convenience store while everyone else studied for a better job. He started caring about his future since yesterday.

Shedinja looked down on the ground in shame. Heracross grinned victoriously. Miltank smiled mockingly as well.

"Go away, you two jerks!" Cryogonal furiously shouted, swinging her snow chains at them. The two left, looking satisfied.

"Chill girl, hot temper makes you melt." Heracross annoyed her before she left. Cryogonal glared at her before she turned to Shedinja.

"Are you alright?" She asked with concern, placing one of her snow chain on his back.

"Alright." Shedinja assured in a not very reassuring tone. Cryogonal still looked worried.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross** **:** "I drank it because of the logo. A sign of our friendship, get what I mean?"

 **Miltank** **:** "Skarmory is out here promoting my products. (You aren't the only Miltank in the world. Moomoo Milk is popular.) Still, I hate the milking process. It is better if I force the other Miltank to do the dirty job."

 **Cryogonal** **:** "Those two jerks! Shedinja just got better, for god's sake."

 **Darmanitan** **:** "I want to chill with the homie again but I can't. He needs to learn from his mistakes."

 **Lucario** **:** "Darmanitan, what the hell is wrong with you?! I thought you understand me the most." He started throwing tantrums.

* * *

Drifblim floated up the stairs. Seconds after, she floated down with a curious expression.

Duosion analyzed the grandfather clock. It was next to the east wing door.

Farfetch'd checked the door behind them, south of the room. It was unlocked. He opened it to see a flight of stairs descending downwards. This time, the stairs were metallic.

"Mr. Stalk, detect anything?" Farfetch'd talked to his trusty partner. He decided to not go down there just yet.

Ledyba flew up and checked the chandelier, remembering that Skarmory hid an envelope there once during the fear challenge. Sure, it was a different chandelier but Skarmory could use the same trick twice, right? Speaking of the fear challenge, it sent a chill down her spine. She felt very fortunate to avoid facing her traumatizing fear.

"Scolipede, I found nothing." Ledyba reported, shaking her head.

"That's fine. Let's search somewhere else." Scolipede suggested.

Bisharp investigated the receptionist counter, picking up the stationary box and inspected the equipment. The pen worked just fine. He tested it by writing on the front page of the guest list book. The ink was blue. The pencil, however, broke immediately once he gripped it, such a delicate thing. The last item was a wooden ruler. Intriguingly, a few numbers were underlined:

5 cm

12 cm

13 cm

15 cm

Bisharp memorized them before moving on to the next object, the guest list book itself. He read the contents and found a few things.

The following contestants had their rooms reserved in the west wing:

Ledyba 301

Scolipede 302

Heracross 303

Shedinja 304

Nosepass 305

Drifblim 306

Darmanitan 307

Miltank 308

The following contestants had their rooms reserved in the east wing:

Bisharp 309

Cryogonal 310

Meowth 311

Farfetch'd 312

Rhyhorn 313

Duosion 314

Aromatisse 315

Lucario 316

Furthermore, the back of the book stated that using moves weren't allowed and only minimum violence was legal. However, if you lacked any sort of proper limbs like Duosion, you could use moves like Psychic to open doors and move objects.

"Everyone, I found something." Bisharp decided to share the information with the other contestants, raising the book in the air.

"What is it?" Scolipede came over to take a look.

"Better be something good." Heracross demanded, trying to take the book rudely by force until Bisharp politely removed her hands. He glared at her as she crossed her arms.

"Can I see?" Drifblim asked with curiosity as many other contestants surrounded Bisharp.

"This book shows the rooms of all the contestants. The back of the book shows some of the rules. Read it to see for yourself." Bisharp informed, handing the book to Scolipede first since he arrived before everyone else. Heracross groaned immaturely.

Soon enough, the book made its way to everyone. Some nodded in understanding, some still looked puzzled.

"Skarmory probably put that minimum violence thing in there to stop Lucario from killing all of us." Drifblim speculated. Lucario gave her a cold, unamused glare.

"Why is there blue ink in the book?" Duosion wondered.

"I tested the pen. It's nothing." Bisharp clarified. Despite giving the other contestants some information, he kept some to himself. In a mystery challenge like this, he knew that you need to give and take to succeed.

"Whatever, I will head to my room." Shedinja lost interest in the book and floated slowly to the west wing. He tried to penetrate through the door with his ghost abilities. However, a mysterious force repelled him. Heracross and Miltank laughed at his failure.

"What happened?" Cryogonal asked, baffled.

"Cleanse tag." Drifblim told as she tried to infiltrate the west wing only for the door to push her back. "Well prepared."

"How are we supposed to get in our rooms now?" Miltank complained.

"Yeah, stupid crappy challenge." Heracross agreed.

"Sleep on the ground." Shedinja retorted. "You can drink spoiled milk so I don't see why you can't live without a room."

"Shush you." Heracross said in a hostile voice. The two stared at each other with spite.

"Everyone, the east wing can be accessed." Duosion got all of their attention. She used Psychic to open the door fully, revealing a long hallway with four rooms to the left and four rooms to the right. The room's number increased in a sequence from right to left (Bisharp's room to the right, Cryogonal's room to the left…). Below the doors were dusty carpets. Above the doors were room number tags. Beside the doors were yellow bells.

Most importantly, Ursaring patrolled the hallway. He wore a white cap, black pants and an orange T-shirt with flower designs. In addition, a black backpack strapped securely on him. The bear looked as if he was on vacation as the baggage carrier around here. He wheeled a cart without any luggage, his back bent over slightly.

"Any luggage?" Ursaring asked in an uncaring manner.

"No. I will just go to my room." Duosion replied. Ursaring gestured for her to follow him. Shortly after, Bisharp, Cryogonal, Meowth, Farfetch'd and Aromatisse entered the hallway to check out their rooms. Lucario and Rhyhorn didn't seem interested at the moment.

"How unfair." Miltank eyed them with jealousy. "Can't we at least sleep in hay beds?"

"There must be a reason why certain contestants got access to their rooms…" Drifblim looked deep in thought.

Ursaring opened the door for Duosion. The psychic observed her new room. Surprisingly, it looked better than expected. The plain, white wallpapers were clean. The restroom situated to the left. A cabinet of decent quality located to the right. Heading further, a bed was seen with a lamp to the left. There was even a television facing the bed. Underneath the television was a mini fridge. Last but not least, a chair with a table located at the end of the room.

"Tip, please." Ursaring requested, motioning his hands for money. He had a serious look on his face.

"Umm… sorry, I want to reward you but I have nothing." Duosion refused in a polite and apologetic tone.

"No tip?!" Ursaring yelled in rage. He suddenly went on a rampage and rushed to the television. The baggage boy punched the screen, shattering a perfectly good television. He then used his sharp claws to shred the bed sheets. Duosion witnessed the situation with a horrified expression. All the other contestants gathered around her room to check all the ruckus.

Aromatisse gasped. "Barbaric baggage boy, stay away from all the fabulous furniture."

"Barbaric?!" Ursaring finished flipping the table over and stomped intimidatingly toward Aromatisse. She gulped immediately.

"Say that again." Ursaring dared, pointing threateningly.

"I meant to say that you are strong." Aromatisse corrected in an apprehensive voice. Bisharp quickly left at this moment before anyone else.

Ursaring roared and started chasing all the contestants.

"I will tip in credit! Just let me go." Meowth promised as he ran down the hallway.

"Cash only!" Ursaring refused, rolling the empty cart toward the contestants.

"Mr. Stalk, what should we do?" Farfetch'd asked his partner for help. He shortly nodded after.

"What is his suggestion?" Cryogonal asked out of desperation.

"Mr. Stalk said that we should run!" Farfetch'd told. Everyone followed Mr. Stalk's idea, fleeing for their lives.

The five contestants (Bisharp quickly hid in his room) scrammed out of the east wing.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse** **:** "My not-so fabulous face nearly got destroyed." She sighed in relief.

 **Farfetch** **'** **d** **:** "Mr. Stalk said that the homefield advantage is in Ursaring's favor. Mr. Stalk can't fight comfortably there, especially with the minimum violence restriction. Running is the best option."

 **Duosion** **:** "Apparently, the minimum violence rule only applies to us."

 **Meowth** **:** "Ursaring is old-fashioned. Most transactions nowadays use credit."

* * *

Bisharp was quick-witted enough to sagaciously flee before everyone else and hide in his room. Ursaring wasn't aware of his presence, leaving him unharmed in his room without any tips.

Bisharp carefully searched around with his eyes wide-opened. However, it was very difficult to spot any clues, hints or secrets because the room was mostly empty. Sure, there was a television but there wasn't a remote. Sure, there was a restroom but it didn't come with anything like a toothbrush, soap, toilet paper and etc.

"The poor accommodation might hint toward something. Ursaring's behavior should be taken into account as well. This hotel is dirt cheap and frugal, a one-star resting place at best. The equipment like the rotary dial phone is obsolete. How could this hotel stay in business after many years?" Bisharp contemplated many questions to himself as he picked up a pillow. Nothing was under there. Suddenly, he heard a loud voice from outside.

"I'm not scared, Ursaring. Are you sure that I won't dare to punch your face even if I get disqualified afterwards? Get out of my sight!" Lucario shouted threateningly.

Bisharp sighed, seemingly fed up with Lucario. He continued his search after the noise died down. What happened?

Bisharp opened the mini-fridge, something catching his eye in the freezer. He saw a book frozen inside a huge ice block. Bisharp removed the ice block from the fridge. Luckily due to his steel typing, the block wasn't too cold for his hands. Bisharp placed it on the table and stabbed it repeatedly with his blades to shatter the frigid rectangle. The book was wet but the content inside was still readable.

"All the staff here have gone crazy! They revolted against us! Ungrateful, low labor… Gah! If you are reading this, we have an emergency. The hotel is a mess. The staff hid the keys to certain rooms, blocking certain areas. If you manage to defeat them, you might get something. I don't know what it might be but perhaps it can be useful. Expose their weaknesses and find an opening. Don't be reckless. Signed by Skarmory." Bisharp read, scanning through the page. He nodded in understanding and closed the book.

"Time to prove my problem-solving skills to my parents and admirers. I can't lose, I have honor to protect from failure and friends to protect from Lucario." Bisharp smiled in determination.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp** **:** "Us and we? Is there someone with Skarmory? Regardless, my first course of action is to collect information before I confront the interns. Perhaps, the mystery behind the ruler can be a good starting point. Do the numbers refer to the rooms?" He wondered, tapping his chin.

* * *

Lucario stared disapprovingly as the contestants ran away from Ursaring.

"Cowards, I will show how it's done." Lucario pushed all of them away and confronted Ursaring all by himself.

"Way to be a jerk." Cryogonal muttered at how he pushed her.

"Hope he loses to Ursaring." Aromatisse talked behind his back.

"Mr. Stalk doesn't not appreciate the insult." Farfetch'd looked offended.

"Statistically, Lucario has a 99% chance of being eliminated if he loses the immunity challenge." Duosion stated. Meowth nodded quietly.

Ursaring smirked as he saw Lucario. "You can't hurt me. It is against the rules." He sounded overconfident.

"I'm not scared, Ursaring. Are you sure that I won't dare to punch your face even if I get disqualified afterwards? Get out of my sight!" Lucario shouted threateningly.

Ursaring sweated as Lucario stomped toward him intimidatingly. His footsteps didn't command respect and obedience, not any more. They commanded fear.

"Alright, sir. This way." Ursaring submitted like a docile weakling as he guided Lucario to his room. Lucario seemed satisfied. As the monstrous athlete reached his room, Ursaring bowed his head down.

"Sir, if you need anything, feel free to call me at any time." Ursaring spoke formally in front of the beast.

"Good, here is your tip." Lucario reached his hand out and gave Ursaring thin air. The baggage boy accepted gratefully. Lucario grinned in a conceited manner.

"I will treasure it, sir. You taught me a good lesson." Ursaring shuffled his feet away nervously as Lucario closed the door.

Ursaring clenched his fists as he gritted his teeth. "This will be the last time you degraded me, Lucario." He had a serious and dark expression.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario** **:** "I found nothing in the room. What a waste of my time."

 **Ursaring** **:** "Skarmory didn't say that I can't sabotage the contestants." He whistled. Suddenly, the intern stared at the camera with a self-aware look. "Hey, I didn't cheat or do something that bad. I just changed the location from the fridge to under the toilet."

* * *

Scolipede and Ledyba headed upstairs since they couldn't access their rooms. They soon reached a black door, the boundary between two floors.

Ledyba stretched her hand out to the door knob until Scolipede blocked her.

"Ledyba, it might be dangerous. Let me head inside first." Scolipede alerted.

"Scolipede, it's _nothing_." Ledyba stressed.

"B-but…" Scolipede sighed, accepting the fact that he was being paranoid. "I'm sorry. Go ahead."

Ledyba frowned slightly as she turned on the door knob, pushing the door open slowly and cautiously. The door creaked, releasing darkness from the second basement floor.

A hollow hallway lay ahead, challenging their awareness of the surroundings. There was little to no light to guide our blinded contestants. Debris scattered across the ground, waiting patiently to cause accidents. There were seven doors, three to the left, three to the right and one straight ahead. However, light only leaked from the top left door. It was a dim, weakened glimmer of hope.

"Be careful." Scolipede reinforced.

"Don't worry." Ledyba reassured as she flew around. The flying type was having a much easier time than Scolipede, who struggled to avoid stepping on the dirty and dangerous debris.

"Let's head to the room with lights first." Scolipede suggested, crawling carefully.

"I agree." Ledyba felt a bit creeped out, hugging herself for comfort.

"Why are there so many pieces of stuff on the ground? I can't even see them properly." Scolipede complained, irritated with the debris.

Ledyba turned to Scolipede, trying to get a clear look of his progress and condition. Her boyfriend did just fine, despite his anxious look and scrambling eyes. Scolipede moved in a careful manner, clinging to the wall and stepping across debris when necessary.

It's not like Ledyba hated how protective her worrywart boyfriend could be. His distrust was of a good kind. The kind that existed to minimize dangers and missteps. Unlike the entitled kind that boasted itself, deriving from premature assumptions and ignorance.

Ledyba could relate to Scolipede in many ways. Therefore, she refrained to criticize or scold his behavior. Still, it was just too much sometimes. Being his girlfriend was hard but… vice versa. She remembered a painful memory and quickly shook it off.

"We are finally here, are you alright?" Scolipede asked, raising his eyes at her troubled look.

"Yes, nothing's wrong, Scolipede. You did great." Ledyba complimented. Scolipede smiled as he opened the door…

…only to meet a Solar Blade to the face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I got caught off guard again. Unbelievable. I thought I'm already careful enough."

 **Ledyba:** "Poor and unlucky him… Luckily, he got resistance to grass type attacks." She tried to be optimistic at the end.

* * *

Meanwhile in the third basement floor…

"Let's leave. I want to find something to goddamn do." Heracross persuaded Miltank.

"Yeah, let's check that door, girl." Miltank agreed, heading over to the door connecting to the fourth basement floor. She opened it and Heracross followed as they descended down fearlessly.

"I better go check down there as well. See you all later." Drifblim waved as she left as well.

"I guess I will go and chill." Darmanitan followed the three girls.

"I won't. This challenge isn't my challenge. It is too scary. When will I get a challenge that is Nosepass friendly for once?" Nosepass whined, sitting on the couch lazily.

Shedinja stared at Nosepass, who basically did nothing. He yawned in boredom and decided to head downstairs as well.

Suddenly, there were noises of rapid, fast footsteps. Contestants ran out of the east wing because of Ursaring. Nosepass jumped off the couch, startled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Can they stop scaring me like that? I will give the Nosepass seal of disapproval to every single one of them. I can't rely on any loud, noisy, scary, threatening, unfriendly and especially psychopathic Pokemon." He seemed to be in a bad mood.

* * *

Heracross and Miltank soon arrived at the fourth basement floor, widening their eyes at the aesthetic. The clean, yellow marble floor magnetized their feet, tempting them to stay forever. The opal texture of the wall indicated the luxury nature of the place. Many light bulbs hung on the ceiling, illuminating the brain-blinding casino.

There were three doors inside, one to the left, right and middle. There was a mini alcohol bar next to the right door.

Slot machines of the exact same kind lined up in rows and rows, luring money away from greedy fools. The soul-sucking screens had flashing lights and big bold letters. Pictures of the sixteen contestants rolled down randomly in the three columns. This particular type of slot machine was apparently called 'Elimination Frenzy'.

"Gambling is why many Pokemon are on the streets. Hell, if I got money, I won't spend it all in one place." Heracross made a wise point.

"Not like we got money anyways. Work, stupid thing!" Miltank pointed out, trying to pull the lever but it got stuck. She slammed her right fist against it in frustration.

"I meant outside of the show." Heracross clarified. Upon seeing how the lever budged a little, she got a cheeky grin on her face.

"Trying to cheese it, huh?" Heracross questioned.

"Yeah, maybe we can eliminate the other contestants with this thing. It's gotta work if I beat it senseless." Miltank said stubbornly.

"Let me help." Heracross joined in as the two bashed, struck, kicked and damaged the slot machine in general. What a sight. Poor slot machine, it wasn't protected by the minimum violence rule.

Drifblim and Darmanitan showed up, the former chuckled.

"Keep on trying girls. Exploit a loophole in the challenge." Drifblim seemed supportive of their actions.

"Yeah! You watch girl, we are going to destroy this thing." Miltank vowed as she punched the screen.

Darmanitan recoiled, looking uncomfortable. Drifblim tapped him on his shoulder and motioned for him to follow her over to the left door. There was a neon sign above with the word, 'Arcade'.

"Chill…" Darmanitan mumbled before entering the arcade.

The arcade was one fun and exciting place. Claw machines attracted the eyes of plush collectors. Air hockey and basketball targeted sports enthusiasts. There was something for everyone here, including the eliminated gaming bib boy. What would be an arcade without game machines? Space Invaders, Shooting Range, Munch-Man, Prime-Kong and Pika-Fighters were among the most popular games. The best part? They were all free.

"Arcade is pretty chill." Darmanitan nodded as he glanced around.

"You can choose what you want to play." Drifblim allowed.

"Air hockey seems chill, homie." Darmanitan decided, choosing a multiplayer game.

"Good choice." Drifblim sounded satisfied. The two grabbed their paddles and started the game. They sent the puck bouncing back and forth, crashing into the wall and entering each other's goal. The nature of the match was pretty casual and more for fun rather than competitive. Neither of them minded losing, especially Darmanitan.

On the other hand, Miltank and Heracross continued their path to destruction. They pummeled, wrestled, thrashed, smacked and crushed the machine. The lever was broken, the screen turned completely black, bits of glass scattered and wires electrocuted themselves for mercy. The slot puffed up smoke of defeat as it bowed down in submission. The two still didn't get to play for free, however.

"Stupid, cheap garbage. You belong in a garage sale." Heracross said, frustrated. She wiped sweat off her face.

Shedinja just arrived, laughing uncontrollable at the folly.

"Here we discover two common specimens of the meatheads. They have meat for brains, believing that everything can be solved through brute force alone. They get angry often, especially in casinos. Their favorite hobby is destroying slot machines and threatening to beat the owner up when they lose money. Remember kids, don't gamble and eat vegetables to grow strong, rich and smart." Shedinja documented.

Miltank and Heracross boiled up in anger, face erupting in flames.

"*beep*!" Heracross swore as she threw a chair next to the slot machine at Shedinja. Wonder Guard completely invalidated the attack.

"Beat him up!" Miltank shouted, running straight to punch Shedinja. Heracross tried to do the same.

Shedinja shook his head slowly as he absorbed the attacks.

"Kids, if you are watching. Don't be like them. They are bad role models." Shedinja educated genuinely.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Why am I so relaxed? Well, I don't need to win the immunity. Not anytime soon. It will only put a target on my back."

 **Darmanitan:** "The homie needs to be more chill like Drifblim."

 **Heracross:** "I swear I'm going to break his head with a rock tonight."

 **Shedinja:** "Bad parenting probably turns them that way. I got bad parents as well so I'm just trying to help other kids. Eh, feel a bit of sympathy for them." He shrugged.

* * *

After watching Lucario threatened the baggage boy into a big baby, the five discussed how to get inside their rooms.

"Personally, I think we should just persuade him to perform the transaction through credit." Meowth suggested.

"Nah, we should just drug him with the leftovers." Cryogonal disagreed.

"Mr. Stalk has a feeling that we aren't supposed to be in our rooms yet." Farfetch'd stated his opinion.

"I agree. Can't we just forget about Ursaring and find somewhere else to explore?" Aromatisse encouraged, anxiety written on her face. "That barbarian is going to destroy my face."

Duosion considered all of their suggestions, calculating the risk and reward of each option.

At the same time, Bisharp sneaked out of his room with the book. Before he even got the chance to explore the other rooms…

"Tip!" Ursaring chased him out, rolling the cart straight at him. Bisharp scrammed, avoiding the wrath of the baggage boy luckily. He quickly closed the door, keeping Ursaring in the east wing.

"What did you find inside?" Duosion asked bluntly. "I want information so we can help each other to prevent Lucario from winning immunity."

"A book, it gives a fair amount of hints for our challenge. I believe every single room has one." Bisharp answered, holding the book up for view.

"Please share it with us. We all share a mutual goal." Duosion pleaded. Bisharp didn't hesitate to hand the book over. He made up his mind a long time ago to share the book with others.

Everyone surrounded the book except for Farfetch'd, who averted his eyes from the subject of interest. He walked away from the group stealthily, approaching the door that led to basement fourth floor.

Bisharp noticed and called out to him, raising his right eye. "You aren't interested in the book?"

"Mr. Stalk wants the satisfaction of getting the book on his own. I want it too. An easy victory isn't what we want. It is a victory that we can be proud of." Farfetch'd resolved as he left the room.

Everyone was surprised by his actions, even Nosepass and Rhyhorn. The former procrastinated on the couch. The latter glanced around there and then, mostly staring at the wall.

"My, my, what an independent sole proprietor." Meowth commented. Bisharp gazed at the door in a long thoughtful pose, upset.

"Focus everyone." Duosion regained their attention. "Without Farfetch'd, our odds of eliminating Lucario is still high. I suggest that we spread out to collect information and share them with each other." She took charge as a spearhead figure, trying to eliminate Lucario at all costs.

"I will stay here and make sure we won't be missing any clues." Aromatisse volunteered.

"I will go and see what Farfetch'd is up to." Cryogonal headed downstairs.

"I will head upstairs then." Meowth went to the opposite direction.

Bisharp peeped through a small, narrow gap on the door, analyzing Ursaring for potential weaknesses. Duosion watched as Bisharp struggled.

Bisharp clicked his tongue and shook his head a little before opening the door in a flash and stared at Ursaring.

"Tip! Give me tips!" Ursaring yelled furiously, bulldozing toward him. Bisharp slammed the door shut immediately.

"Find anything?" Duosion asked.

"I need some time." Bisharp tapped his chin. "I will check upstairs as well." He told and left. Duosion decided to go with him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I like our little business group that we have here except for… certain partners. They are too smart, they know that I want a bigger share of that profit pie."

 **Aromatisse:** "I don't want to complain but this dirty hotel is the absolute worst. Grit your teeth and struggle through it, Aromatisse. Show them that you aren't only beautiful but strong enough to win the million. I need that money to fix my face."

 **Farfetch'd:** "If I want an easy victory, I would make alliances, backstab other contestants with Mr. Stalk and break my promise. However, I want a victory that I can be proud of, not a hollow one. I can't live with that for the rest of my life."

 **Bisharp:** "Why is he wearing a backpack and vacation uniform as the baggage boy? Something is out of place… especially that flower design on his shirt."

 **Duosion:** "No matter how strong Lucario is, he can't take all of us at once. Zero percent chance."

* * *

Shedinja and Heracross competed against each other in Pika-Fighters, a game where every character belonged in the Pikachu family line. Shedinja chose Surfing Raichu as his character while Heracross picked Pikachu Libre.

As of right now, Heracross was in the lead. She mashed buttons rapidly and randomly, pulling off lucky combos.

"Take this Flying Press!" Heracross announced enthusiastically as her character slammed the Raichu down in a wrestling ring. Miltank cheered from behind.

Shedinja had a different play style, he memorized combos carefully and read his opponent. Heracross rarely blocked, mostly attacking relentlessly. Even though Shedinja's Raichu was sweating with a low amount of HP, he knew a comeback was possible.

Pikachu Libre tried to headbutt the Surfing Raichu. However, Shedinja made a perfect block. This created a huge opening. Shedinja excitedly triggered his special attack.

"Stoked Sparksurfer." Shedinja drawled, returning a special attack of his own. The Raichu surfed to the sky and slid down, electrocuting the Pikachu.

"Damn it!" Heracross banged her controller during the animation. Miltank booed.

"Don't eat too many pancakes, kids. It's not good for your diet. Unless, you want to grow up like this Raichu." Shedinja educated, executing a special combo by a single A button press after the attack animation.

Pikachu Libre got knocked down to the ground, unable to do anything. On the other hand, Surfing Raichu started eating pancakes, recovering its HP.

"Hey, not fair! You cheated." Heracross was now falling behind. Miltank realized this and cheated, stealing Shedinja's controller.

"What?!" Shedinja exclaimed, losing the game.

Shedinja frowned as Heracross celebrated her 'well-deserved' victory (Didn't she just complain about fairness? Hypocrisy at its fineness.), raising her arms up high. Miltank did the same.

"You suck, Shedinja." Heracross insulted like a sore winner. Shedinja felt frustrated, leaving without a word.

"Are you going to leave like this? Sure, you must be scared of a rematch." Heracross mocked.

"Hypocrite…" Shedinja muttered under his breath.

"Homie, want to play the claw machine with me?" Darmanitan invited upon seeing his frustration.

"Fine." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.

Miltank and Heracross played Pika-Fighters against each other. Their play sessions were filled with loud noises, cheering cries and apparently, fairness now that Shedinja left.

Darmanitan and Drifblim spectated as Shedinja played the claw machine. The claw crane dropped down, surrounding a Goomy Plush with its three fingers. It was pretty heavy but the claw was big enough to grip it firmly. The claw slowly rose then stopped haltingly. The plush shook a little as the three stared with anticipation.

The claw hesitated to give away the plush. It didn't want to disappoint its owner. However, it was forced to move to the opening.

"You can do this, homie!" Darmanitan clapped and cheered.

Suddenly, the claw opened and dropped the plush down... missing the opening just barely. Darmanitan gave a disappointed cry as he patted Shedinja's back consolingly.

"You are close." Drifblim uplifted.

"I'm okay." Shedinja assured. "I don't care that much about plushes."

Not too long ago, Farfetch'd entered the arcade to play Prime-Kong. He used Mr. Stalk to press the buttons and move the joystick. In the end, he got a fantastic score.

"Mr. Stalk, you did great." Farfetch'd praised his trusty partner.

Cryogonal entered the casino soon after, looking around for Farfetch'd. However, she redirected her attention to Shedinja immediately.

"Shedinja, how are you doing?" Cryogonal asked.

"Bad." Shedinja answered straightforwardly. Darmanitan looked down on the ground, believing that the plush was the reason. Drifblim listened to the conversation quietly.

"Let's talk outside." Shedinja seemed wary of the Pokemon around him. Cryogonal didn't mind it as the two exited the arcade.

Drifblim frowned and narrowed her eyes at the two before shrugging and finding something else to play.

"Skarmory, Furret, Bronzing, Goomy, Porygon and Aron, why aren't there any variety in these claw machines?" Drifblim complained (about the author's taste).

However, there was one claw machine without any plushes. Rather, it had a treasure box inside. This captured Drifblim's interest instantly.

"I think this involves the challenge somehow." Drifblim speculated as she started playing. However, she kept losing for quite some time.

Outside the arcade…

"I don't know why I'm mad at Heracross and Miltank all of a sudden. I used to be able to easily ignore them." Shedinja released his emotions, sighing.

"Well, it is natural for you to be mad at them. Those jerks bullied you!" Cryogonal didn't understand why the situation seemed so complicated to him.

"Honestly, I don't care. Those meatheads can't do much anyways." Shedinja tried to shrug it off.

"This isn't the right mentality, Shedinja. This is probably why Heracross likes to pick on you." Cryogonal disagreed.

"Yeah, I guess." Shedinja didn't seem convinced. Cryogonal glared at him disapprovingly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Everyone needs to chill. If I win the million, the first thing I will do is giving everyone a chill pill."

 **Heracross:** "I totally destroyed him! That filthy cheater, who says that you can heal in a fighting game? You can only fight and fight. That is how life works."

 **Drifblim:** "All the claw machines are rigged for sure. I tried like twenty times already. Anyways, what were those two talking about? Must they keep it a secret?"

 **Shedinja:** "Heracross isn't my kind of rival. I mean I don't really want a rival anyways. She is just a nuisance."

 **Cryogonal:** "I wonder if I need to deal with Heracross myself. Apparently, Shedinja didn't seem to care. Surprise, surprise."

* * *

Bisharp, Duosion and Meowth decided to separate once they reached the second basement floor. Bisharp took care of the left side, Duosion took care of the right and Meowth ventured straight ahead for the first basement floor.

Bisharp entered the bottom left room. It was pretty small and dark. Water dripped down from the ceiling. Bisharp could only manage to find a mop, a water bucket and cleaning sprays.

More interestingly, Duosion found Ledyba and Scolipede inside the bottom right room. Like everywhere else, the kitchen was dark. Bits of crackers and chips littered across the floor. There was a disorganized prepping table with outdated meat, rotten berries and expired milk, mixing together in a pile of mess. Other than that, we got ourselves a fridge without any electricity. We got a kettle, a frying pan, an oven and a microwave as well. Food entered this place to forever be lost in oblivion.

"What are you two doing inside here?" Duosion asked out of curiosity.

Scolipede's face looked a bit bruised up due to the Solar Blade. "Hiding from Lurantis, that solar freak tried to kill me, literally." He explained.

"I tried to reason with her but that didn't work." Ledyba added. She was completely unharmed.

Duosion nodded. "I get it now. Let me tell you the rules…" Duosion proceeded to tell them the rules in detail.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Weakness? I bet it's the moon for Lurantis. Can't be completely sure though."

* * *

Bisharp exited the room, accidentally overhearing a conversation inside the kitchen. Apparently, the room wasn't soundproof.

"I'm not sure about this whole ganging up on Lucario thing, Duosion." Ledyba expressed her concern.

"Please vote with us. Aren't you scared of Lucario potentially eliminating Scolipede?" Duosion reasoned.

"I don't think Lucario will do that." Ledyba said faithfully. Bisharp stopped listening after he got the gist of it. The dark type advanced forward in the dark, lured by the light.

Bisharp considered skipping the middle room to explore the room after it first. However, the strategist did things in a systematic order. He didn't dare to break his pattern for it would disrupt his organized mindset. In a mystery challenge, you couldn't afford to miss a single room, a single detail unless you were absolutely confident.

In the middle left room, wires coiled themselves over and over like snakes, slithering through small openings on the wall. Amid the darkness, rested a dormant beacon of light called the main electricity control unit. Apparently, it distributed the electricity across the board to all rooms.

Bisharp got closer to the control unit user interface. A power button symbol appeared on the screen. Bisharp touched it and unexpectedly, the screen turned on. Surprisingly, it was a capacitive touch screen. Shockingly, the hotel could afford something like this.

Bisharp inspected the highly-advanced piece of technology. Unfortunately, the control unit required a four colors combination passcode to validate his access.

"Color code?" Bisharp said with a degree of surprise. Usually, Pokemon nowadays used passwords or numbers for security. A color code was rare. Bisharp couldn't exactly guess randomly and hope for the best either. There were too many colors, even obscure ones like xanadu, mikado and amaranth. (They aren't made up.)

Bisharp didn't waste his time to insert random combinations. He was about to move on until the bright, white light of the touch screen illuminated a fixed piece of paper behind the control unit. Bisharp pulled it out in one try. Luckily, it didn't rip into pieces.

Bisharp started to read the following:

"God, it's dark and scary here. Ugh, darkness is just the worst. It is my biggest fear. Luckily, I knew the passcode. That's why I will turn all the lights inside the garden on. Just the garden. The hotel manager is becoming more and more unreasonable lately. All the staff are striking, including me. Tee-hee, this will be fun. Praise the SUN! From Lurantis."

Bisharp lighted up with knowledge. His vision brightened, embarking directly on the written path in his eyes. He didn't hesitate to storm inside the room next door, the garden.

Opening the door in a rather rash manner, Solar Blade edged close to his face. Unlike Scolipede, however, Bisharp got better reflexes. He rotated quickly and pressed the door forward, blocking the attack. Fortunately, Solar Blade didn't pierce through his wooden defense. Therefore, he entered the garden safely.

"I won't share my sunlight with any of you." Lurantis made her ill intentions clear as she charged another Solar Blade. Noticeably, she wore a green floral headband decorated with morning glories and sunflowers.

Bisharp scanned through the area immediately. The garden was pretty small and the ceiling was pretty low, just barely above his head. There were four lightbulbs in total, forming a square pattern. Only sunflowers and morning glories could be seen in pots of plants around Lurantis. They formed a semi-circle around her. Pretty much, the entire place was a mini indoor garden for guests to visit and enjoy a small sense of nature.

Proactively, Bisharp jumped up at the lower right lightbulb, smashing it into pieces with the sharp blade of his helmet.

"Stop!" Lurantis yelled, swinging her solar scythes at Bisharp horizontally. He responded quickly by ducking and kicked a pot of plant at her face.

"You are hurting the flowers!" Lurantis scowled. She targeted Bisharp with a cross slash with her scythes. The move was X Scissor.

Bisharp sidestepped away just in time. He raised his right arm up and smashed the upper right lightbulb.

In a rapid succession, he trampled through the flowers inconsiderately as he struck the upper left lightbulb. The room darkened, leaving a lonely lightbulb to fend for itself.

"You jerk! These flowers have feelings too, you know?!" Lurantis cried in rage, tear falling from her face. She quickly blocked the last lightbulb with all her might.

Bisharp looked guilty for a split second before rationalizing his thoughts. This was a challenge. These interns were hired to put up an act. Flowers- … At the mention of flowers, he was reminded of Jumpluff. This distracted him, creating a huge opening.

Lurantis brought down her wrath upon Bisharp with Solar Blade. The lightbulb lent her the last of its power.

"Gargh!" Bisharp had a grimace of pain as he fell down to his knees, clutching his wounded chest. Lurantis might be a bit slow but she sure dealt a lot of damage.

"You will _pay_ for hurting the flowers." Lurantis said darkly as she charged up her finishing blow.

Bisharp couldn't get up. Was this his end? For sure, the lightbulb wouldn't magically implode or self-destruct. Even when his mobility options were limited, Bisharp didn't give up. He persisted on with that genius mind of his.

Through a last-ditch effort, Bisharp grabbed a nearby flower pot and threw it against the lightbulb. Lurantis had a horrified expression as she was taken completely by surprise. Bisharp smirked as he watched sparks flew.

"No! You-" Before Lurantis was about to finish, she was teleported away. Two things dropped down to the ground. First, a mysterious letter. Second, the floral headband.

"What is that noise?" Scolipede's voice was heard. Bisharp hurriedly snatched the two objects and fled to the previous room, pressed for time. The absolute darkness provided him the stealth he needed to remain undetected.

Scolipede, Ledyba and Duosion checked the garden, barely missing Bisharp.

"Who causes all this mess?" Scolipede wondered, looking around for any clues the culprit left behind.

"Bisharp? He is supposed to explore these parts after all." Duosion threw his name out.

"So, it is him." Scolipede said surely.

"It might be Lurantis. It is too early to start accusing anyone, everyone. Don't do it." Ledyba discouraged.

In the main electricity control room, Bisharp positioned the mysterious letter close to the touch screen so he could read it properly.

"Congratulations, you defeated Lurantis. The color code is _f_ uchsia, _e_ merald, _r_ ed and _n_ avy blue. Oh, here is a special riddle for you: Get first, be _gree_ dy and you die. Remove death and remain _n_ atural to claim light." Bisharp stopped reading and observed the riddle carefully. He noticed a few italic letters.

Bisharp continued. "Hopefully, you got the headband as well. That is your special weapon to win this challenge. If you wear it and a contestant compliments you with the following: 'You are hot like the sun'…" He chuckled, rolling his eyes. "… exact _word for word_ , you will eliminate that contestant from the challenge and take their vote(s)." He gaped for a moment, processing everything.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I think there is no immunity this time around. This is a vote stealing game. If I get at least nine votes, I control the elimination. Then, I can eliminate Lucario. If it is immunity, I'm fine with anyone except Lucario winning. However, votes are harder to control. What if someone like Ledyba or Darmanitan wins and decides to keep Lucario? I can't trust any of the Flygon members. Three Crawdaunt members were eliminated since the merge."

* * *

Bisharp accessed the control unit. Countless colors appeared on the screen in four columns with a text box above. Bisharp scrolled through the list. Fortunately, there was a description for each color or else this would be extremely difficult. Bisharp didn't know the looks of all the colors.

After some time, Bisharp inputted all the four colors in order successfully. However, the security system didn't grant him access yet. A question appeared.

"What is Lurantis' favorite color?" Bisharp read, confused. How was he supposed to know? Suddenly, the riddle came to mind.

Bisharp practiced solving puzzles before. This shouldn't be too difficult.

"Fuchsia for F… Fern… Greedy but don't die. Remove the d and y. Natural… N. Fern Green is the answer." Bisharp grinned proudly, he was greatly satisfied with his accomplishment.

He gave his answer confidently to the control unit. The result was…

The screen changed. A map of the entire hotel appeared. There were four floors in total. Basement first floor through basement fourth floor. Each room was highlighted either black or yellow. Black meant the lights were off and yellow meant the lights were on. Not only did Bisharp has the ability to control light, he also got more information.

The map revealed the location of all the interns. Eight in total, Raticate and Alakazam didn't participate. Druddigon was in the west wing. Shiinotic was in the room after the slot machines. Wimpod was in the library. It located opposite to the room he was currently in. The upper right room in the second basement floor also had Palossand. Snorlax blocked the entrance to the first basement floor, where Smeargle's studio was.

Bisharp memorized everything before he made his next move. Bisharp pressed the user tab and changed the color code. He chose amaranth, amethyst, xanadu and mikado as the four colors. Furthermore, he changed the question from Lurantis' favorite color to 'Access Denied' to cause confusion. The answer for this non-question was black. Once he finished typing on the touch screen keyboard, he logged off and left the room quietly.

Bisharp didn't bother turning any lights on. He worked in the dark as he put the headband on his head. It fitted awkwardly on the middle of his double axe blade. He looked much more feminine and funny to look at. Hey, at least, he could eliminate other contestants now.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** He adjusted the floral headband a bit, turning to the camera with slight embarrassment. "Time for sharing information is over. From now on, I work solo as well. My company sure won't be missed." Despite the serious tone, he couldn't be taken seriously with the headband on. "While it is quite humiliating and pride damaging to put this accessory on, I will sooner or later compete in a gardening contest. Therefore, this is inevitable."

* * *

Meowth frowned as he stepped on the debris. The cat dusted his feet off as he reached the door at the end of the dark hallway.

"My, my, this place requires demolition rather than renovation." Meowth castigated.

He soon opened the door and smiled slightly at the sight of red carpet on circular stairs, leading to the top floor.

"Maybe I will give this poor hotel a chance." Meowth changed his mind. He strode up with style, holding his hands behind his back as he brushed his feet clean on the carpet. Once he was about to reach the door at the end, he spun around stylishly to the door and bowed his head down with his right hand on his waist and his left hand behind his back.

"Welcome Mr. Meowth, to your new business empire. Having your presence here grace us with prosperity. We are forever indebted and eternally grateful." Meowth acted before he spun back to his original position.

"Goodness, such great greeting and service. I will tip you 100,000 P in credit." Meowth gifted, before spinning back.

"Thank you, a million times! Sir, you as a benevolent as an angel. Majestic as a king. Deserving to be the richest businessman in this world." Meowth exaggerated before he stopped his little play, lifting his head up. He fiddled with his claws as he eyed how sharp they were.

"I didn't come to this inadequate island to play games. No, it's all for the sake of business. I invested so much time and energy into this risky venture. I won't leave without lucrative profit. Failure is unacceptable. None of those commoners shall take victory away from me. I'm the great heir of a multi-billion company. No competition is too much for me to chew. I put so many competing businesses out of business and this time, it will be the same." Meowth finished his monologue.

Meowth's calm exterior contrasted greatly with his enraged interior. For a rich heir like him to stoop so low as to sleep on an uncomfortable bed, eat crappy food and deal with ungrateful customers like Dedenne, it required a lot of tolerance.

Tolerance was Meowth's unique selling point, it made him stand out from other heirs and heiresses. While Eevee whined and treated others like servants, Meowth actively helped out in challenges and socialized with others. Meowth's tolerance was tested time and time again. Each time, Meowth questioned his resolve.

It wasn't like he was a complete corporate monster like Dedenne or Scolipede made him out to be either. Meowth cared about his customers, especially their money. But, was it so wrong to prioritize money?

Meowth got a gigantic, prosperous company with thousands of employees. All of them expected him to maintain the success for the next generation. No, he couldn't fail them as the chosen heir out of his brothers and sisters. The pressure on his shoulders was no different than Bisharp's. Failure was purely unacceptable.

At last, Meowth turned the door open to meet a big and fat surprise. Snorlax blocked his way. The intern happily savored chips, chocolate, gummies, dried and roasted seaweed alongside other snacks.

"Yummy." Snorlax licked his lips before he consumed a slice of pizza.

"My lovely customer, what brings you here? May I ask you to move slightly so I can pass through?" Meowth asked politely.

"No!" Snorlax shouted with food in his mouth, sending some of it at Meowth's face. The businessman kept up a fake smile as he wiped the food off.

"Oh my, you certainly got many snacks. What is your favorite and least favorite? Please explain why as well. I'm conducting a research on customer satisfaction." Meowth surveyed.

"I hate my manager's favorite drink. Stupid bitter tea! His taste sucks." Snorlax insulted.

"I see… Anything else?" Meowth nodded, noting it down.

"Shut up, I'm enjoying my food!" Snorlax replied rudely.

"Can I get a closer look at your collection of snacks?" Meowth stretched his hand out for a bag of potato chips but Snorlax slapped his hand away. Meowth groaned but quickly forced a smile back on his face.

"Pleasure conducting a survey with you." Meowth bid his farewell politely as he closed the door.

Meowth seethed with anger, clencing his fists. He breathed quickly, each burst of air helped him to calm down.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "What kind of insolent customer does that to me? _Unacceptable_." He sounded malicious at the end.

* * *

Nosepass stuffed leftover cereal into his bag of chips. Inside the bag, he wrote his phone number (censored again by our host). Was he trying to copy what Hickery-o did?

The bag of chips had variety and quantity but the quality was unspeakably horrendous. Even though Nosepass handpicked the best Oran Berries (the ones that still looked blue) and mixed it with chips that weren't burned, it was still revolting to the very core.

Ancient chocolate bars landed on top of a green mushy puree substance. Corrosive lollipops were ready to annihilate someone's teeth. A bone gave off a bizarre smell with little to no meat. For the well-being of the viewers, Skarmory censored most of this dubious food thing. (Wait, I described it… Hope that you haven't lost your appetite.)

What Nosepass mixed together wasn't food but a method of murder. Was he trying to kill someone?

Nosepass grabbed the bag and headed to the restroom, humming to himself. Along the way, he caught sight of Rhyhorn heading to the east wing.

Nosepass averted his eyes immediately. He wanted to make things up with Rhyhorn… eventually. The guy meant a lot to him. However, Nosepass didn't dare to do it. He felt scared, submitting to cowardice once again.

Nosepass wanted many answers from his 'big brother'. However, he could only assume and guess hopelessly as he felt a sense of inferiority around others. Nosepass felt threatened as the weakest around here. Even Tyrunt was stronger than him, Larvitar too.

The coward entered the restroom. Inside there, he practiced confessing his love to Hickery-o. Unfortunately, he stuttered often and lacked confidence. His voice and body language showed it all. Worst of all, his 'gift' was… not something anyone would give to their love interest. (Obviously, Nosepass will find something better when the time comes.)

Rhyhorn entered the east wing. Obviously, Ursaring didn't welcome him with open arms.

"Tip!" Ursaring repeated the same word once again. The baggage boy rammed the cart at Rhyhorn but the rocky rhino wasn't fazed at all.

Not giving up, the bear repeatedly rammed the cart straight against him. However, it was a futile effort as Rhyhorn wasn't damaged one bit. Ursaring panted after attacking him with the cart for the twentieth time.

"Just go to your room." Ursaring sighed in defeat. Rhyhorn got access to his room and more information the hard way. He could just ask Aromatisse for the information, you know? She was still outside, sitting on the couch. Perhaps, Rhyhorn really wanted to distance himself from everyone.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I change the location to here. The restroom smells really bad. Alright, I will start now. Um… er, I-I" He coughed. "I r-really like you and I believe you f-feel the s-same." He sighed and dropped his head down. "Why is it so difficult? I managed to lie about going on a date but I can't do this simple task?" He groaned in frustration.

* * *

Bisharp went down to check on the third basement floor. His plan was to alternate between defeating interns and eliminating the contestants. He knew very well that opportunities wouldn't wait for him. When the tide rose, fetch the water. When the tide fell, collect the Pyukumuku. A real strategist operated like this.

Bisharp marked his first victim, Aromatisse. She was all alone since Nosepass was in the confessional and Rhyhorn was inside his room. Strangely, Lucario remained in his room.

Bisharp acted natural, walking ordinarily to her. Aromatisse lifted her eyes at him, giggling because of his new appearance.

"Bisharp, why are you wearing that? I never thought that you have a fetish for floral fashion." Aromatisse alliterated. "Did Jumpluff recommend it to you?"

"Yes, you are correct." Bisharp went along with it, keeping up the act. He didn't show any signs of embarrassment. "Jumpluff wanted me to experience a new kind of fashion. I will appreciate it very much if you say you are hot like the sun to me. I want some sort of reassurance to build up my confidence." He was a bit flustered near the end.

Aromatisse continued to laugh a bit before she stopped. Bisharp stared at her impatiently.

"Fine. Since I know very well how it feels to be uncomfortable with your appearance, I will help. Bisharp, you are hot like the sun. There, good?" Aromatisse fell for it.

Bisharp only gave her a smirk. Aromatisse raised her eyebrows. She was about to ask him something. However, she suddenly got teleported away.

"Aromatisse eliminated!" Skarmory broadcasted throughout the entire hotel. Bisharp was caught by surprise.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "The letter said nothing about this…"

 **Aromatisse:** "He came up with a good lie but I don't like how personal he made it to be. I really thought that he was being honest. It hurts to feel tricked like this. Did he think that because I'm now ugly, I will compliment any men? Do I look that easy and desperate to him?" She sighed. "I'm probably taking it too far. Still, it hurts. I don't usually compliment the appearance of men. That was one rare exception."

* * *

Meowth headed down to the second basement floor. He opened the nearest left door from his perspective. (Left and right got changed.)

The room was pretty big, twice the size of the garden. The wallpapers were varied from side to side. Started from the ceiling, the wallpaper had clouds on a blue background, simulating the sky. The north showed a vast and empty ocean. The west and east both had a beach area with umbrellas, seashells, palm trees and inflatable tubes. The south illustrated a grand sandcastle with two tower arms and a shovel on its head. The door that Meowth opened was considered to be the mouth.

The entire floor was made of sand. In the middle, there was a swimming pool with a ladder to the right side.

Meowth closed the door as he had no business there. Seemingly, he was looking for something.

The next room, the library, got exactly just that. Meowth found Duosion, Scolipede and Ledyba inside. The three of them sat around a table in the middle. None of them read any books. It was too dark to read anyways. Meowth squinted around at his surroundings.

The library cramped full of books. If we removed all of the bookshelves and reading tables, it would have a lot of space. The bookshelves were tall and thick, pushing the limits of the ceiling. Books organized themselves properly in rows. It was a well organized place but perhaps a bit too narrow and limited with the number of books and reading tables.

Meowth maneuvered his way to the three. "My knowledgable acquantances, may I ask where the kitchen is?" Meowth asked politely, flattering them.

Scolipede narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Duosion had a similar expression. Why would Meowth suddenly ask about the kitchen? How did he even know that there was one without knowing the location? Ledyba, however…

"The room next door. Head out, turn left and you will see it." Ledyba informed.

"Thank you very much." Meowth thanked before he left. Ledyba smiled contently. Duosion and Scolipede gave her disapproving looks.

"What? He is our friend." Ledyba didn't understand.

"Yeah, but you trust him way too easily. He is probably trying to win the immunity for himself." Scolipede told.

"Aren't we all trying to win?" Ledyba pointed out.

"That is correct. However, in this case, we all have the same goal. That is to eliminate Lucario." Duosion explained.

"Then, why can't Meowth win? We can still eliminate Lucario that way." Ledyba couldn't comprehend their contradicting logic.

Duosion and Scolipede glanced at each other, signaling each other to say something.

"Both of you need to trust Meowth a bit more. He is our friend. One of you is my boyfriend and the other is a close friend of mine. I'm disappointed in both of you." Ledyba scolded.

Scolipede looked hurt while Duosion was dumbfounded.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I love my loyal customers. However, it seems like some aren't so loyal after all."

 **Scolipede:** "Is she mad at me? What am I supposed to do to make up for it now?"

 **Duosion:** "I don't want to be blunt and say that I hold grudges against Meowth for voting Houndour off."

 **Ledyba:** "No, they shouldn't distrust him. Poor Meowth, what will he do now? I should check on him later, he probably feels hurt."

* * *

Drifblim slapped the joystick furiously after failing time and time again. She started to become obsessed with the treasure box inside the claw machine. She yearned for that feeling of victory.

"Skarmory rigged this damn thing. I tried for like fifty times already. This is no longer funny." Drifblim vented off her frustration. She tried one more time, positioning the claw above the treasure box. Sadly, the claw couldn't even lift it up.

Drifblim rage quitted as she slammed the window of the machine and left.

"Aromatisse eliminated!" Drifblim heard the announcement and lightened up.

"Now, things are getting more interesting. Hopefully, this challenge lives up to my expectation unlike your stupid claw machines, Skarmory." Drifblim complained as she left the arcade to investigate the reason behind Aromatisse's elimination.

"Girl, let's go and check." Miltank invited Heracross, both of them soon left the arcade as well.

"What happened to her? Aromatisse is upstairs, we should go as well." Cryogonal encouraged. Shedinja reluctantly followed her.

"I will chill here, homies." Darmanitan didn't follow the others, touring the place a bit more instead.

He spotted Farfetch'd trying the claw machine that Drifblim rage quitted.

"You can do this, homie." Darmanitan cheered as Farfetch'd used Mr. Stalk to move the joystick.

"Of course, Mr. Stalk is also a claw machine expert. He won many plushes, whether big or small. We give all of it to unlucky Pokemon out there." Farfetch'd showed off, pressing the button confidently with his leek stalk.

The claw crane descended and clutched the treasure box firmly before rising up. The claw wanted to drop the treasure but the sight of a claw machine expert intimidated it. The claw gulped as it obediently freed the treasure box down the opening. (Too much personification, the claw isn't alive, or is it? Mr. Stalk isn't alive too, right?)

"Woo! You did it, homie." Darmanitan applauded.

"Claw machines are always scared of Mr. Stalk. That's why he always wins." Farfetch'd said with superstition.

"Really, homie?" Darmanitan scratched his head, not understanding what the hell Farfetch'd was talking about.

Farfetch'd opened the treasure box. Inside, there was a small silver key.

"Mr. Stalk, where should we use this?" Farfetch'd discussed with a 'non-living' object.

"Homie, like there is a locked door in the casino. I can take you there." Darmanitan offered.

"Right. Although, Mr. Stalk already knew that." Farfetch'd deemed it as unnecessary.

"Okay. Your way, homie." Darmanitan seemed a bit weirded out.

Farfetch'd and Darmanitan reached the door at the far end of the slot machines. The duck inserted the key inside the keyhole and turned to unlock the door.

The room inside was rather poorly lit. A lone lamp lightened up the surroundings as much as it could. Luckily, the light passed through the door, supporting it with the much-needed power. The walls hung arms, legs, tails and body parts of many Pokemon like Charizard, Pikachu and much more. They were obviously artificial but the contestants didn't know that. Some could be fooled. Darmanitan looked a bit horrified but stayed chill.

There was a green table with a deck of cards. Behind it was a chair made out of Flareon's skin (artificial). It included wheels as well. A certain mushroom Pokemon sat on it. Shiinotic wore a short red and black dress. The dress barely covered the pink lower half of her body. Noticeably, numbers were written on the dress like the roulette. The dress had a pattern of switching between the black and red color, both were deadly. It also got green frills near the bottom and top. Moreover, she wore a black hat with an ace of spade card piercing through it.

Red heels fitted her feet perfectly. Shiinotic placed her legs on table, crossing them. She didn't care that she might look immodest in the eyes of the camera. Worst of all, she got a cigarette in her mouth. A lighter was in her right hand.

"Homie, don't smoke. It's not good for your health." Darmanitan warned. Shiinotic scoffed as she put the cigarette and lighter away. She removed her feet from the table as well, staring coldly at the two for a moment.

"You two have done well to make it this far. However, everything that you love, hold dear, possess…" Shiinotic set her sights on Mr. Stalk. Farfetch'd gripped his trusty partner tighter and glared at her. "…will be mine." Her voice hid hostility and aggression yet it was calm. Not in an overconfident manner but rather a threatening way.

Shiinotic got up from her seat and paced around. The two seemed confused. They didn't even know the objective of their challenge.

"You two seem confused. Allow me to light up your minds in flames of terror…" Shiinotic swiftly lighted up a fire in front of their eyes with a lighter. Her long, thin arms moved extremely fast. Too fast for Pokemon with normal vision to see.

"…before your untimely demise. You see, I worked here for several years. Every day was the same. I risked my life, gambling to earn money for this *beep* hotel." Her tone got darker and darker. "Without any money, I gambled with my body parts, loved ones and even my… virginity."

Darmanitan and Farfetch'd were petrified.

"I never lost even once. How? I cheated, of course. Luckily, no one realized that or else I wouldn't live. Here comes the cruel part. After all I did, you obviously expect me to be rewarded handsomely. However, that *beep* hotel manager. He paid me as much as he paid a *beep* baggage boy! What a sick joke that was. Everything I did..." Shiinotic started crying. "…was all for nothing!" She cried out in rage.

"It's okay, homie. Everything will be alright." Darmanitan consoled with sympathy.

Shiinotic snapped. "Fool! You are in no position to console me for I will destroy you and sell your body parts in a black market. Let's gamble. If you win, I will give you 100,000 P." She lifted up a heavy treasure chest overflowing with coins and placed it down on the table. Farfetch'd and Darmanitan were astonished.

"However, if you lose…" Shiinotic's eyes were brutal and merciless. "You will need to give me your body part!" Shiinotic grabbed a knife hidden in her dress and stabbed it down her table deeply with a loud piercing sound.

Darmanitan was about to wet himself while Farfetch'd raised his guard, holding Mr. Stalk in a defensive position.

"Homie, let's settle this peacefully." Darmanitan pacified.

"Mr. Stalk rejects the challenge." Farfetch'd didn't want to compete either.

"How about you gamble with that leek stalk instead, Farfetch'd?" Shiinotic adjusted the deal.

"No, not even for one million P. Mr. Stalk is priceless." Farfetch'd was unwavered by the temptations of money.

"Fine, cowards. Play it safe then. I will give you 1,000 P if you win but you will only get eliminated from the challenge if you lose. Fair?" Shiinotic said in an annoyed tone. She had no respect for cowards that were too scared to either go big or go home.

"No, homie. I just want to chill. Like, I don't even understand the point of this challenge. Are we supposed to find the hotel manager for the immunity or something?" Darmanitan didn't get the rules.

"Mr. Stalk doesn't accept the challenge. He hates the way you act, degrading him as if he is some sort of object." Farfetch'd refused stubbornly. Shiinotic groaned.

"Get out! I have no room for sissies like you two. What a waste of my time." Shiinotic chased them out of her room with the knife. (Don't worry, she is well trained. None of the contestants will die.)

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "That shroom homie needs to chill. Don't swing a knife, fly a kite instead. It is a much more chill activity."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk is priceless. I will never sell, gamble or trade him for anything."

* * *

Bisharp was alarmed by the announcement. He quickly threw his headband away toward the receptionist counter and acted natural, thinking of a plausible plan.

Nosepass exited the confessional fearfully, expecting a monster to suddenly eliminate him. However, he only met a gaping Bisharp. The strategist tried to look bewildered by the 'strange' occurrence.

"What happened?" Nosepass asked, clinging to the door of the confessional. He prepared himself mentally to flee.

"Aromatisse suddenly got eliminated." Bisharp said in a confused tone. "I don't understand."

"There you are, Bisharp. I'm wondering where you have been the entire time." Duosion floated downstairs with Ledyba and Scolipede. She gave Bisharp a doubtful, suspicious look.

"What did you do in the garden? Explain yourself." Scolipede interrogated.

"Glad to see all of you. I beat Lurantis and got a clue. It led me here." Bisharp answered, sounding confident. Only Ledyba was convinced.

Other contestants from the fourth basement floor started to arrive. They all wondered about what really happened.

"Is Bisharp the suspect? He seems _surrounded_." Drifblim indicated. Bisharp sweated slightly.

"What is going on?" Cryogonal addressed Duosion with eye contact.

"Bisharp caused a commotion upstairs and Lurantis disappeared. Now, Aromatisse as well. It is in the realm of possibility for him to get a secret mission by Skarmory to be a spy." Duosion accused.

"A spy?" Bisharp looked offended, scoffing at the accusation. "Ridiculous. Where is your evidence?"

"I'm only stating a possibility, Bisharp. You seem defensive." Duosion edged Bisharp closer to the corner. The other contestants gave him distrustful looks.

"You done goof, tell me what this dang challenge is about!" Heracross demanded.

"No one ain't eliminating me. Spy, you will taste my fists!" Miltank threatened, stretching her muscles.

"Another spy challenge? Wonderful, Skarmory. Although, you should choose a better one." Drifblim criticized.

"I'm the spy once and nobody cares. Special treatment, I will gladly take it." Shedinja whispered to Cryogonal, she rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly.

"Thanks for hitting me on the head fair and square, both you and Chef Drapion." Cryogonal replied sarcastically.

"You can't trick me. I got my eyes on you." Scolipede didn't leave Bisharp out of his sight.

"Get rid of him now. I'm scared." Nosepass voiced his opinion as well.

"Confess now, Bisharp. That is your best move." Duosion suggested. Bisharp was now truly cornered, both figuratively and literally against the receptionist counter. How was he supposed to slide away from this mess?

"Stop, everyone!" Ledyba yelled, turning all eyes onto her. "Are we really treating him like a guilty prisoner before we even have evidence?"

Bisharp grinned at his luck. He couldn't believe that Ledyba defended him. A wrong but beneficial decision. Bisharp didn't have Ledyba and her friends in mind for elimination yet.

"His body language is evidence." Duosion interrupted.

"Are you one hundred percent sure? Duosion, if the court jumps into conclusion like that, the statistics of false prisoners will also increase, am I right?" Ledyba countered.

"Yes, but your example isn't comparable to our situation. I'm merely-" Duosion got cut off.

"Aren't we all in the same boat? We are all targeting Lucario, aren't we? I join the group now but I will leave if we continue to throw names around like this. Give him a chance to defend himself." Ledyba asserted, becoming the center of attention instead of Bisharp.

"I don't want another pipsqueak. Annoying as hell." Miltank grumbled. Heracross nodded in agreement.

"Wow, that's brave." Nosepass felt ashamed.

Ledyba didn't regret what she did. However, she seemed awfully crestfallen for some reason. This situation reminded her of something she wanted to forget.

"Are you alright?" Scolipede asked with concern. "I'm sorry for being such a horrible boyfriend. From now on, I will promise to trust others more even if they hurt me like that Octillery." He apologized, looking down on the ground. He seemed very sincere.

"It's okay, Scolipede. Cheer up." Ledyba assured Scolipede that she wasn't really mad at him. The latter looked a lot more relieved.

In the meantime, Bisharp successfully came up with a logical argument in his favor. He utilized the opportunity effectively and productively.

"Everyone, let me explain." Bisharp attracted their attention. "Please trust me on this one. After I beat Lurantis-" He was interrupted.

"Can someone freaking tell me the rule of this challenge first?" Heracross asked. Many Pokemon with rooms in the west wing agreed.

"Alright, let me explain. I'm pretty sure we are all going after Lucario. It is still pretty vague though." Duosion explained everything she knew and the others got a rough idea of the challenge.

"Find interns, beat them up and get stuff. Got it." Miltank nodded her head.

"Odd, Skarmory should've granted some sort of access to the west wing. How unprofessional." Drifblim criticized.

"Like I was saying, I beat Lurantis and got a hint. A riddle to be exact. Perhaps, I could have shared it with everyone sooner but I wanted to investigate first. The riddle mentioned something about be greedy and you die. I thought that it refers to the food so I came down to check. There, I witnessed Aromatisse unawaringly eating some Oran Berries and chips. Afterwards, she was eliminated." Bisharp pointed to the snack table. "See? Some food was eaten."

The others observed the table and it was exactly like Bisharp said. The story seemed believable, but not to everyone.

Nosepass wasn't sure how much food he took. He never ate any technically. He tasted an obsolete Oran Berry and puked it out immediately. Perhaps, that didn't count.

"Hey, I drank milk and I'm fine." Heracross stated.

"Perhaps, only certain food items eliminate you." Bisharp lied. There were many holes in his story but it was the best that he could come up with in a short span of time. Bisharp preffered if he didn't resort to revealing the truth. That would break their coalition against Lucario.

Sure, Bisharp could share everything with everyone and maybe that was the best way to eliminate Lucario. However, Bisharp got his personal objective as well. He wanted to prove himself to his parents. Bisharp knew his days were numbered and the odds of him winning weren't that great. Many saw him as a strategic threat. At the very least, he wanted to win this challenge.

"I believe you, Bisharp." Ledyba trusted him. "Everyone, don't you agree?" She said sweetly. Most agreed to spare Bisharp for now since they didn't have a concrete evidence. Perhaps, Bisharp was really innocent… not really. Duosion still suspected him.

Out of the door came a rushing Darmanitan, panting and sweating with a terrified expression.

"Homies, that hot-head Shiinotic nearly killed me. Go down there at your own risk. I'm outta here!" Darmanitan told before he fled upstairs. Many contestants fretted in fear. Darmanitan was usually chill. Something really terrifying must freaked him out.

"Let's check, everyone. I'm pretty sure Darmanitan is just exaggerating. It will be exciting." Drifblim encouraged fearlessly.

"Yeah, I ain't scared of some intern." Miltank folded her arms, looking brave.

"Beat her up and take her stuff. That's our mission." Heracross reminded.

"I prefer to see the situation with own eyes first." Duosion decided to head down as well.

Scolipede and Ledyba followed the group, holding each other close. Cryogonal and Shedinja followed soon after. Bisharp retrieved his headband and headed upstairs. Nosepass was too busy cowering in fear to notice.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I need to be more careful next time. If it wasn't for Ledyba, I'm done for. The best way to eliminate the other contestants is to single them out, which means I need to operate alone for the most part."

 **Ledyba:** "It feels really nice and warm to defend Bisharp. I want to feel this kind of feeling again. I know that if I think positive and do good, nice things will happen to me." She masked a speck of sadness with her upbeat and optimistic face.

 **Scolipede:** "My relationship comes first. Even if Bisharp really did eliminate Aromatisse, I no longer care."

 **Drifblim:** "This is a game show. Darmanitan is such a scaredy-cat. None of the interns will hurt us badly."

 **Nosepass:** "If Darmanitan is scared, I will be scared. If anyone is scared, I'm also scared. I'm the biggest coward around here. What am I going to do?" He trembled.

 **Duosion:** "I want to compare the reward from Shiinotic to the reward from Lurantis. If what Bisharp said is the truth, it is very probable for us to get some sort of riddle.

 **Darmanitan:** "I want to open a meditation class and teach everyone how to chill. Especially Shiinotic and Lucario."

 **Shedinja:** "Shiinotic will kill me? I'm already a ghost. Death doesn't scare me much."

 **Heracross:** "Most of the interns are weak, really. Not many can beat us."

* * *

Meowth heard the announcement. However, instead of going downstairs to investigate, he took the opportunity to brew tea for his customer instead. Scolipede and Duosion seemed suspicious of him. The businessman would take care of them later.

In his right hand was a cup of bitter tea. It was steeped and heated for too long.

Meowth opened the door and greeted Snorlax, hiding the cup behind his back. "Dear customer, I got a special delicacy for you."

"Give me, gimme." Snorlax salivated.

"Oh, close your eyes first." Meowth instructed.

"Ah…" Snorlax opened his mouth widely and gullibly. Meowth shoved the entire cup down his throat with sadistic eyes.

"This isn't your order? Too bad." Meowth watched as Snorlax flailed his arms and vomitted, feeling satisfied. Each droplet of tea burned through his stomach.

"Ack! Bitter tea." Snorlax got teleported away alongside most of his snacks. The only thing left was a small bag of cookies with a note attached.

"Give a cookie to other contestants. If they eat one, they are eliminated from the challenge. You will also receive their vote(s). Interesting." Meowth commented before he shredded the note into pieces, destroying the evidence. He then checked the brown bag of cookies. It got three chocolate chip cookies in total.

Meowth smirked as he headed downstairs, searching for potential customers. Along his way down, he met a panicking Darmanitan around the second basement floor.

"Homie, Shiinotic is crazy!" Darmanitan passed the message around, eyeing the bag with curiosity. "What is inside that bag?" He pointed.

"Oh, a special treat for my loyal customer. Want one?" Meowth offered, holding one in front of his face temptingly.

"Yeah, homie." Darmanitan accepted it. Meowth beamed as he was about to put it inside his mouth until…

"Wait, is it sugar free?" Darmanitan stopped momentarily.

"Of course. Don't worry." Meowth assured. Darmanitan got his tongue ready to taste the sweet treat. Unexpectedly…

"Am I hot like the sun, Darmanitan?" Bisharp asked, appearing out of the dark. He wore the headband.

Darmanitan turned around to face Bisharp as Meowth was overwhelmed by shock.

"Homie, you are chill like the moon." Darmanitan complimented with a thumb up before taking a bite of the cookie. He then got teleported away. Bisharp widened his eyes, not expecting this kind of outcome.

"Darmanitan eliminated!" Skarmory announced.

Meowth and Bisharp stared at each other, squinting their eyes.

"My dear customer, don't tell the others and I will do the same. Deal?" Meowth offered a truce.

"Deal." Bisharp accepted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "For sure I can't eliminate Meowth with the headband. I need to find a different item."

 **Meowth:** "Bisharp, I will spare you with chump change for now. However, I got unfinished business with you…"

 **Darmanitan:** "Hey! The cookie isn't sugar free. I don't want to be hyper because of sweets. I want to be chill like the moon."

* * *

Most of the contestants approached the dealer's room, Shiinotic's location.

"Gamble your body part for 100,000 P! Alternatively, risk getting eliminated for 1,000 P!" Shiinotic shouted loudly and clearly.

"I'm a ghost. How am I supposed to gamble my body parts?" Shedinja pointed out.

"You can sign this slavery contract instead. If you lose, you will work as a slave for the rest of your life." Shiinotic was well prepared. She placed an actual slavery contract on the table. Drifblim looked very impressed.

"Shedinja, why don't you work as a slave? Pretty sure it pays more than your crappy job, burger flipping, convenience store boy. Hahaha…" Heracross mocked. Miltank snorted at this and the two exchanged a hi-five. Shedinja looked unamused.

"Shut the *beep* up, jerks!" Cryogonal swore, swinging her snow chains furiously. Ledyba covered her mouth in surprise. She didn't expect her friend to have such a fury tantrum.

"Chill like the homie boy, girl. Are you in heat? Because it certainly looks like it from how you burn up in anger everytime we tease Shedinja. I can introduce you to a few female Rapidash friends, you know? They can help you with your… Oh wait, you are genderless. Hahaha!" Miltank made fun of her genderless nature and ice typing. Heracross and Miltank exchanged another hi-five.

Cryogonal was about to violate the minimal violence rule until Shiinotic got in between them.

"Follow the casino rules. No violence. If you have a problem, I suggest that you four settle it in Shiinotic Shuffle." Shiinotic recommended.

"Shiinotic Shuffle? What do you mean?" Heracross questioned.

"This game is very simple. Each of you start with a deck of twenty cards, including one ace. You shuffle and hide the ace inside your deck. Then, you take turns removing each card from your opponent's hand. The last player standing wins. Two players will compete alongside me. The two will gamble by betting their friends. If the gambler loses, the friend will be eliminated from the challenge instead. Interested?" Shiinotic explained.

"Why do we need to bet our friends? That's ridiculous." Ledyba protested.

"It is more fun that way. As a gambler, I bet these three things: body parts, virginity and loved ones." Shiinotic signified with her three fingers. Ledyba looked vexed upon hearing.

"I accept. I will bet with Miltank" Heracross didn't hesitate after a short discussion with her friend. Miltank looked very confident.

"Beat them all up, girl." Miltank cheered.

"Shedinja, bet me." Cryogonal gave him an assuring gaze.

"Fine." Shedinja sighed. Shiinotic smirked after they accepted her challenge. Foolish contestants...

The intern showed them a bag filled with coins. "In total, 1,000 P. Only if you win, of course. If I win, I take both of your _loved ones_."

"Yeah, as if you can win." Heracross had a cocky attitude for some reason. Shiinotic Shuffle was a game of luck. Did she have a plan?

"Just start already." Shedinja said impatiently.

"First things first, spectators, please leave." Shiinotic instructed.

"Why?" Scolipede asked. "I want to spectate."

"We have strict rules and guidelines here. Cheating is punishable by death." Shiinotic sounded serious. Scolipede didn't argue any further. Unwise, especially when she got a knife.

The other contestants left, murmuring among themselves.

"The game may proceed." Shiinotic initiated. She handed out the decks to each player and gestured for them to shuffle, both obeyed.

Heracross got a smug grin as she shuffled her cards without looking, trying to daunt Shedinja. The ghost bug shuffled sluggishly. He didn't seem interested in this gambling business.

"Roll the dice to see who starts first." Shiinotic rolled and got an eleven. Shedinja just dropped them down and got double ones. Heracross sneered before rolling as well. She got a three and frowned.

"At least better than you." Heracross tried to think positive. Shedinja seemed tired of her presence. He wouldn't bother her if she didn't bother him in the first place.

"I will pick one of you. Shedinja, show me your hand." Shiinotic chose randomly. Heracross seemed satisfied.

"You can do this, Shedinja." Cryogonal cheered from outside.

"Boo, lose." Miltank gave a thumb down. She earned looks from other contestants but quickly ignored them.

Shedinja was burdened by this gamble. He wanted to opt out of it at first but something was on the line here. If he didn't compete, Heracross will bug him. If he did and lose, Heracross will insult him. If he did and win, Heracross will get her revenge. He was in a lose-lose position no matter what.

Shiinotic waggled her long finger before picking the sixth card from the left. Shedinja only showed apathy.

Scolipede, Duosion and Drifblim observed from a distance. They checked to see if Shiinotic was cheating or not. Honestly, none of them could tell. No scratch marks, no hidden cameras.

Shiinotic flipped the card over slowly…

Cryogonal bit her snow chains nervously…

Heracross and Miltank wished for the worst…

Shedinja averted his eyes…

The card was an ace.

"Yes!" Heracross jumped up in joy. "Suck it, Shedinja."

Cryogonal shuddered before warping somewhere. Shedinja looked disappointed in himself.

The other contestants wondered whether he was unlucky or Shiinotic cheated.

"My turn now, right?" Heracross asked energeticly and eagerly.

"Yes." Shiinotic answered with a poker face.

"Can I check your deck? Just want to make sure." Heracross requested with a sneaky smile.

Shiinotic handed her deck over since she could shuffle it afterwards anyways. Heracross 'clumsily' dropped it down on the ground.

"Oops, sorry." Heracross apologized, collecting it up. Shiinotic glared at her.

The beetle eyed her oppenent's ace and secretly scratched it against the edge of the table. She then handed the entire deck back with an 'innocent' face. However, it didn't work. Shiinotic positioned the knife close to Heracross' neck in a flash.

"Do you think it's funny? Cheating in a game of life and death." Shiinotic asked sharply.

"Girl, calm down. What did I do?" Heracross acted innocent.

"Yeah, she did nothing wrong." Miltank supported.

"I guess scratching the back of the card isn't cheating then." Shedinja exposed.

"You!" Heracross gritted her teeth, casting him a despicable glare. She returned her eyes to Shiinotic, sweating down her vulnerable neck.

"If this is a real casino. You would have been dead." Shiinotic pulled the knife back as Miltank got teleported away. Heracross got disqualified, gulping quietly.

The spectators were intimidated by Shiinotic. Her acting skill easily got an A plus. (Or S, for alliteration purposes.)

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Tsk, stupid shroom head. Thinking that she is big stuff." She muttered. "On the streets, gambling riots over the place. Pokemon play tricks to steal other poor souls' money all the time. I know a few tricks. Only if that stupid Shedinja didn't expose me…"

 **Cryogonal:** "Ugh! I'm so angry right now. It's all Miltank and Heracross fault. Skarmory told me that I also lost my vote."

 **Miltank:** "Hey, we didn't lose. We just got disqualified. Geez, stupid gambling and their rules. They are as boring as bored games or board games. Whatever."

* * *

Everyone hesitated to challenge Shiinotic. Farfetch'd retreated back upstairs. Drifblim went back to the arcade. Heracross and Shedinja expelled their rage at each other with another round of Pika-Fighters. Their moods worsened once Darmanitan's elimination publicized.

Only Scolipede, Ledyba and Duosion remained near the dealer's room.

"Maybe we should leave like everyone else and play games in the arcade instead." Ledyba proposed.

"Then, we make no progress in this challenge." Duosion pointed out.

"We don't need to win, right? Winning isn't everything." Ledyba reminded.

"What is your opinion, Scolipede? You seem quiet." Duosion asked, noticing that he was in a trance.

"Oh, I think maybe I should compete against Shiinotic." Scolipede told.

"What?! Don't do that." Ledyba opposed straight away.

"Ledyba, please trust me. I know how those swindlers like to play. I think I can reveal their dirty tricks like what I did against Meowstic." Scolipede stared deeply into her eyes, pleading for faith.

"I'm just worried because I love you. Be safe, alright?" Ledyba reluctantly agreed. She gave him a good luck kiss on the cheek before he headed inside bravely to challenge Shiinotic.

Duosion seemed happy for them and their relationship. However, they also reminded her of her own relationship. She could only give them a bittersweet smile.

"Body part or-" Shiinotic got interrupted.

"I doubt that you will accept my body part anyways." Scolipede said realistically.

"True that." Shiinotic admitted, handing him his deck. Scolipede shuffled carefully and confusingly in case Shiinotic remembered the placement of his cards.

The skeptic paid particular attention to his opponent. He oriented his eyes at her dress, pinpointing all the tiny details like small creases and the numbers. They were the following:

1 (black)

12 (red)

3 (black)

15 (red)

These three numbers were on the back:

8 (black)

15 (red)

12 (black)

Unfortunately, Scolipede didn't see them and couldn't decipher the message. Instead, he saw her puffed up chest…

"Did you hide something in your dress? Can I check?" Scolipede asked shamelessly, bluntly and rudely. He even moved closer to her.

Shiinotic reddened with embarrassement and anger. She considered slapping Scolipede for a moment. Upon seeing this, he immediately got the message.

"I didn't mean-" Scolipede defended himself.

"Excuses! Pervert, get away from me." Shiinotic refused to hear any of that. Scolipede rolled his eyes as he returned to his seat.

"You are taking it too far. I already have a girlfriend." Scolipede muttered under his breath.

They rolled the dice and Shiinotic got to start first with a six against his four.

Scolipede placed all of his cards down in four rows of five cards. He watched as he eyes scanned over all of the cards.

Scolipede hid his ace in the bottom left corner. Shiinotic stretched her long arm out, aiming for his ace. Scolipede raised his eyes. How did she know?

Ledyba prayed for him, hoping for the best.

Scolipede tried to come up with some sort of accusation but even the skeptic himself failed to notice anything. This was because Alakazam told Shiinotic the answer using his psychic abilities. Good casino nowadays used psychic interference barrier to stop those pesky psychic types from cheating.

Psychic types were by no means overpowered. It was a myth that they could read the mind of others like an open book. Only those with the move Mind Reader could. Otherwise, Duosion and Meowstic would be able to predict all the eliminations. However, well-trained and strong psychics like Alakazam managed to keep track of the ace thanks to the cameras and transmitted the message through a mini microphone inside Shiinotic's dress.

So close, Scolipede…

Shiinotic revealed the ace and Scolipede got eliminated.

Ledyba looked down on the ground miserably.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Filthy gamblers and magicians. All of them are scamming swindlers!"

 **Ledyba:** "I trusted you, Scolipede. You should have listened to me."

* * *

"Darmanitan eliminated!" The announcement reached Lucario's room.

The professional athlete sighed as he filled his glass with more alcohol and chugged it lifelessly. His eyes lost that competitive spark completely. Lucario dropped the glass and bottle down on his table and got off his chair to find some more. Several alcohol bottles already littered his table. The professional athlete rarely drank alcohol. He must had been severely depressed.

Lucario dragged his feet across the ground, collapsing like a drunk fool near the mini fridge. He held his head dizzily with his left hand as he opened it with his right. The mini fridge was filled with alcohol. Did Skarmory want his contestants to get drunk? Or was there another reason?

Lucario quickly refilled his glass and slumped down on the chair.

"Darmanitan, why did you leave me?" Why? What did I do wrong?" Lucario moaned in denial as he slammed his fist on the table. Alcohol bottles fell down, shattering across the ground.

Lucario hiccupped a bit before he started losing consciousness, lowering his head on the table.

(Sober up, Lucario. Get well soon. The viewers need you for some more action and fight scenes. Lucario, did you hear me?!)

Lucario was out of commission.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "It's all Duosion fault, it's all Miltank fault, it's all Aromatisse fault, it's all Crazy Crawdaunt fault, it's all their fault! They brainwashed my teammates. They ruined my team. I tried to help my team to win. I did nothing wrong, I did nothing wrong." Lucario laughed, cried and laughed again.

* * *

Likewise, Rhyhorn stayed in his room as well. He locked himself in a corner as he stared emptily into nothingness.

Both Lucario and Rhyhorn were as good as eliminated.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "It is safer for everyone if I just stay in my room and lose, especially for Nosepass." He thought of the best for everyone, seeing himself as a monster.

* * *

Bisharp searched for Wimpod inside the library. The wimpy intern should be easy to defeat unlike the baggage boy, Ursaring. However, the difficult part was finding him, especially in the dark.

Bisharp removed books there and then, searching under the table to no avail. He started to consider changing his objective.

"Scolipede eliminated!" The pressure was on and Bisharp refused to spend anymore time searching for the cowering intern. As he exited the door, he glanced at the electricity control room for a moment. He could turn the lights on and it might help him with his search. However, he preferred to move undetected.

Bisharp headed to the swimming pool to find Palossand instead. He treaded carefully, his back pressed against the wall. Palossand could rise up at anytime and hug him. Bisharp didn't want that.

Through his knowledge, he edged his way closer to the pool. Palossand was weak to water. Perhaps, that could be his weakness if you ignore Water Compaction.

Bisharp left the wall and sprinted on the sand. Each of his steps was rushed, avoiding any chances. Before he reached the pool, Palossand sprang up.

"Give me a hug, please." Palossand pleaded as he opened his arms widely for that embrace.

Bisharp turned the opposite direction and quickly fled out of the swimming pool.

"Aw." Palossand sounded disappointed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "No way I'm hugging him. I saw what happened to Tyrunt."

* * *

Drifblim left the arcade after failing to find anything useful. She turned around to see other fellow contestants enjoying their time. Heracross shot a ball inside the basketball machine. Shedinja played the claw machine. Even Duosion relaxed and played Munch-Man with Ledyba spectating by her side.

Drifblim shook her head in disappointment. All the other contestants basically gave up trying to win the challenge, unlike her. To be precise, she didn't want to win. She wanted to _try to win_. The superfan didn't want to throw a challenge, neither did she want a target on her back.

For everyone else, they pretty much relied all of their hopes on Bisharp and Meowth to win. It was a well-known fact by now that everyone united against a common enemy, Lucario. Therefore, none of them really cared if Bisharp wins or Meowth for that matter.

However, none of them knew that this was a vote stealing game. What if Meowth decided to keep Lucario for whatever reason? Having more votes could be more powerful than an immunity, continuing the long-lived debates of immunity idols versus double votes.

Immunity guaranteed your safety. Votes granted you the power to control the elimination.

Drifblim searched for more clues. Potentially, she might find something regarding Shiinotic's weakness.

The ghost blimp opened prize hatches of slot machines, expecting Skarmory to hide something inside there.

Drifblim was right. She found a torn piece of paper inside one of the slot machines.

"Easy places, Skarmory. Rev up the difficulty next time." Drifblim challenged, reading quickly after.

The piece of paper said the following:

"Damn, I had a rough day today. That baggage boy, I'm truly envious of him. He got an easy job but the same pay as me. So… I decided to trick him in Shiinotic Shuffle. We gambled with our pay checks. That day, he brought some alcohol and cheered for me to drink it with pretty words. Imprudent me, I drank it all, not suspecting a thing. That sneaky bear, he knew that I'm a light drinker. Every time I drink, I spill the truth. God, I confessed that I cheated and he took my pay check. Wait until I find his weakness…"

Drifblim lightened up immediately. She headed over to the alcohol bar, next to it was a door. Curiously, she opened it.

The room was empty, except for a single sledgehammer leaning against the wall. The floor had a gigantic crack in the center. Drifblim didn't seem interested and closed the door. She lifted a bottle of alcohol up and hid it behind her back as she approached Shiinotic.

"Want to play? Do you think you can find my ace?" Shiinotic asked, excited to see another victim.

"Oh, it's on your hat. I found it a long time ago." Drifblim joked. Shiinotic chuckled.

Drifblim utilized this short opening to get close to her and forced the alcohol down her mouth. The liquor spilled all over her dress. Eventually, Drifblim thought that it was enough and stopped.

Shiinotic puked out the alcohol but it was too late. She started to feel lightheadedness, pointing at Drifblim dizzily. She failed to keep her fingers still as they circled in the air alongside her head.

"You know what's funny? Haha…" Shiinotic started laughing by herself. Drifblim stared at her awkwardly. The laughter soon died down into incomprehensible slurs. It was something about tricking, money and microphone, along these lines. Shiinotic soon teleported away, leaving a bag with 1,000 P alongside a note.

"Congratulations, you beat Shiinotic. You are allowed to use the money to play the slot machines to eliminate the other contestants from the challenge and take their vote(s)." Drifblim read. Luckily, the other contestants were too busy playing in the arcade to realize what's going on.

"Perfect. It is time to shake things up." Drifblim smiled, exhilarated.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I have countless options. This isn't mere immunity. Who should I eliminate? Lucario to please everyone? Farfetch'd to get rid of a second-time enemy? Meowth to mess up the hierarchy? Duosion to remove another smart contestant? I just can't decide!" She couldn't contain her euphoria.

* * *

Bisharp expanded his search vicinity to the first basement floor. He recoiled in disgust at the green liquid (Snorlax's vomit) and stepped across carefully. There were three doors, one to the left, right and middle. Bisharp remembered that Smeragle's studio located in the middle.

However, he wanted to explore the other rooms to possibly find her weakness first.

Bisharp headed to the left door. Inside, he found many paintings and cabinets around the wall. The room was a gallery.

The wooden floor covered the majority of the room, making it mostly empty. Cabinets were small, situating below the paintings. Bisharp glanced around at them, from left to right.

First was a picture of Ursaring in the east wing. He stood up tall, looking healthy without wearing any clothes. Next to him was a full luggage cart. He even got a small smile on his face as he leaned his elbow on the cart.

Next was Lurantis inside the garden. She wore her headband, pouring water for the flowers happily.

Third was Druddigon in the west wing. He placed his hands on his waist. Unlike all the other paintings, he didn't hold or wear anything. From the look of his eyes, he looked fairly satisfied.

The last painting on the left wall showed Shiinotic next to a slot machine. She grinned, holding a bag full of coins.

The closest painting or the first on the right wall illustrated Smeargle herself. A small part of the studio was revealed. Apparently, the floor got covered by a large piece of paper, absorbing paint dripping from the canvas. Smeargle wore a pink beret, holding her tail with her left hand and a paintbrush with her right. Dual painting, seemingly.

Another got Snorlax. He was enjoying a bag of cookies inside the kitchen.

Afterwards, we found Palossand next to the swimming pool. He hugged a red bucket.

Last but not least, Wimpod. He was in the library, holding a pearl.

The middle wall had a painting too, of course. The grandest and biggest painting of them all. Unfortunately, claw marks ripped it into pieces. Bisharp couldn't tell what the painting was about. However, he could tell that the claw marks were Druddigon's.

"Hmm…" Bisharp tapped his chin, piecing things together. "If I remember correctly, the staff revolted against Skarmory. Not strange if Druddigon tore his painting down. The objects in the paintings must be items used to eliminate other contestants. Meowth got his cookies and I got my headband. However, why does Druddigon have nothing?" Bisharp wondered.

He wasted no time further and searched through the cabinets. There were nine in total, under each painting.

Bisharp opened Ursaring's first. He was greeted with a toy set. It came with a figure of Ursaring in his vacation clothes, holding the handle of the cart. The set included luggages, with a variation of many different colors. The clothes were apparently removable. Lastly, a note attached to the toy set.

"Skarmory just denied my vacation today. I freaking got an injury while working and he wouldn't let me leave?! Money greedy *beep*. Anyways, looks like I need to earn money for the vacation myself. I need tip!" Bisharp scanned over the contents and nodded in understanding.

The investigator experimented with the toy set. Apparently, when he placed luggage on the cart, Ursaring moved slower. At first, Bisharp thought that Ursaring's weakness was a flower of some sort but he changed his mind immediately once he removed the shirt.

Ursaring sustained an injury on his back. A long bandage wrapped around it.

"I got it. You need to place something on his cart to hinder his offense and strike his weak spot, his back wound." Bisharp clapped for the revelation.

He searched all the other cabinets. However, they were all empty except for the middle one. Bisharp put his right hand inside to retrieve a peculiar box and a note. It said the following:

"The hotel is running into financial difficulties. What went wrong? Our hotel used to be booming with business. It's all the staff's fault! They cause all of this mess… No matter what, I will protect the one that I love the most. She is just so elegant, perfect and flawless. How lovely… I can only wish that I won't be a burden." Dust collected all over the note.

Bisharp started to get the bigger picture. This challenge was like one twisted, mystery novel, unravelling itself slowly.

The box got an imperial feel to it. Golden edges… Flashing red color… A diamond wheel on the top, adorned with seven pearls. It seemed to be missing one. Bisharp attempted to open it unsuccessfully. He put the thought of catching Wimpod at the back of his mind for now. Ursaring was the priority.

Bisharp left, going downstairs. The footage cut to the part where he arrived in front of the east wing. There, he witnessed Farfetch'd getting kicked out by Ursaring.

"No tip, no entry!" Ursaring shouted before slamming the door shut.

Farfetch'd brushed Mr. Stalk as he got off from the ground. Bisharp stared at him with sympathy. The duck raised his right eye at the floral headband, ignoring it soon after.

"Are you still struggling by yourself? Aren't you tired?" Bisharp asked with concern.

"No, I'm not. Mr. Stalk doesn't suddenly become a professional overnight. It takes years of preseverence and resilience." Farfetch'd answered adamantly.

"Just this once, Farfetch'd. I can help you with the challenge. I can tell you all the rules." Bisharp offered, almost begging.

"No. I don't want something handed to me on a silver platter." Farfetch'd still refused.

"You got eliminated once. Farfetch'd, this game is dangerous. There are threats like Lucario and Meowth in this game. They are relentless. They don't care about your honor or values." Bisharp placed his right hand on Farfetch'd'd right shoulder, giving him a pleading look.

"Mr. Stalk knew that but it is an obstacle that we must overcome. Take care of yourself, Bisharp." Farfetch'd bid his farewell, leaving with his head down. Deep inside, he really wanted to team up. However, he could never submit to that temptation.

Farfetch'd was really the type that prefer to help rather than receive help. He wasn't exactly a lone wolf.

Bisharp seemed heartbroken but proceeded inside nonetheless. Ursaring anticipated his arrival. The baggage boy ambushed Bisharp, bashing his head.

Bisharp yelped before he got knocked down on the ground. Ursaring lifted the cart up and clobbered his ribcage. Bisharp cried in pain as Ursaring started pulverizing him.

"Help!" Bisharp cried desperately for help as he blocked the hits to no avail.

"Give me tip or I give you death!" Ursaring threatened, steamrolling Bisharp.

Farfetch'd looked alarm at the sight, rushing in the east wing to help.

"Hang in there." Farfetch'd grunted, pulling Bisharp out from underneath the cart.

"Thanks." Bisharp whimpered. "Watch out!" There was no time to rest.

"Tip!" Ursaring thrusted the cart straight at both of them. Farfetch'd blocked the hit with Mr. Stalk, struggling as Ursaring pushed him slowly.

"What's going on?" Rhyhorn exited his room to check, gaping in shock.

"You again!" Ursaring changed his target and redirected the cart toward Rhyhorn.

Farfetch'd lifted Bisharp up from the ground. The latter immediately saw an opportunity.

"Rhyhorn, jump on the cart." Bisharp directed urgently. Rhyhorn followed, leaping on top of Ursaring's weapon.

"Hey. Get your dirty feet off my cart. I will charge you extra." Ursaring growled. The baggage boy couldn't move his cart at all. It was stuck.

Bisharp instructed Farfetch'd inaudibly. The duck nodded as he sneaked behind Ursaring's back. He lifted his backpack and shirt up, exposing his back wound. Farfetch'd quickly poked his weak spot with Mr. Stalk before Ursaring could even react.

The baggage boy disappeared through a pillar of light, a note landing on the ground in his place.

Farfetch'd picked it up, about to read it for everyone until…

"Farfetch'd eliminated." An unexpected announcement was made as Farfetch'd faded away.

Bisharp and Rhyhorn widened their eyes at this unprecedented event. Bisharp got a few ideas but he wasn't so sure. Most items required up-close interaction to eliminate the other contestants. However, there were a few that bypass that rule… like Drifblim's. In Bisharp's case, he didn't know what Shiinotic item was capable of so he was bewildered like Rhyhorn.

Bisharp picked the note up and read it silently. The luggage cart could eliminate contestants that stand on it if the user would shout: "Ding-dong, baggage delivery!" Bisharp lifted his eyes at Rhyhorn.

Rhyhorn was still on the cart…

"Ding-dong, baggage delivery!" Bisharp seized his chance, stealing another vote.

"Rhyhorn eliminated." Skarmory revealed as Rhyhorn teleported. Bisharp celebrated quietly to himself.

"Baggage delivery?! What the *beep* are you trying to pull, Ursaring? I want to sleep!" Suddenly, Lucario yelled out from his room. Bisharp heard his footsteps slowly approaching the door.

Bisharp ran out of the east wing as fast as he could, ditching the cart.

Lucario opened the door, glancing around with a confused expression before he slammed his door shut.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "I'm fine with being eliminated."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk is a bit disappointed that the elimination is out of our control. Good luck… Bisharp."

 **Lucario:** "Where is Ursaring and why is there an empty luggage cart outside my room? Should I just destroy it?"

 **Bisharp:** "I dodged the bullet." He sighed. "Sadly, I left the cart there. Looks like I only got my headband to work with. How requisite." He didn't look too happy.

* * *

A long time ago…

Meowth searched through the kitchen. He could have sworn he saw something at the back of the fridge. He moved it a bit, revealing Snorlax's hidden stash of snacks. Meowth smirked mischievously, rubbing his hands together.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "The note doesn't state that I need to feed the other contestants the entire cookie to get their vote. I can afford to cut costs and feed them cookie crumbs instead. Without anyone of them knowing…"

* * *

Drifblim played the slot machine quietly, holding her head low. Luckily, the other contestants had so much fun in the arcade that they didn't realize what she was doing… for now.

Each try required 50 P. Mathematically, Drifblim only got twenty tries. It wasn't easy to eliminate the other contestants. First, it required great timing as each contestant's face moved down the slot machine in a flash. Second, even eliminated contestants were included in the mix. Eliminating them had no benefit. Third, it was possible for Drifblim to eliminate herself. Therefore, she couldn't just press the button randomly either.

Drifblim inserted her seventh coin. She hoped that it will be her 'lucky seven'. The ghost pulled the lever, watching attentitively as images of contestants rolled down.

An image of Bisharp passed, Drifblim pressed the button too late. She got Farfetch'd instead.

"Not a bad choice." Drifblim didn't mind it. She pressed the button again after Bisharp passed, getting the hang of the timing.

Farfetch'd's face appeared twice now. Drifblim only needed to do it again. Was it her imagination or was the slot machine getting faster?

Drifblim breathed in deeply and pressed the button.

"Farfetch'd eliminated!" The slot machine triggered the announcement.

"Yes!" Drifblim celebrated a bit too loudly.

"Enjoy eliminating the other contestants.' Shedinja drawled as he passed by. Drifblim froze, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Don't worry about it. I don't care. I mean Lucario will be eliminated anyways." Shedinja assured.

"Indeed, you are right about that. I just want to win the immunity so my friends will be proud of me." Drifblim lied.

Shedinja floated away, leaving her alone. Drifblim seemed content. Now, she aimed for Shedinja using the slot machine.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "This challenge is pretty fun. I mean the arcade. Feels more like a vacation than anything."

 **Drifblim:** "Gullible of you, Shedinja. I expect more from you. You are going down my threatening players list."

* * *

Duosion finished Space Invaders, she got a new high score.

"Wow, you are amazing!" Ledyba praised, clapping loudly. Duosion looked confused at her reaction.

"Statistically, there is a one hundred percent for me to set a new high score since I'm the only player. I don't understand why you are praising me." Duosion questioned.

"Oh, it's just that I'm trying to make you feel good." Ledyba answered.

"I'm not feeling good right now. Farfetch'd and Rhyhorn just got eliminated. While I prefer to rest and just let Bisharp eliminate everyone, I can't be overconfident. There is a slim chance that the prize might not be immunity but the ability to eliminate anyone." Duosion told.

"Come on, relax. Everything will be fine. I truly wish for Scolipede to do the same, you know? We could play so many things in the arcade if only he wasn't eliminated." Ledyba sounded sad.

"Sorry, I need to go. I think it is time for me to actually start doing something." Duosion bid her leave.

"Please don't." Ledyba held her back. "Cryogonal, Aromatisse and Scolipede were already eliminated. I got no one left but you." She pleaded. Sadly, Duosion left regardless, looking a bit guilty in the process.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "The library should be a good place to start. I need more information."

 **Ledyba:** "Did I say or do something wrong? Why? Can't we just trust Bisharp or Meowth or whoever it is to eliminate Lucario? I don't want to distrust anyone or doubt anything, never again." Her eyes drowned in the blue ocean of time.

* * *

Bisharp sighed in relief as he escaped from the aura beast. He was about to head upstairs to continue his search for Wimpod until his eyes met with the rotary dial and the ruler once again. Bisharp got an idea that he wanted to test out.

Bisharp lifted the handset from the cradle. He listened for a dial tone and placed his finger on the number five, rotating it clockwise until he reached the metal stop and removed his finger. The dial returned to its original position and Bisharp repeated this step for all the numbers (5121315). Apparently, he knew how rotary dial phones work, what an old-fashioned guy.

Unfortunately, the number seemed to be invalid. Bisharp gave up, placing the handset back.

Bisharp thought about rearranging the numbers but it might be time consuming if he tried every single possible combination. Suddenly, he realized something. What if he translated the numbers to the Unown alphabet?

5 = E

12 = L

13 = M

15 = O

Mole was the first word Bisharp could think of.

He dialed again. This time, he heard someone's voice.

"Yo, smoking, ugly kid. What'sup? Want me to tell you one of the staff members' weakness?" Raticate offered.

Bisharp pondered for a moment. He got an idea on how to beat Wimpod and Palossand. However, he couldn't be too sure. Asking for Druddigon seemed unwise considering the west wing was locked. He wasn't sure if someone already beat Smeargle or Shiinotic yet. Meowth was no where to be seen for quite sometime. Could the businessman beat them, already?

It came down to Wimpod and Palossand…

"Hurry up, kid. I'm gonna leave if you don't." Raticate pressured.

"Palossand." Bisharp said hastily.

"Alright kid, here's the thing. Palossand likes to hug all the guests and other staff members, even if it hurts him. However, one day, a Chesnaught beat him up to the smoking gates of hell. Palossand is scared of Chesnaught and the arcade in the lowest floor just got the thing. There's a game called Shooting Range, get a score of one hundred and you will get a shield. It looks like Chesnaught's back." Raticate ended the call.

Bisharp smiled, satisfied with the information. He headed down to the fourth basement floor.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I chose Palossand because I saw him at least once unlike all the other interns. It was too risky at that moment for me to choose someone else. The Shooting Range game should be easy for a sharpshooter like me. Right up my alley."

* * *

In the library, Duosion selected a few books. One especially caught her interest. It was called 'The Mole'. The cover got a silhouette of a Raticate stealing money from a safe.

Duosion struggled to read in the dark but eventually, she adjusted her eyes just fine.

To summarize the whole story, Raticate stole money from the hotel and escaped. This sparked great distrust between Skarmory and the staff. Apparently, the working conditions worsened and the hotel manager gave them the cold shoulder from that point onwards. This set a chain of events that led to the downfall of the hotel. All because of Raticate.

The book suggested that Raticate's motive was the fact that he got paid the least. This was to be expected since he was often lazy and slacked off. One day, Skarmory gave pearls to all of his staff members for their hard work. Everyone received them except for Raticate.

Duosion was so absorbed by this book that time passed by relentlessly. A few contestants got eliminated in the meantime. However, Skarmory didn't reveal their names just yet.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Even though I appreciate the story and all the contextual information, it is still useless if other Pokemon are still eliminated left and right. I wonder if there is some sort of special prize if I manage to catch Raticate."

* * *

Bisharp arrived at the arcade, deciding to remove the headband. He didn't expect the likes of Shedinja or Drifblim to call him hot. Therefore, he hid it under the receptionist counter. A low risk considering how weak the item was compared to the cookies and casino coins. Unlimited use wasn't a good enough buff.

Heracross saw him and stomped over intimidatingly toward him. Bisharp raised his guard.

"Calm down, I'm not here to mug you or anything. I don't even care if you eliminated all the other contestants in this challenge. Just vote with me and get rid of Shedinja, alright?" Heracross tried to make a deal with him. Bisharp hesitated. Honestly, he didn't agree to her terms. It was only beneficial on her side. However, what would Heracross do to him if he rejected? That was the question in his mind.

Luckily, Bisharp didn't need to answer as an old foe came back to haunt Heracross, the spoiled milk.

"I will be right back, keep your answer ready." Heracross fled upstairs to the restrooms.

Bisharp looked amused as he walked over to the Shooting Range game. He grabbed the gun up and blasted flying Pokemon into bits. This game discriminated against flying type Pokemon. However, there were games of all kinds that discriminated against all types of Pokemon, making it even. Most no longer cared about any of that in present days. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously anymore. Still, some like Dedenne would probably rage.

Bisharp never missed a shot, getting a high score. The screen showed a score of 150, the maximum amount. The sharpshooter blew the gun as he waited for his prize.

Something dropped down the prize hatch. Bisharp picked it up to see a mini Chesnaught shield toy, for safety reasons. It got four spikes on it.

Bisharp headed upstairs immediately. Along the way to Palossand, he saw Nosepass. The guy was waiting in front of the multi-gender restroom impatiently, holding his proposal bag.

"When will she finish her business? It already takes long enough." Nosepass complained irritably. The lovestuck boy spent his entire day practicing either in the restroom or the confessional the entire day. He missed all the events like when the three were fighting Ursaring.

Both the confessional and the restroom had their own advantages. The confessional smelt a lot nicer. However, the restroom got a mirror.

Bisharp left Nosepass, minding his own business.

Bisharp reached the swimming pool. He was so focused that he ignored whatever was happening inside the kitchen and the library as well.

The steel type raised his plastic toy defensively as he stepped on the sand. Palossand rose up with a terrified look upon seeing the shield.

"Why must you do this? I just want to hug other Pokemon. The hotel manager won't even let me hug him anymore. Fine, I will be hugless for life." Palossand wept before he got teleported away. Bisharp nearly felt guilty, nearly.

He dropped his shield down and approached a red bucket. It got a note attached to it.

"Congratulations, you beat Palossand. Soak your fellow contestants with this bucket and hug them to steal their vote(s) and eliminate them from the challenge." Bisharp read, nodding. It was certainly situational just like his headband.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I prefer this over the headband and the cart because it doesn't rely on the intelligence of other contestants." He blushed a bit, remembering the hugging part. "Although, this bucket is the epitome of embarrassment." (Watch out for your ribcage, Bisharp!)

* * *

Meowth rolled a cart of snacks out from the kitchen. He spent the majority of his time to prepare a 'glamorous feast' for his customers. He wheeled it downstairs with some difficulty due to the nature of those pathetic stairs. It shook up the snacks a bit but the cat held them in place.

The third basement floor had Nosepass, Heracross and Ledyba. The flying type flew up because she felt lonely inside the arcade all alone. Shedinja didn't seem to be interested in it anymore while Drifblim patiently timed her button presses with the slot machine.

Meowth smiled sweetly at his customers. They all stared in delight at all the food items.

Bag of chips were seasoned with cookie crumbs, chipping the contestants' tongue to elimination.

Bars of chocolate melted from the presence of cookie bits, burning the contestants' taste buds to elimination.

Rice balls contrasted with the pieces of cookies, balling impending elimination into the contestants' mouths.

Heracross licked her lips. "I don't care if I get eliminated. I will eat!"

Meowth stopped her. "Be patient. Wait until I set up the table and invite everyone." He told. Heracross crossed her arms grumpily.

"Thank you very much, Meowth. Let me help you by setting up the table." Ledyba was very grateful.

"No, I can do it by myself, lovely customer." Meowth assured as he wiped all the leftovers out and placed his delicious snacks. However, he made one great mistake.

Meowth accidentally knocked Nosepass' proposal bag away.

"Noooo…" Nosepass' voice was in slowmotion as he tried to save the bag from plummeting down. Unfortunately, Nosepass couldn't grab it fast enough as it collided, spilling the mess all over the floor. Nosepass' eyes twitched.

"Worry not, valuable customer. I can provide you with a better repl-" Meowth was interrupted.

"How dare you?! Screw your stupid snacks!" Nosepass snapped. This was rare. The timid coward boiled up in anger as he flipped the table over, ruining Meowth's snacks. His anger was short-lived and his cowardice came back as two angry faces glared at him.

"I will kill you, Nosepass." Heracross said in a hostile and aggressive tone.

"You will pay for the damage, both financially and physically." Meowth picked up a rice ball.

Nosepass gulped. "Don't hurt me. Ah!" He screamed, fleeing up the stairs. The two chased after him.

"Wait, everyone!" Ledyba tried to stop them.

"What? You should come up and beat Nosepass as well." Heracross encouraged, gesturing for her to hurry.

"No, I won't." Ledyba refused. "We should leave him alone. He must be scared."

Heracross scoffed at how nice Ledyba was being. She widened her eyes, however, once she saw a brown, cardboard box taped under the table.

"What is it?" Heracross walked down the stairs to check, pulling the box out and opened it to reveal a key. Ledyba was surprised to see it.

"Looks like I just hit jackpot." Heracross grinned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I will let Nosepass go because of the key. He is such a coward that I won't even waste my time beating him up."

 **Ledyba:** "Poor Nosepass. I hope Meowth isn't being too rough on him."

 **Nosepass:** "Stupid Nosepass! You are such a stupid coward. What were you thinking? Who are you? An impulsive coward!" He bashed himself.

* * *

Nosepass ran up the circular stairs to the first basement floor. Meowth followed him from behind. Noticeably, Bisharp also joined the chase.

Bisharp completely filled his bucket with water, walking up slowly so he wouldn't spill it.

Nosepass ran straight to the right room (the dressing room) and locked himself in there. If he was lucky, Bisharp might eliminate Meowth…

Meowth banged the door like a crazy creditor. "Pay up!" He yelled.

Bisharp rushed over. He was about to splash Meowth until the businessman turned around.

Bisharp immediately dropped the bucket down and acted natural.

"Are you going to eliminate me?" Meowth stepped back slowly, splitting the rice ball in half.

"No, I'm here to defeat Smeargle, the artist. She is in the studio nearby. Her weakness is water. I need to wash all the paint off." Bisharp lied pretty well.

"I see…" Meowth seemed to believe it but he had a degree of skepticism. "What are you waiting for then?"

"I just want to help you eliminate Nosepass." Bisharp clarified.

Nosepass gulped as he heard this, glancing around at his surroundings for any useful objects.

The dressing room was filled with clothing racks. The clothes all got price tags on them. They weren't for sale, however. Rather, they were for rent. They were designed to fit Pokemon of all kinds. Ranging from blue pants with multiple holes for the likes of Octillery and Tentacruel or shirts that got holes to accommodate Bisharp's ribcage. In addition, there were hats and headgears varying in size.

Nosepass looked around. Seemingly, he got his eyes on a familiar pair of pants. It was long with red and pink stripes, imitating the appearance of Lurantis' legs. The renting price was 1,050 P. Nosepass pulled it out and a note dropped down on the ground. It said the following:

"Today, I got my eyes on a girl inside this hotel. She is just beautiful and her body shines bright like the Sun. Ugh, I want to confess my love to her but I can't. She will never love a Rough Skin Pokemon like me. Stupid ability of mine. It helps me in battles but when it comes to love, it is such a burden. I guess my strength is also my weakness. On a different subject, *beep* that hotel manager! He recently cut our pay!"

Nosepass thought that it was totally useless and threw it away after reading it. If it couldn't help him fend off Meowth and Bisharp, it meant nothing.

However, Nosepass saw something else that was useful… The pants itself.

Nosepass snapped it on his head and walked toward the door. He inhaled deeply and tried to be brave as he opened it.

"Don't get near me or I will use my pants power on you!" Nosepass bluffed, trying to sound confident.

Once Meowth saw Nosepass, he laughed uncontrollably.

"Very funny, Nosepass. However, I recall that someone already beat Lurantis." Meowth didn't fall for it to Nosepass' dismay.

"Please don't hurt me. I will do everything! Eek." Nosepass cowered in fear, closing his eyes as he waited for his inevitable demise.

Meowth was ready to force-feed Nosepass the rice ball. However, Bisharp splashed water on both of them.

"Why-" Before Meowth finished, Bisharp carefully hugged him. The businessman got teleported away.

"Meowth eliminated." This was music to Nosepass' ears.

"My hero!" Nosepass exclaimed. "Thanks for saving me."

"Indeed, I'm your hero." Bisharp walked over slowly in an unthreatening manner before hugging him carefully as well. Nosepass didn't care about the elimination anymore. He was just glad that Bisharp eliminated Meowth.

"Nosepass eliminated." This was music to Bisharp's ears.

The strategist smiled as he claimed two more victims, leaving the room.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Bisharp, you shall regret tricking me. I will use my wealth of resources to destroy you."

 **Nosepass:** "Wow, I luckily survived that. Thank god."

 **Bisharp:** "I wonder if Smeargle's weakness is actually water. Nonetheless, my next target is Wimpod."

* * *

Heracross opened the door fearlessly, challenging the dark hallway. Four doors were on each side like the east wing. However, the room sequence increased from left to right this time. Ledyba's room (301) was on the left like Heracross' room (303).

Ledyba followed apprehensively, shaking slightly. She grabbed the doorknob of her room and twisted it awkwardly before getting inside. As she glanced around her room (which looked like all the other rooms in the east wing, except it was dark), the door slowly closed itself like a horror movie.

"Heracross, is that you?" Ledyba called, her back facing the door. "Don't scare me like that. Heracross…?"

Ledyba trembled rapidly as she turned around hesitantly.

"Ah!" Upon hearing Heracross' scream, Ledyba started to panic. She tried to escape but the room was locked tight. The doorknob didn't budge.

The two elimination announcements made things even worse for her.

* * *

Heracross was too careless. She strode inside her room like there was no danger.

A white claw tapped her shoulder. Heracross assumed that it was Ledyba and turned around in an uncaring manner.

The color from her face faded away once she saw that Druddigon was holding the fear helmet.

The staff wore a green night vision goggle, grinning darkly as he forced the helmet on her head. Heracross screamed, hallucinating her worst fear.

In her dream world…

Heracross pitched coins on the streets, aiming at tiny tin cans. A female Miltank, a male Zoroark and a female Archeops were all watching her.

Heracross perfectly pitched all of the coins inside the cans effortlessly.

"You go, gal. Show 'em who's the boss! Zero misses. Woo, *beep* yeah!" Zoroark cheered, making noises everytime she shot successfully.

"Crush the competition with your mighty fists! You are the best, girl." Miltank praised.

"Heck yeah! I'm the *beep* around these streets. No one messes with me and get away with it! Not without a beating from me." Heracross felt flattered.

"Eat some grub, boss." Archeops passed her a can of beans. Heracross swallowed all of it in one go, wiping her mouth with her right arm.

"Nothing tastes like home better than canned food. Cheap but tastes like crap." Heracross commented.

Suddenly, a male Scrafty ran toward her urgently.

"Boss, I ran out of money. Spare this son of canned food some change." Scrafty begged, going down to his knees.

"Gambling again? Fine, I will give you some money real fast. Don't spend it all in one place though. Buy second-handed junk from a garage sale and sell it back for more money." Heracross advised.

'Boss, you are a genius." Scrafty admired. "I swear I won't be gamblin' again." He apologized, lowering his head.

"Hey, no big deal." Heracross didn't seem mad in the slightest. "I will show you how to find money in a jiffy without needing those stupid loans." Heracross led everyone to an automated teller machine (ATM) and cracked her knuckles, stretching her muscles.

Heracross punched the screen once. The machine looked as good as new.

"Boss, you sure this will work?" Scrafty asked doubtfully.

"Hell, it does work. Watch." Heracross sounded irritated. She punched the screen again and again, rapidly to no avail.

"Boss, maybe you should stop…" Scrafty spoke softly.

"Shut that yapper, you *beep* son of a *beep*! If I say it will work, it will work. Work, you piece of *beep*!" Heracross swore, beating the machine relentlessly. She heard sounds of bone cracking and red liquid splashing on the screen. The machine was completely unharmed.

Heracross had a horrified look on her face as she stared at her bloody hands, lips quivering.

"Meathead, you are an imbecile. You know nothing other than your fists." Heracross heard a voice that she despised the most, Shedinja's. She clenched her bloody fists.

"Die, you *beep* bug!" Heracross turned around swiftly and punched Shedinja in the face, only for Wonder Guard to nullify the effect. In addition, she was met with a sickening surprise.

Heracross widened her eyes, it wasn't just Shedinja that was in front of her. Everyone else… Miltank, Archeops, Zoroark and Scrafty… Their faces all turned into Shedinja faces, surrounding her.

"What the *beep* is going on?" Heracross rubbed her eyes, seeing red.

The four spoke in unison. "Heracross, we don't need you anymore, imbecile. We got Shedinja now. He is a rich convenience store owner, unlike a street punk like you."

"I will kill all of you *beep* traitors, tear through all of your *beep* and let your corpses rot in that *beep* convenience store!" Heracross went on an outrage like a deranged psychopath.

She punched, kicked, slammed, slapped and bit fruitlessly. Wonder Guard nullified all of her attacks. The only thing she managed to accomplish was worsening her wound.

Heracross hyperventilated after none of her attacks worked. She retreated, back against the ATM.

"Our turn. Heh, heh." The five spoke in unison. It scared the *beep* out of Heracross' mind.

The ground underneath Heracross disappeared, sending her into an inferno burger grill. Heracross burned in the flames of purgatory as Shedinja flipped her up. She screamed in utmost, excruciating agony as she landed on bedrock bread. Shedinja covered her with life-leeching lectuces and tormenting tomatoes. He then squished her with a mega-sized meat. The bread on top was the nail in her coffin. Heracross bled really badly. Most of the brutal imagery was censored out.

"This is my finishing blow, sever!" Shedinja shouted in sadistic joy. The legendary Toucannon sword magically appeared in his hand. Shedinja charged up the final blow as Heracross cried helplessly.

"I give up! I give up!" Heracross repeated desperately.

Shedinja sliced her in half and the fear ended.

Druddigon removed the helmet and Heracross fainted due to the traumatizing fear. The intern left her unconscious body and headed toward Ledyba.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "S-shedinja, I will… k-kill y-you." She stuttered.

* * *

Ledyba hid in the restroom, pushing her back against the corner. The door creaked open and she turned silent. She didn't dare to move or make any noises.

She heard noises of someone removing the bed sheets and opened the fridge. After a while, everything became silent.

Unavoidable, Druddigon opened the doors of the restroom.

"Please let me go." Ledyba pleaded for mercy. Her pitiful look aroused sympathy, but not from Druddigon.

"All guests must be terminated and the hotel manager must be destroyed." That was all Druddigon said before he advanced slowly toward her.

Ledyba was petrified with fear as Druddigon forced the helmet on her head.

Ledyba's worst nightmare started out in a peaceful, grassy clearing. She sat on a swing set alongside a Zorua.

In this world, the present Ledyba was only a spirit, watching her past self.

The Zorua had lonely and miserable blue eyes. They longed for empathy and filial warmth. His fur was unkempt, giving off the vibes of a delinquent. The way he used his paws to brush and fidget with his body antsily suggested that he was insecure. Perhaps, he preffered to disguise himself in an illusion.

The past Ledyba only eyed herself and the view in front of her in a vain manner. She grabbed the rope of the swing stubbornly. The present Ledyba eyed her past self with disgust and shame.

Zorua eyed her with deep affection. To him, Ledyba's beautiful eyes shined light upon his blusing face. Her wings flapped a soothing breeze that excited his skin.

Ledyba turned to face him coldly. "How long are you going to stare me stupidly for? You are wasting my time." She said in an unfriendly and inconsiderate manner.

"I just thought that since we are a couple, we should spend more time together." Zorua told, wishing for her to stay.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm only your girlfriend because you are such a loser. A crying little thief that sobs in a corner all alone. I feel sorry for a friendless Pokemon like you." Ledyba insulted.

"Ledyba, I told you many times already that I returned everything after I stole them. I just want to gain the attention of my parents for just a moment." Zorua defended himself. "I know that it's still wrong but… I thought that you know me better. I'm your boyfriend."

"As if I believe you." Ledyba scoffed. "I need to go home to practice for my Pokeflute contest now. Don't waste my time like this again."

"Ledyba, don't leave." Zorua grabbed her arm. "Why do you need to compete in the Pokeflute contest? If you win, they will transport you as an exchange student and I might never see you again. Can't you stay with me?" He pleaded.

"Selfish thief, am I like the stuff that you stole? Do you think I'm an object? I don't care. All those times we spent together were like meh at best." Ledyba retorted harshly. Zorua looked heartbroken as he let her go.

A male Purrloin smirked, oogling with lust from a distance.

The present Ledyba gritted her teeth with teary eyes. The scene soon changed place.

* * *

Ledyba was in her school. She accessed her locker, trying to find her Pokeflute since the contest was about to begin. She panicked when she couldn't find it, however.

"Where is it?" Ledyba scrambled around frantically.

Zorua passed by and looked at her worriedly. "What's wrong?" He asked, trying to help.

Ledyba scowled at him. "You! You stole my flute, selfish thief of a boyfriend." She accused him immediately.

"Stop. Are you really treating me like a convicted, guilty prisoner before you even have proof? I'm your boyfriend." Zorua reasoned.

"Are you trying to make fun of my not so good knowledge of words?" Ledyba looked offended. "You don't want me to compete because I will leave you. That's proof."

"No, that's an assumption of a possible motive." Zorua corrected.

"Shut the *beep* up! You are just trying to make me look bad." Ledyba swore. The present Ledyba looked appalled. She had long forgotten how much of a potty mouth she was.

"Fine." Zorua was hurt by her words. "I guess you don't want me as a boyfriend anymore. If you don't trust me, I guess it's over for us." He broke up with her, sobbing as he left.

"As if you will really break up with me. Without me, you have no one." Ledyba thought that he was just bluffing. Did he want her to suck it up to him? No way in hell she would do that.

The present Ledyba started crying. She knew what was about to happen next.

Purrloin grinned with satisfaction as he left.

* * *

The final scene took place on the rooftop of the school. Ledyba flew hurriedly to her former boyfriend. She didn't take any breaks, flying non-stop to prevent his impetuous act.

Zorua stood on the edge of the railing, gazing down at the ground. Young Pokemon were playing with each other. Some ran to their parents to give them a hug. Some Pokemon spent their time with their special loved ones. He got none of that.

Zorua wasn't afraid of heights. At least, this kind of death wouldn't be too bad. He wondered whether or not he should actually commit suicide. However, at that point, he got nothing left in his life. He couldn't think or see clearly. His brains replayed all the bad times in his life over and over again.

Sweet release of death invited him. The air was unfit to breathe and his heart was too desolate to live.

"Good bye, cruel world." Zorua cried as he jumped down.

"No!" Ledyba just arrived, flying down as fast as she possibly could to catch him. She realized all the good times they had just then…

* * *

Zorua brought a cup of Moomoo Milk over to Ledyba eagerly.

"Everything for you." He gave it to her with a warm smile. Her boyfriend didn't mind to spend his money at all.

* * *

A male Kricketot, a female Chatot and a male Whismur cornered her in an isolated area inside school.

"What do you jerks want?" Ledyba asked, looking scared.

"Stupid Ledyba, I can't believe that you beat us in a Pokeflute battle. Even though you have better music skills than me, your spelling sucks. Seriously, who spelt excellent as _Xcelent_ anyways?" Kricketot mocked. Ledyba reddened in humiliation.

"We are going to teach you a lesson so you won't ever mess with us when it comes to music again." Chatot told threateningly.

"Yeah." Whismur joined in. The three slowly got closer and closer to her. They were about to beat her up until…

A Gumshoos appeared and roared at them.

"Run! Principle Gumshoos is here." Kricketot alarmed. The three scrammed in an instant.

Zorua deactivated his Illusion ability and smiled comfortingly at her.

* * *

Ledyba and Zorua stood next to each other on top of a hill. They watched the sunset together. Zorua gathered his confidence and turned to her.

"Ledyba, this sunset marks a new beginning. From now on, I promise to never steal any stuff or use my Illusion ability for wrongdoings ever again. I give you my word and I won't go back on it. Just… stay with me, alright?" Zorua's words captivated her heart.

* * *

Until this very day, Ledyba contemplated why she couldn't remember these things until it was too late. She lost Zorua and she must live with this guilt for the rest of her life. By helping others like Scolipede, Ledyba appeased her guilt by a little. However, that didn't mean that Ledyba would let it hold her down for long. She changed, she erased her past from her memory entirely.

The new Ledyba was much more different than the old. She learned to think positive and live an optimistic life. How did she recover if Zorua actually committed suicide?

Well… Zorua didn't die.

"Help my lovely darling, quickly!" Purrloin hastened a male Machoke. He was the school guard. The Machoke caught Zorua before he fell to his demise.

"Why am I still alive?" Zorua pinched himself in disbelief.

"Because of me, darling. I love you so much. Let's be a couple, we will have so much fun together. I know all about your family situation. Don't worry, my parents will be like your parents. Will you be my boyfriend?" Purrloin proposed, revealing that he was in fact, homosexual.

At the moment, all Zorua wanted was to spite his former girlfriend.

"Good news, I'm bisexual. I accept your proposal." Zorua accepted, glaring at Ledyba. Purrloin jumped up in giddiness.

Purrloin carried Zorua away in his arms. The two looked so happy together.

While the past Ledyba cried in depression, the present Ledyba couldn't help but smile for them.

"Zorua, I'm happy for you. You will finally get to meet someone that loves you back." Ledyba sobbed a little. "I'm not sad one bit. Not one bit. I…" Ledyba paused, trying to force her words out. "I will also move on. I got someone else as well so forget about me. Ignore me. Erase me from your memory. Don't let it hurt you again. I hope that everything works out with your family as well."

Ledyba's tone was bittersweet. The conflicted feeling of past love still lingered somewhere. However, she took this opportunity to resolve her love for Scolipede. That incident was all in the past.

"I will also erase you from my memory. I lived in denial for so long but this might be the time to come clean. I never prevent any suicidal acts. I deluded myself so that I won't feel hurt. I-I…" She wept tears of joy. Yes, _tears of joy_.

"I'm so glad that I managed to change. I'm so glad. I'm so happy. I'm happy now. I'm happy." She repeated, laughing in an ambivalent manner.

"I used to be pessimistic. I thought that thieves will always be thieves and magicians are liars. However, I saw it now after being blinded for so long. The good that you saw in me. I will always see the good in others from now on just like when you saw something special inside this horrible girlfriend. Both of us have someone special to take care of. Scolipede got hurt by a lot in the past. He reminded me of you. Suffering all alone in a corner. Such a shame that I forgot why I became your girlfriend that day. Was it just sympathy or was there something else…?" Ledyba paused.

"I will protect Scolipede… Purrloin, take care of Zorua for me. I'm not mad that you stole my flute and costed me the contest. Not one bit. You did it for Zorua. I deserved it. Bye, _old friend_ …" Ledyba finished her long parting speech. Her figure slowly faded away from the past.

She left with a genuine smile.

Little did Ledyba know that she actually prevented the suicide. The thought of Ledyba made Zorua hesitate for one more second. Just enough for Machoke to save him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "Scolipede, I will tell you everything after this is all over, alright? Everyone else too…"

* * *

Druddigon scratched his head after he removed the helmet. Ledyba collapsed with a smile unconsciously.

Regardless, the revenge thirsty staff waited for more victims. He opened the door slightly to lure in more contestants.

Shedinja yawned as he floated up the third basement floor. The ghost bug focused his eyes on the door, surprised that it was open.

"I guess I will check." Shedinja drawled as he floated inside.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "Well, that sure escalated quickly."

* * *

Lucario finally woke up and left his room. He still looked lifeless and demotivated. It was as if he gave up on this show.

"Perhaps, I should eliminate myself. Maybe, my team will have a calmer working environment then. I just want one of them to win." Lucario talked to himself.

He heard noises from the west wing and decided to head over there.

Apparently, Shedinja and Druddigon were having a tamed conversation.

"Just get it over with, already. I don't really care." Shedinja didn't seem scared.

"What? Don't you have a fear?" Druddigon was baffled to hear that.

"Well, it will probably suck to relive what happened but I kind of desensitized myself. Sure, I got some of my feelings back but I'm not really feeling it. My fear is boring. Ninjask is boring. My parents are boring and everyone around me is just boring. I guess I'm just scared of them boring me to death. Oh, watch your back." Shedinja cautioned.

"As if I will believe you." Druddigon thought that it was ridiculous.

The staff regretted his decision immediately as Lucario snatched the fear helmet away from him. Druddigon gulped.

"Don't you dare hurt my teammate." Lucario gave Druddigon a taste of his own medicine by forcing the fear helmet on him.

The intern teleported away, leaving a note and the fear helmet. Lucario picked it up and read it alongside Shedinja.

Basically, it told them that putting the helmet on another contestant allow you to steal their vote. Simple enough.

Lucario handed the helmet to Shedinja. The latter seemed hesitant to take it.

"Shedinja, I'm your team leader. I'm just trying to help you win the challenge. Take it or… do you hate me that much like everyone else?" Lucario questioned, his heart aching.

"You are pretty meh to me." Shedinja answered truthfully, accepting the helmet at the end.

"Why? Is it because of our win rate? Is it not good enough?" Lucario asked him inquisitively. He wanted feedback. Although, Lucario wasn't the type to take them seriously if they conflicted his opinions.

"You aren't even close to me. I expect you to fix your relationship with Darmanitan before anyone else. You like to give him special treatment, don't you?" Shedinja indicated.

Lucario averted his eyes. "Yes, I'm a biased leader. You can call that a weakness but to me, it is my strength. You see, Shedinja. In the Aura Beast, everyone competes for my attention. I reward members that dedicate and devote themselves to the team. Members that don't reach that goal will then feel envious and try even harder. I want to inspire all of you to do the same but it seems like none of you understand me well enough." He explained.

"Say what you want but no one will believe you when you eliminated Houndour. Lucario, in my honest opinion, you aren't even sure what kind of leader you are. Are you a dictator? Are you a democrat? You are just too used to working with the Aura Beast. They are all you have. You never try to open your mind-" Shedinja was interrupted.

"Shut up!" Lucario shouted rudely, blocking his ears. Shedinja obeyed carelessly.

"Sorry, Shedinja." Lucario sighed. "I… I hope that you know how I feel about you. You helped me with Smeargle and contributed decently to the team." Lucario opened his mouth to say something else but decided against it, leaving the west wing.

Shedinja glanced at the helmet and headed over to Heracross' unconscious body to eliminate her.

"Heracross eliminated." Skarmory broadcasted. Shedinja was about to leave until a voice called out to him.

"Shedinja, eliminate me." Ledyba requested.

"Why?" Shedinja asked, confused.

"I want to see Scolipede. Please." Ledyba pleaded. Shedinja granted her request.

"Ledyba eliminated." Skarmory announced again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "I don't even know why I waste my voice with Lucario."

 **Lucario:** "Perhaps, I really made a big mistake by eliminating Houndour. Duosion turned against me. Aromatisse turned against me as well as many others. I thought that I'm helping the team to be competitive that way."

* * *

Duosion saw a figure approaching the library and hid under the table. Bisharp opened the door, glancing around a bit before he left.

The psychic thought that it was no longer safe to stay here so she left silently. Not long after, Bisharp activated the lights only for the library, and searched for Wimpod.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Only five of us remain. Statistically, it is highly likely that I'm the only one left that is defenseless and unarmed."

* * *

Lucario headed down to the casino. He toured around the place a bit, missing Drifblim. He found the empty room with the sledgehammer and decided to enter.

"Might as well practice for the hammer throwing event in Pokeathlon. Everyone is going to eliminate me. With no team to lead, there's no point staying here anymore." Lucario mostly addressed the viewers.

The professional athlete swung the hammer around. He got faster and faster. Eventually, he stopped with a powerful, ground-shaking slam against the crack on the ground. This revealed a secret ladder leading down to a secret floor. The sound of the smash was ear-shattering but Drifblim didn't seem to hear or care. Otherwise, she would have checked.

Lucario didn't know what to do anymore so he decided to explore the secret floor.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I heard that but I feel like this is the time for me to get eliminated. Final five isn't too threatening or bad."

* * *

Shedinja confronted Drifblim with the fear helmet. She turned around to face him confidently, hovering one of her arms above the button. Two Shedinja appeared on the screen.

"Come any closer and you will regret it." Drifblim threatened to press the button.

"If you time it correctly that is." Shedinja added. "Now that votes are on the line here, I can't just let you win."

"Me neither." Drifblim braced herself.

Shedinja floated forward, aiming for her head. Drifblim dodged sideways, leaving the slot machine vulnerable.

Shedinja changed his target and pressed the button, timing it so that it wouldn't eliminate him. An image of Cryogonal appeared instead. This distracted Shedinja for a second, allowing Drifblim to escape with her bag of coins. Currently, she only got two coins left.

Drifblim played another slot machine, one that was pretty far from Shedinja. The ghost bug chased after her.

Drifblim timed one button press and flew up. She diverted Shedinja's attention with the slot machine. Using this opportunity, she lifted the fear helmet out of Shedinja's grasp.

"You aren't that challenging to beat, you know?" Drifblim tried to get on his nerves.

"What is challenging for you then, Lucario?" Shedinja asked, distracting her. He used this opportunity to time the button press to get himself. Wait, what?

"That's too challenging. His skill level is light years away from me." Drifblim answered humbly.

Drifblim tilted her head, noticing that Shedinja pressed the button and got his own face.

"Better luck next time." Drifblim said, half-consolingly, half-mockingly.

"Oh, I want to eliminate myself. You won't get my votes that way." Shedinja revealed, timing the last button press perfectly. He smirked as Drifblim widened her eyes but soon, she smirked as well.

"Shedinja eliminated." The announcement was made as soon as Shedinja teleported away.

"Drifblim eliminated." This announcement was not to the surprise of Drifblim.

The bag of coins was empty. Duosion stole one and took the opportunity to eliminate Drifblim. The ghost was aware of this but she wanted to be eliminated anyways.

Duosion acquired the fear helmet.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I hid near the slot machine behind them, waiting for my chance to strike. Since I got no special item of my own, this kind of tactic has the highest chance of success."

 **Drifblim:** "Heracross couldn't beat Shedinja? How disappointing. If I really want to beat him, I could actually take him out." She looked fairly confident, but not overconfident.

 **Shedinja:** "The other ghost in this island got a lot of tricks. Drifblim is dangerous but well it isn't my job to clear up the villains around here. Honestly, I don't care if she wins. She is a lot less insufferable than the likes of Heracross."

* * *

 **Current Standings**

1st place Bisharp with 6 votes: Aromatisse, Rhyhorn, Nosepass, Meowth, Darmanitan

2nd place Duosion with 3 votes: Drifblim, Farfetch'd

3rd place Lucario with 1 vote

Wasted votes: Cryogonal, Miltank, Scolipede, Heracross, Ledyba, Shedinja

* * *

 **Items**

Floral Headband (ownerless)

Luggage Cart (ownerless)

Cookies (out of uses)

Casino Coins (out of uses)

Bucket (Bisharp)

Fear Helmet (Duosion)

?

?

* * *

After removing most books from bookshelves inside the library, Bisharp found Wimpod. Seemingly, his weakness was not having a place to hide. Like all the other interns, he teleported away. Wimpod left a note alongside a pearl. The note said the following:

"I wish that things can go back to the way they used to be. I don't understand why we couldn't all forgive each other. Am I the only that wanted that? After the Raticate's incident, everything went downhill. It was all his fault, that filthy mole. If you happened to learn about all the events inside this hotel, please don't be mad at Skarmory or the other staff. Just be mad at Raticate. Anyways, I got nothing but this pearl. The symbol of servitude. I hope you will find a use for it. From Wimpod."

Bisharp remembered _something_ inside the gallery. The investigator didn't waste any time, heading there as soon as possible. He was thrilled to be so close to winning an individual challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "Father, mother, Jumpluff, everyone, watch as I win my first individual challenge." He seemed optimistic.

* * *

Lucario climbed down the ladder, jumping down after he was close to the ground.

A red carpet led him to a grand, double door. The professional athlete opened it, observing his surroundings.

The room was neatly decorated with clean marble floors. It was fairly moderate in size. The room fitted a coffee machine to the right side, a tea machine was next to it as well. A fridge was beside them. There were cupboards and cabinets around the room. Although, Lucario wasn't so sure what was inside them.

To the left, a gigantic television was on full display. Movies were stored underneath alongside footage of the episodes. Opposite of the television, sat a couple on a long comfortable couch.

Of course, one of the two was Skarmory. He wore a silver bracelet with bronze stripes on his left leg. The other Pokemon was new though…

She was a very slim and slender Furret. Thin and light enough to wrap around Skarmory's neck without burdening him. On her right arm, she wore a silver bracelet with bronze stripes. The end of her tail went down his back, knotting Skarmory's tail.

Skarmory enjoyed the skin to skin sensation. He seemed very close to her. Both of them eyed each other with affection. They were talking to each other while watching a romance-adventure movie.

"Those two remind me of our early days. I still remember when I called you Silver Spoon." Furret recalled, teasing him.

"That nickname is outdated. I no longer waste my inheritance day by day. I also got a job now." Skarmory blushed.

"That's my love. I can't express how joyful I'm to see you maturing so much." Furret said proudly.

"Good enough for some spooning today?" Skarmory made a pun. Furret smacked his head lightly in disapproval.

"Goodness, stop with your stupid puns. Nosepass made better ones than yours." Furret stated honestly. Skarmory pouted in jealousy.

Soon enough, Lucario came up in front of them. Both of them looked terrified for a moment before calming down once they realized that he got no harmful intentions, judging from his friendly face.

"Can I sit with you two and watch the TV?" Lucario asked. The two glanced at each other in confusion before they moved a bit, allowing Lucario to sit with them.

Lucario grabbed the remote control away impolitely as if he was the owner and changed the channel to a sports program. Neither Skarmory or Furret objected. Although, they looked annoyed. The situation was very awkward.

"So, how are you and your wife, Skarmory?" Lucario tried to break the ice.

"Good." Skarmory answered simply. He seemed very uncomfortable with Lucario around. Furret signaled, suggesting the two of them to leave. Skarmory agreed without a doubt.

"Er, Lucario. We are going to go outside a bit. Enjoy your sports program." Skarmory said before both of them left.

Lucario ignored them, enjoying his sports program. He wanted to increase the volume. Unfortunately, the remote wasn't made specifically for his hands. Therefore, he accidentally pressed the wrong button.

The screen changed, showing him a certain part of the previous episode.

"Troglodyte…"

"Cave dweller…"

"Dirty barbarian…"

Did these lines seem familiar to you? Lucario fumed, crushing the remote. The professional athlete found a new source of motivation. Revenge.

He slammed the door opened, scaring the couple. Lucario ignored them inconsiderately and climbed up the ladder furiously.

"I hate that guy." Furret commented. Skarmory nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Was that how they treated me after all I have done for them? I thought about going down for their sakes… Now, *beep* that! I will destroy all of them."

 **Skarmory:** "I will give him that footage as a reward for finding us. Actually, he can get a special advantage if finds a secret hint. It is inside Smeargle's studio. Such a shame for you, Lucario."

* * *

Bisharp reached the gallery once again. He retrieved the peculiar box and inserted the pearl on the wheel to unlock it. Inside, there was an envelope.

Bisharp opened it, widening his eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I never expect something like this to happen…"

* * *

Duosion inspected the grandfather clock once again, carrying the helmet with Psychic (not against the rules). This time, she found a hidden note underneath it.

"Fighting isn't the only the method of winning. Clocking out your opponent is one as well. You will keep your votes if you survive." Duosion read, eyeing the time of the grandfather clock. It stopped at six o'clock. She considered hiding and keeping her three votes since Lucario didn't seem to have that many.

"Bisharp eliminated!" Duosion froze for a moment at the announcement.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Lucario must have eliminated him. That is the only possible explanation. If I don't win, Lucario will win. I must eliminate him at all costs."

 **Lucario:** "Duosion eliminated Bisharp? Impressive. You are now a worthy opponent. I will send you packing to your beloved Houndour."

* * *

Lucario dragged the luggage cart with him to Smeargle's studio. It was the last place he didn't visit yet. The professional athlete couldn't find Duosion so he decided to confront his fangirl instead.

On his luggage cart, there were many items like cleaning sprays, glasses of water, books and pot of plants. Since he didn't know her weakness, he could just try everything.

Lucario opened the door with a serious expression.

The room was filled with potraits and paintings. One illustrated two silver bracelets. The other showed a statue of a golden Magikarp. Regardless, one painting stood out from all. A painting of Smeargle and Lucario in their wedding uniforms. Lucario wore a dark blue suit. The suit had a hole at the back for the tail. Smeargle wore a beautiful white dress. They seemingly got wedding rings as well.

Lucario gaped, speechless. Smeargle noticed him and halted her work, turning to him excitedly.

"Lucario, are you-" Before Smeargle was done. Lucario grabbed two cleaning sprays with each hand and leaped up into the air, erasing all the paint in an instant. Never before had we seen Lucario at his full speed, moving too fast for our mere, ordinarily eyes.

Smeargle looked heartbroken as she got teleported away. Lucario only got one goal in his mind, winning. He no longer cared about anything else. He blazed through the note, comprehending it in mere seconds.

Using Smeargle's paintbrush, he wrote Duosion named down on the canvas. Apparently, beating Smeargle gave you the ability to eliminate anyone of your choice as a one-time per game power. You wouldn't get the votes though.

"Duosion eliminated." The announcement echoed throughout the entire hotel. Did this mean the challenge was over? Did Lucario reign of terror finally begin?

"I'm the winner. Teleport me out so I can destroy those ungrateful losers." Lucario demanded.

"Not so soon." A voice interrupted. Lucario turned to see Bisharp ambled inside the studio.

The strategist wore his floral headband, equipped his Chesnaught shield on his left arm and his right hand held a bucket full of water. Bisharp raised a golden chance card for Lucario to see.

It was called False Alarm, the ultimate wimping out ability. Self-explanatory enough. Bisharp threw it away and grinned, bracing himself for the final battle.

"You will pay for tricking me, Crazy Crawdaunt!" Lucario shouted, running toward Bisharp. The latter splashed water at him. However, the professional athlete expected this and backflipped to dodge. Bisharp tossed the bucket away, increasing his mobility.

"Am I hot like the sun, Lucario?" Bisharp tried just in case.

"Stop joking around and fight!" Lucario roared, striking Bisharp's fragile shield away with his right fist. The shield broke into pieces. Bisharp took no damage, however. Lucario tried to limit his violence so that he wouldn't be disqualified.

Lucario swung his arm to hit Bisharp's headband. However, Bisharp quickly ducked and pushed Lucario closer toward the luggage cart.

Bisharp just realized something. Lucario didn't know how to use the cart. This could be advantageous for him.

Lucario didn't have much information. Therefore, his options were very limited. If he couldn't go into offense, he would play defense instead.

The professional athlete tried to grab the headband. However, Bisharp threw it behind Lucario. It landed next to the luggage cart.

"The power of sunlight, come to me. Set up the flower bomb and eliminate Lucario in ten seconds. You better hurry." Bisharp bluffed. Lucario panicked and blazed to the headband. He stomped on it, flattening the accessory.

Bisharp utilized this golden opportunity. He ran up to Lucario and pushed him against the cart.

"Ding…"

Lucario fell down on the cart.

"…dong…"

Lucario recovered his footing.

"…baggage…"

Lucario acted confused. This wasn't a good sign.

"…delive-" Bisharp stopped as Lucario jumped off the cart. He was fooled! Lucario tried to get information out of him. The professional athlete went easy on the strategist.

It was Lucario's turn as he laid Bisharp down on the cart, locking both of his hands and legs. Bisharp struggled helplessly as Lucario finished him off.

"Ding-dong, baggage delivery!" Lucario said the magical words.

"Bisharp eliminated." The challenge ended.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Bisharp:** "I'm so close!" He looked really frustrated.

* * *

Bisharp and Lucario both teleported outside the mansion. Nearly everyone seemed disappointed once Skarmory announced that Lucario was the winner. Meowth beamed happily, unlike the others.

Ledyba didn't mind it either. Although, she didn't seem to pay a lot of attention. She seemed very attracted to Scolipede at the moment.

Everyone headed out for their own businesses. Cryogonal chatted with Aromatisse… Darmanitan meditated… Nosepass continued with his love confessing stuff… Bisharp paced around worriedly… Duosion anxiously anticipated her elimination… Things were along these lines.

Most importantly, Meowth discussed with Lucario about the elimination.

"I'm the only one you can trust, Lucario. Don't you agree?" Meowth said in a persuasive tone.

"You are the only one that I have left, Meowth." Lucario agreed. He seemed somewhat desperate.

"Good, you just need to win all the challenges from now on. I will take care of the votes." Meowth arranged their roles. "Who do you want to eliminate today?" He asked the most important question.

Lucario whispered a name inside his ear.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Today, a strategic threat is going home."

 **Bisharp:** "It will probably be me…" He seemed to accept his fate.

 **Duosion:** "Statistically, I have a fifty percent chance of leaving. Bisharp had the other half."

* * *

The elimination ceremony was different today. Instead of Skarmory giving out Leppa Berries, he ordered everyone to gather near his stall. Lucario grinned boastfully as the center of attention.

"Lucario, choose someone to eliminate." Skarmory instructed.

"Everyone but Duosion and Bisharp, leave." Lucario commanded. Everyone obeyed. Before Darmanitan left, he casted a sorrowful gaze at Lucario.

Lucario paced around as he observed the two.

Bisharp straightened his posture, refusing to show any signs of weakness so that Lucario wouldn't get that satisfaction.

Duosion remained unwavered. Her eyes held deep animosity toward Lucario. Would Lucario eliminate his own 'teammate'?

"I choose to eliminate…" Lucario paused to build up suspense.

…

…

…

…

…

"Bisharp." He skipped joyfully to the confessional, feeling unburdened. It was a rare sight to see Bisharp acting like this.

* * *

 **Elimination** **Confessional**

Finally, this demanding and pressuring nightmare is over. I can relax now. I played how I want to play. My parents should be proud. I… tried my best. Even if I didn't win a single individual challenge, I gave it my all! I didn't step over that line on the sand. I'm proud of how I play this game. Thank you, Jumpluff for giving me this feeling. Instead of feeling frustrated due to defeat, I will treasure it as a learning experience. Hey, I got eliminated by one Pokemon. It's better than everyone voting me out as a heartless villain.

* * *

Bisharp sat on his Lapras, swinging his legs freely. Farfetch'd came to see him off.

"Bisharp… I got something to tell you." Farfetch'd hesitated.

"What is it, Farfetch'd?" Bisharp asked with curiosity.

"You know… thinking about it, you pass as a friend. Perhaps, after this game ends, we can truly be friends then." He offered Mr. Stalk for a shake.

Bisharp was surprised and very touched. He shook Mr. Stalk with a huge smile on his face.

"Thank you, friend." Bisharp said as his Lapras departed. Farfetch'd continued to wave to him until he was out of sight.

Skarmory landed to end the episode off.

"Wow, what a long challenge. Luckily, I contacted the broadcasting station and they allowed me to double the timeslot for this episode. See you next time on Total Skarmory Island for a torturous episode of…" Skarmory paused, waiting for someone to continue.

"My smoking revenge!" Raticate yelled.

* * *

The episode didn't end yet.

Heracross threw rocks inside the Flygon boys' cabin.

"Die, Shedinja!" Heracross lost her mind as she kept disturbing the peace.

"Meathead, be quiet. Leave now or you will regret it." Shedinja warned from inside.

"*beep* you!" Heracross didn't listen to the voice of reason. She threw another rock. It pierced through the window and hit… Lucario.

"*beep*!" Lucario raged as he stormed out of his cabin to pelt Heracross with rocks. The beetle ran away, terrified.

* * *

 **Votes:**

Lucario: Bisharp x 7

Bisharp: 7 (eliminated)

* * *

This episode is extremely long! I promise this won't happen again. Honestly, I feel like you can't digest everything by reading one time. I suggest that you re-read while waiting for the next episode. I also apologize for mistakes. I save a day by proof-reading less.

The spotlight of this episode is definitely on Bisharp and Ledyba. Heracross as well, to a lesser extent.

Ledyba is one of the subtle backstory characters. It is hard to connect all the dots due to her optimistic nature. I dropped a few hints. However, they are all very misleading.

When I casted for Season 1, I want a couple with a trust/distrust dynamic. Scolipede represents distrust while Ledyba represents trust. However, I flip things around with their backstory. One is hurt by trust, the other by distrust.

Putting the two next to each other, most viewers will like Scolipede more than Ledyba since he got his development early on. It is also due to my inexperience with female characters. As a boy, it might be a bit difficult to write about the opposite gender. However, I will try my best to improve like always.

I wanted both of them to share the spotlight but that proves to be difficult as I kept writing.

Ledyba's behavior sure is interesting, isn't it? I thought about analyzing it for all of you but I feel like it is more fun as a reader to come up with your own interpretations.

Next time, a challenge that I hinted at a long time ago (Chapter 11) will be used. Expect a twist as always for unoriginal challenges.


	21. Chapter 21

First, I must apologize for my laziness during the dressing room and Smeargle's part last episode. It was a bit rushed. While none of you complained, I'm not satisfied with it so I made a minor change. This chapter is re-uploaded due to notification issues.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Parousia45**

Those two genres are my favorites as well. Although, tragedy and adventure can compete for the spot. Don't worry about Shiinotic. It was all an act. Skarmory x Furret is a story that I will write in the future. Hopefully, I can write fast enough to deliver it within a reasonable amount of time. My Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Story is looking to take one year to complete at the very least while Desire Land is estimated to take eight months.

Thank you very much for caring about my health. From now on, the chapters should get shorter and shorter until we approach the finale.

 **Fallenstreet01**

Bisharp has potential to win but Lucario ruined his chance. I like Bisharp. That's why I'm contemplating to write about the Amazing Race Pokemon even though no one asks for it.

Purrloin and Zorua? Maybe. I think they are more suited for the Amazing Race as I planned an ambiguous homosexual newbie for season two. A few slots are still available so anything is possible.

Ledyba got decent odds to win. Her biggest weakness is the fact that she trusts others too easily so it might be a bit difficult for her to survive.

 **Roran the Zoroark**

I really appreciate your reviews. It really made me guilty that I neglected your story for quite some time. After I finish Chapter 22, I _might_ take a break to review some of my viewers' stories.

 **InfernoMaster64**

You are right. I want to trick all of you, both the challenge and Purrloin. I succeed, didn't I?

While I want to comment on all of your points, it will take too long so let's select a few.

You should be worried about Rhyhorn. Let me tell you this, he got the darkest backstory. Leafeonlive's level. Yes, I watched Wave's show as well. Although, not every season and I forgot some stuff.

I love Nosepass too… as a character. I don't want him as a friend because he is the type that can throw you under the bus at any moment out of fear. Will he change?

The rock brothers aside, I really appreciate your support and the fact that you invite some friends over to check my story. I don't mind the procrastination because I'm guilty of it myself.

 **Guest**

Thank you very much for the support. I will try my best to entertain you further. Making people happy is the best part about this draining hobby.

* * *

 **Episode 21** **:** **The Legend of Raticate** **:** **Eighteen Elements**

The grill was cooking some ugly meat skewers, sending smoke into the air around the dock. Chef Drapion turned the meat skewers upside down, heating the other side.

"I better get a pay raise for doing this." Chef Drapion grumbled to himself, wiping the sweat off his face. "Where is that lazy host?"

Skarmory landed on the dock at that moment. What a great coincidence.

"How are you doing, my hard-working chef? You know what? I thought about giving you a pay raise but you just reminded me that I'm too lazy for that. Thanks, Chef Drapion." Skarmory smiled mockingly. Chef Drapion groaned.

"Whatever, I'm leaving. Do it yourself or let someone else do it. I don't care." Chef Drapion complained as he left.

"Your loss, chef. I'm going to eat all of it by myself." Skarmory didn't seem to care. He started snacking on them before spitting them out seconds after.

"Should've known from his one-star cooking skills…" Skarmory muttered. Apparently, he resorted to the chef's cooking because his wife was too busy.

"Can I have some? Gotta zap my stomach juices." Raticate pleaded, sounding hungry.

"Sure, have them all." Skarmory said without hesitation.

While the camera filmed Raticate feasting on the skewers like a starving rat, Skarmory started the recap.

"Last time, the contestants wandered around cluelessly in the ruined hotel. Mysteries were uncovered and fears resurfaced as Heracross and Ledyba got their minds shredded by Druddigon. Bisharp solved nearly everything only for Lucario to steal his victory at the last second. Speaking of the professional athlete, please be mindful of someone else's remote. Angry at his former teammates, you would expect Lucario to eliminate Duosion. However, he targeted Bisharp instead. Will Lucario continue his domination? Find out in this smoking episode of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory finished, cringing at how Raticate ate mannerlessly.

"Sorry." Raticate wiped the meat sauce off his mouth with his hands.

* * *

Duosion lowered her head in the mess hall, staring at her plate of special delicacy. Yesterday, she survived through pure chance. Today, she ran out of luck. She knew that without Bisharp, she was Lucario's biggest target. Regrettably, she also didn't want Houndour to see her in this kind of state.

The door of the mess hall opened up slowly, Aromatisse and Cryogonal entered to check their friend. Duosion turned to face them unenergetically as Cryogonal closed the door quietly.

"Duosion, you don't seem to be having a fabulous day. Are you still upset over yesterday?" Aromatisse asked with concern.

"Yeah, that jerk, Lucario. Who the hell does he think he is?" Cryogonal said scornfully.

"I'm okay, you two. Thank you for coming here to see me. I'm just having a headache. I think… I'm going to be eliminated next." Duosion told in a hopeless tone.

"Duosion, there are like so many other contestants here and you know probability very well. I don't think you need to worry. Most of us won't vote for you. Besides, Lucario can't win all the time." Cryogonal assured.

"That's true. I just have a feeling that Lucario will get his way somehow." Duosion forebode.

"It's okay, Duosion. You are one of the strongest girls around here, not physically but you get what I mean. Girls like Heracross step over their own foot and run after Lucario gives them a scare. Unlike them, you stand up against that barbarian fabulously! I must say you look better than those beauty models on the runway." Aromatisse roused her spirits. "Don't worry."

"Thank you very much for your encouraging words. I'm grateful to have friends like you two." Duosion looked touched. Soon after, she glanced around a bit as if missing something or someone.

"Where is Ledyba?" Duosion asked. "Scolipede?"

"Yeah, she is with him. After they got together, she spends less and less time with us." Cryogonal answered. "Honestly, I get it, relationship and stuff. My little sister is no different than her. However, I personally prefer it if she gives it a break."

"Can't blame her. I can totally empathize with that." Duosion got a similar experience with Houndour.

"Personally, I don't get why she has her eyes all over Scolipede. I mean his looks are average at best and his personality is just meh like most of the other boys here." Aromatisse stated critically.

"You are just butthurt that Bisharp tricked you into calling him hot. Looks like Jumpluff is about to have some competition." Cryogonal teased, nudging her friend playfully.

"No! That's not true. I have a high taste in men. Bisharp is in the bottom tier in terms of look and personality." Aromatisse denied, blushing heavily.

"Your look says otherwise." Cryogonal pestered. "Admit it. Confess now."

"Says the girl who likes Shedinja." Aromatisse retorted. Now, it was Cryogonal's turn to blush.

"That's not true. I don't like that emo kid." Cryogonal denied, shaking her snow chains.

"Cryogonal likes Shedinja, Cryogonal likes Shedinja…" Aromatisse repeated in a rhythmic way.

"Shush you!" Cryogonal chased Aromatisse in circles.

The two continued their banter for a while. Duosion spectated, laughing uncontrollably.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I will never date any of the boys here, especially Lucario and those that already got their girlfriends. They aren't good enough for my fabulous standards. I can make so many rude remarks and point out so many flaws against them but I won't because I don't want to hurt their poor feelings."

 **Cryogonal:** "Ridiculous, I don't like Shedinja." Her face was still flashing red. She sighed, rubbing her flustered face. "Fine, maybe... just a little bit. A _tiny_ , _microscopic_ bit."

 **Duosion:** "My friends… I can never be thankful enough for them. If Lucario tries to go after any of us, he will need to _fight_ against all of us."

* * *

Scolipede and Ledyba were cuddling in the forest. The trees and bushes protected their privacy. Their eyes were closed in a relaxing pose. All the stress accumulated got rubbed away, dissipating alongside the heated rays of tension.

The day seemed hotter than usual. Plants were oversaturated with sunlight and water evaporated at a faster rate. Despite this, a certain professional athlete remained calm. Instead of venting off his anger, he paced around the forest quietly. Yesterday, he was victorious. Today would be the same.

An aura of confidence surged throughout the forest, relaxing the couple unintentionally in mysterious ways.

"I don't want to stop. Ahh…" Scolipede said with pleasure.

"Me too…" Ledyba agreed.

Meowth passed by, looking around for Lucario. He caught a glimpse of the couple and cringed, covering his mouth. He quickly averted his eyes. Luckily, he saw Lucario the instant he left the smooching couple.

"Oh my, our professional athlete is here. Ready for the next event? We need to meet our projected target of getting the gold or else I'm afraid I must let you go." Meowth indicated. Lucario had a light chuckle, staring at him with overconfidence.

"All this talk about failure is unnecessary, Meowth. I never lose when I'm going full force, especially without carrying those burdening losers." Lucario assured, serious as ever.

"Well, the challenge might be out of your specialized area. Regardless, I will employ certain individuals to ease our process under one condition." Meowth negotiated.

"What is it?" Lucario asked.

"I choose who to eliminate." Meowth revealed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I operate my business under the satisfaction of my customers and employees. They are like labor workers that build the foundation of my empire while I feed them with pretty words. A prime example is Lucario. He is bound by my lease. I lend him temporarily safety while he works day and nights stacking blocks of concrete to pay me back slowly but surely."

 **Lucario:** "Those losers will regret challenging their own leader. I will put them all on a leash and drag them back to me."

* * *

Heracross sat inside her cabin, rubbing her head. She got bandages all over her body. Name a place and chances were likely that she got one there.

"*beep* Lucario! He won't stop chasing me until he fricking buried me in rocks." Heracross groaned.

"Unlucky, girl. You are in the Crazy Crawdaunt. If you are his teammate, he won't really harm you. I nearly got punched once but that's it. Still, I can't let that jerk treat my friend like crap. Let's destroy him with our might! *beep* Lucario!" Miltank yelled, raising her fist.

"*beep* Lucario!" Heracross repeated, raising her fist as well only to aggravate her own injuries.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Heracross gestured for Miltank to go open it since she couldn't move properly.

"Who's there?" Miltank asked as she grabbed the doorknob.

"Your trustworthy acquaintance, Meowth." The voice revealed itself with a sweet and charming tone.

"Alright, what's your business?" Miltank permitted him entry. Meowth entered leisurely, giving Heracross a pitiful look.

"What the hell are you looking at? Haven't you seen an injured Pokemon before?" Heracross asked rudely.

"Oh, my apologies." Meowth bowed his head slightly. "I propose we make a deal. The physical pain must irritate you greatly but the mental side must be worse. Shedinja annoys you greatly, doesn't he?" He surveyed, expecting an obvious response.

"Screw that stupid bug!" Heracross shouted with venom in her voice.

"I don't get how you can help us, Meowth." Miltank questioned his helpfulness. "We are already powerhouses. You look like one of those string beans Bellsprout sitting behind the desk at the farm. Like do we need paperwork to beat Shedinja?" She scoffed.

"Oh, my helpfulness will be evident soon enough. I assure you I'm a skilled workforce. I can work like a machine. No rest, full productivity. I suggest that both of you prevent him from winning immunity. Sabotage his friends as well to exceed our projected goals. I will return the favor greatly by giving you two a few votes, deal?" Meowth offered.

"Yeah, my time to win immunity for once. Shedinja won one time because he just got lucky that all the challenges so far were stupid. I have a feeling that we will get a real physical challenge today." Heracross asserted. Her injuries made it strongly unbelievable that she would win though.

"Deal. Kick the ghost bug out of here." Miltank agreed.

"Nice trading with both of you." Meowth grinned smugly as he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I have done my job. Those two brainless laborers will do all the drudgery for me. First step of the process, they will sabotage Shedinja and his friends. Second, Shedinja and his friends will be distracted by them. The final step is Lucario winning the challenge. Oh, I forgot one step. Preparing a feast to celebrate my imminent success."

 **Miltank:** "I still ain't believing that Meowth is useful. He is small like those pipsqueaks. He needs muscles like these." She started flexing.

 **Heracross:** "Sabotage? Now, I can do that plain easy. Just give Shedinja a few knocks on the head and the job is done. My revenge will soon arrive! Mwahahaha…" Heracross laughed evilly.

* * *

Drifblim looked through the window of the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin and shook her head slowly before floating away.

Each passing day, Meowth kept consolidating his power. His premises grew and business boomed. Lucario cemented his land. Miltank and Heracross intimidated customers into buying his products at a rip-off. Ledyba maintained his positive reputation. Drifblim herself, to an extent, contributed to his business empire.

Watching the game as a superfan, Drifblim had a list of things to do, a clear image of how she wanted the game to be. This season was by no means perfect.

Things started off slow at times. Certain boots like Magikarp and Feebas were too predictable. Certain personalities dragged their relevance like Larvitar and Oddish. Certain challenges were mediocre.

She wanted this season to be more… special. Because she was in it, obviously. Drifblim didn't need the money like Heracross or protect her honor like Farfetch'd. She didn't need to prove herself to her parents like Bisharp or in desperate need of a real friend like Jumpluff. Frankly, she could play however she wanted.

Drifblim desired to be a huge driving force of an entertaining season.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "When I replay this season back home, I don't want to regret losing to Meowth. It will be a dream come true if I win. However, I can't win the boring way. Well, I suppose I can just hide behind Meowth and snipe the victory that way. However, the viewers are going to be mad to see such an undeserving winner. Looks like I need to initiate my plan at the very least today."

* * *

Nosepass loitered around the mountain area, pondering and reflecting about a lot of things.

"Should I go and see big brother Rhyhorn? Why is he suddenly becoming distant? Is it because of that stupid cape or that stupid Grumpig?" Nosepass contemplated, moving around pointlessly from place to place.

"No, it's Duosion!" Nosepass blamed angrily, sighing.

"Maybe, it really is my fault. He must be tired with taking care of a coward like me. He must see my safety as a burden. Maybe, I'm just too weak to be with him and living with his killing psychics stuff." Nosepass kept wondering.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps of Rhyhorn exiting his secret base. Quickly, he ran away.

Rhyhorn surfaced, seemingly unsuspecting.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I'm not ready yet to face him. Maybe, I will be ready in the next ten years. Just maybe."

* * *

"The challenge is about to start. Gather near the beach." Skarmory announced.

Scolipede and Ledyba stopped making out, frowning a little.

"I want it to be a bit longer but a challenge is a challenge." Scolipede sounded really disappointed.

"Me too but there's always next time. Plus, the challenge might be fun." Ledyba said positively.

Scolipede chuckled, lightened up because of her positivity. "You are right. Let's go."

Seeing his happy mood, Ledyba nearly hesitated to tell him something. However, she knew the truth couldn't hide forever. With a determined look and an accepting smile, she held onto Scolipede's side to gain his attention.

"Scolipede, before we head off to do the challenge... I want to tell you that I trust you and I know that you trust me too. Therefore, I want to tell you something. I kept a secret. Before I tell this secret, I want you to know that I didn't hide it from you out of distrust but rather shame and regret. Alright?" Ledyba mustered her confidence.

"I'm ready to hear it." Scolipede was keen to listen. He didn't look angry one bit, just curious. It remained this way for now. Ledyba inhaled deeply and exhaled before she started.

"You remember the Zorua that I mentioned a pretty long time ago?" Ledyba asked.

"Oh, the guy that you saved? Of course." Scolipede answered. Ledyba's lips quivered a little but she smiled knowingly nonetheless.

"I used to be his boyfriend but we weren't too happy with each other and we broke up." Ledyba released the words. She didn't explain things in detail though. The ladybug anticipated his response rather optimistically.

Scolipede smiled. "This is what I like about you. You can't keep secrets for long and you trust me. I don't care what happened in the past. Let us just leave it be, both of our pasts." He encouraged.

"Thank you so much, Scolipede, for understanding me. A bright future awaits us." Ledyba felt touched. The two embraced each other for a moment before they made their way to Skarmory.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "I know that Scolipede needs trust the most. Therefore, I will give him just that. I want him to be at ease, not worried or paranoid. Only if I treat Zorua the same way…" She quickly snapped the thought out of her head and smiled.

 **Scolipede:** "If it was any other girl, they wouldn't have such an easy time confessing secrets like Ledyba. She is just my type. The type that I can trust, dependable and feel comfortable around."

* * *

Upon arrival, Nosepass nearly fainted out of fear. Aromatisse covered her face in a terrified expression. Darmanitan didn't look so 'zen'. Lucario fully displayed confidence.

The other contestants looked shocked/bored/scared/excited/fearless, viewing a terrible machine. The cream underside and the brown back represented normal features of an ordinary Raticate. Everything else though…

The tail was shaped like a broken horn of a monster, releasing filthy, poisonous smoke through many holes.

There were eight colored legs in total:

The front left leg was red, holding an infernal flame sword. It shaped similarly to a barbecue fork, two spiky edges on top. The sword (barbecue fork) looked ready to grill some ugly kids.

The second left leg was blue, holding a long aqua trident. Formerly wielded by ancient Primarina tribes but crafted by amateur artisans. Bubbles boiled the weapon for its heating revenge.

The third left leg was silver, holding an iron mace. The spikes were soft and kid friendly. A good smashing wouldn't hurt but it would make the ugly kids look uglier. A certain fairy type's worst nightmare.

The hind left leg wore a brown, rocky boot. The sandy sole pressed firmly onto the sand. It was ready to rock your world by kicking, dancing and stomping you. Stone salsa time! A kick dealt rock type damage while a stomp dealt ground type damage.

The front right leg was green, holding a scourging vine. It would whip a smoking mark on those ugly kids' bodies until they washed it off with iced water.

The second right leg was yellow, holding a giant Triple A battery branded as Triple G. This weapon was certainly a good guy's first choice.

The third right leg was light blue, holding a toy version of the legendary Toucannon sword. It paid tribute to an ex-intern.

The hind right leg wore a pink high heel. It was pretty like one of those fairy tales shoes. However, a good heel to the face will send stars and fairies twirling around your head.

The mouth opened a little, revealing a cannon inside. In addition, there were six shiny, white teeth. Three on top and three on bottom. From left to right on top to left to right on bottom were the following symbols:

Punching Glove

Snowflake

Fortune Telling Orb

Black Teeth

Gastly

Spider Web

A pair of draconic wings were attached to the back of the Raticate toy. Its bony and metallic structure was prevalent. The skin of the wings was torn. The livid purple and red colors emphasized the disgraceful damage further. Instead of looking like real dragon wings, they resembled Halloween costume rejects that were sold at a 90% discount because they were so lame and uncool that no one would buy them.

Last but not least, the eyes of the Raticate were bloody red. They flashed strange, ominous orange and blue lights for a second. Perhaps, they could shoot lasers.

"What the hell is this monster? I'm scared!" Nosepass screamed, trembling and cowering.

"Your next challenge. Today, Raticate will attempt to get his revenge by knocking all of you out." Skarmory explained, observing the contestants' reaction. "Don't worry, you won't get severely injured." This relieved some of their fears.

"Yes, otherwise you will get sued." Drifblim retorted.

"I'm pretty sure you are addressing Raticate as he will be taking most of the blame for the severe injuries." Skarmory dodged the responsibility. Drifblim shook her head in disapproval.

"What?! Why me? That's not fair. Boss, you don't even pay me." Raticate protested, scowling. Skarmory ignored his complaint and continued the explanation. Raticate groaned and grumbled to himself. The contestants had no love for Raticate so none really cared about him.

"This challenge is simple. While Raticate attempts to torture you without making it illegal, you just need to destroy his Raticatebot Multitype. That is the big objective. However, if that is too difficult, you can search the island for objects with Raticate stickers. There are eighteen in total. Destroy them to weaken the Raticatebot, making your job easier. No moves are allowed but everything else is fair game. If all of you fail, no one will win immunity and I will give Raticate 50,000 P straight out of your 1,000,000 P prize." Skarmory dropped a surprise.

"Hell, yeah! Time to smoke up my revenge. I don't care about the lawsuit thingy or whatever anymore. Ugly kids, time to pay up. Your old man wants some cold, hard cash." Raticate's motivation received a huge boost.

"You are an insufferable host!" Drifblim insulted furiously. "Although, Lucario will probably destroy him anyways." Her tone completely changed at the end.

"Indeed, this is unnecessary. There is no way he will win with me around." Lucario's words were filled with confidence. Raticate didn't seem intimidated, however.

"That's more than what I earned in a year!" Heracross yelled.

"That equates to five percent of the winnings. Not a big deal, except when the money goes to Raticate." Duosion stated, holding grudges.

"Every single P of profit is important in business but charity is also important." Meowth reminded. Ledyba nodded at this. Scolipede narrowed his eyes at the businessman.

"An extra incentive to win the challenge even more, isn't that great?" Skarmory asked.

"Yay, as good as my store non-financial incentives plan. Work all day, all week and get a free gym membership for two weeks. How amazing." Shedinja said sarcastically.

"Oh my, such horrible showcase of Pokemon Resources Management skills. I'm appalled." Meowth criticized, addressing the convenience store.

"Done talking yet? Good. Perfect time to start the challenge. Go now, Raticate will start chasing you." Skarmory initiated suddenly.

Raticate got up his Raticatebot and pressed a button on his remote control. Instantaneously, rocket boosters appeared behind the boot and the high heel. The machine accelerated toward the contestants at a high speed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Enough with these non-Nosepass friendly challenges! I'm fed up! Why can't they be safe and easy for once?" Nosepass cried, having a moment of self-pity. He wiped his tears away and lifted his face up. "Come on, Nosepass. Stay strong and just survive. If Lucario wants to win, let him win."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk has a feeling that the eighteen stickers have something to do with each typing."

 **Darmanitan:** "Like that Raticate guy needs to chill out. Enough with all the smoking and ugly kids."

 **Miltank:** "Heh, homie boy is trembling without Lucario. I will pick him up as a free vote. Although, he needs to stop with all the homie and chill. He's annoying as hell."

 **Heracross:** "Raticate, you won't take my money. You will take my fists instead!"

 **Duosion:** "Raticate is no better than those bandits in ancient times that rob others. Between the bandit and the troglodyte, I very much prefer the royal army to obliterate both of them."

 **Drifblim:** "Another revenge again? Skarmory, these challenges are getting repetitive. What's next? Skrelp returning for the next episode?"

 **Meowth:** "Meowth and Co. are pleased to announce our newest product yet, Lucariobot. Its primary function is to perform a wide variety of strength intensive tasks. Let us demonstrate." He bowed down politely before leaving.

 **Lucario:** "Prepare to get eradicated, Raticate!"

 **Raticate:** "My Raticatebot Multitype isn't just a toy. Not anymore. Now, it is a killing machine. Get hype because I will smoke those ugly kids! That includes you, Lucario."

* * *

Lucario stood tall and proud while the other contestants fled. He got the eyes of a belligerent beast.

"Get smoked!" Raticate pressed a button. The Raticatebot thrusted the barbecue fork at Lucario. The professional athlete responded by jumping skillfully to the left.

Lucario locked his sights onto Raticate and jumped up high, aiming for his face with a powerful mid-air kick.

Raticate pressed a different button. This time, the machine raised the battery up. It released a shockwave that formed an electrical barrier around him.

Lucario canceled his attack, pulling his leg back and landed safely on the ground.

"You will need more than just a battery to challenge me. Face my wrath!" Lucario heated up as he rushed in and punched the underside of the robot rapidly. Raticate countered by pressing multiple buttons.

First, the Toucannon sword tried to behead the Lucario but the professional athlete merely ducked.

Second, the barbecue fork tried to stab Lucario, who jumped back before receiving the hit.

Third, the vine whip threw itself at the professional athlete. However, Lucario grabbed it and tugged forcefully, nearly ripping the green leg off.

Finally, the boot tried to stomp Lucario with its sole. This forced him to let go off the vine whip.

Raticate sweated bullets as his robot sustained some damage. The underside got a few dents. Sparks flew off the hinge connecting the green leg and the robot itself as well. While the robot itself was fairly fast, its attack speed was clearly outmatched. Seeing no other option, he activated his special ability.

"Kid, you are real tough. I gotta save you for last. Can't show you all of my smoking tricks right away. Therefore, time to activate my special ability. Raticate's Gale!" Raticate bid his farewell as Raticatebot created an updraft that propelled it into the air with its wings. The robot flew away in a heartbeat upon seeing a true beast.

"Coward! Get back here!" Lucario stomped the ground angrily. Before he lost sight of the flying robot, he witnessed something. The aqua trident exploded and fell down.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I get it now. Still, weakening Raticate is unnecessary when I can simply destroy him."

* * *

While Lucario fought Raticate, many headed back to the campsite. Most reached the bonfire by now.

"Let's beat Raticate up." Heracross suggested to Miltank.

"Nah, girl. Remember what Meowth said?" Miltank reminded.

"Oh, I remember now." Heracross smirked as Shedinja passed by unknowingly. She grabbed a rock and smashed his head.

"Argh." Shedinja fainted in one hit, teleported away. He was out of the challenge in record time. Violence among the contestants was allowed to a certain extent. Heracross wouldn't be disqualified or penalized.

"Take that, Shedinja. You suck!" Heracross celebrated, unaware of one thing.

Nearly all the other contestants were watching.

"Why are you all looking at us like that? Shoo, get lost!" Miltank glared threatening at them, trying to scare them away to no avail.

"*beep*!" Cryogonal swore as she grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at Heracross. It collided against her forehead.

Ledyba gasped. Miltank gritted her teeth. Scolipede widened his eyes. Aromatisse covered her face in fear of collateral damage. Meowth gaped. Nosepass closed his eyes and lay low. Duosion looked heavily concerned. Farfetch'd got into his defensive stance. Darmanitan looked disgusted at all the violence. Rhyhorn started to breath faster and tiny spots of bloodlust appeared on his eyes. Drifblim was nowhere to be found.

"Ow." Heracross clutched her wound. "*beep* you!" She retaliated by throwing a rock back at Cryogonal.

"Stop this madness. Chill out!" Darmanitan tried to intervene. However, he was ignored.

The snowflake dodged and picked up another rock to throw back at her.

"Cryogonal, violence isn't the answer. You are making things worse. Stop!" Duosion dissuaded.

"Stop now!" Ledyba flew over to hold her back.

"Save your face!" Aromatisse advised. Cryogonal resisted and threw the rock at Heracross before she ceased the violence.

The rock broke into pieces as it collided with Heracross' stomach. She took the hit quite well with great endurance. This only enraged her and prolonged the fight.

"Eat this rock, you *beep*!" Heracross aimed the rock at Cryogonal.

Farfetch'd couldn't take it anymore and intercepted the attack by batting a rock with great accuracy to cancel it out.

"Oh, you want some too?" Heracross redirected another rock at Farfetch'd.

"Mr. Stalk is tired of your foul play." Farfetch'd reflected it back. Heracross jumped sideways to dodge.

At this very moment, a shadow in the sky eclipsed all of them. A cackling laughter was heard as Raticate was amused by the infighting. It wasn't long, however, for his laughter to be drained out by an explosion.

"What? One of the ugly kids found one of the smoking stuff, already?" Raticate said in surprise.

The aqua trident rained down from the sky against Heracross. She couldn't dodge fast enough.

"Curse you-" Heracross didn't finish her unpleasantry. The trident stabbed her, warping the unconscious body away.

"Karma, *beep*!" Cryogonal cursed with vindication. The burning anger inside her cold body was appeased. But not for long…

"I will grill all of your ugly asses!" Raticate declared in a crude manner. The robot dived down and targeted Cryogonal with the barbecue fork. The hit connected against her back and the spike burned piercingly. Cryogonal screeched as she fainted.

"Who's next?" Raticate carved terror deep into the contestants as they all scrammed in chaos. Not really, the true reason was because…

"Get back here, coward!" Lucario approached the bonfire at an insane speed.

"Raticate's Gale, activate." Raticate hurriedly pressed the button and escaped as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Heracross will regret this strongly…" Her eyes were a bit teary.

 **Miltank:** "Great, now I need to sabotage them all alone. Stupid snowflake…" She folded her arms grumpily.

 **Meowth:** "I don't like it when my employees pick fight with others. I ordered them to sabotage not beating others up. Brainless…" He muttered a strong line of insults and threatened to cut their pay.

 **Duosion:** "I'm honestly more worried about Miltank. Heracross is like those mindless followers of rebellion groups. She only knows how to abuse her strength. Miltank, on the other hand, is pretty smart on her own."

 **Darmanitan:** "They are all crazy! They should chill out in the freezer."

* * *

Drifblim had a feeling that Skarmory must be hiding something near the beach area. Otherwise, why would Raticate chase them away?

She vanished and separated from the crowd easily and headed to where Skarmory was. The host was standing next to a 2D cardboard cut-out promotional material Bisharp. The fisherman was holding a fishing rod above his head pridefully, readying a powerful swing. On the bottom, something was written about a fishing tournament.

Drifblim raised her eyes at this. "Why is there a cardboard Bisharp?" She asked, seemingly confused.

"Oh, the host of the fishing tournament got swarmed by a group of hungry and cannibalistic Sharpedo. Therefore, I'm now the new host. Just want to promote it on my own show. In case you don't know, I own 100% of Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory explained.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Drifblim rolled her eyes. She floated over to take a closer look. Skarmory just stared at her awkwardly as she observed the cardboard carefully. When she tried to look at the back, Skarmory blocked her for some reason.

"Get out of the way. You are acting suspicious." Drifblim pushed him aside. Skarmory sighed in defeat and allowed her to spot a blue sticker on the back.

The ghost didn't hesitate to grab the cardboard cut-out with all of her four arms and bent it out of shape until she broke it in the end. Skarmory winced as he looked at his poor promotional material.

"You are a monster. How could you do this to poor Bisharp? Jumpluff is going to be mad." Skarmory glared at Drifblim with contempt.

"They aren't my favorite shipping. Bye." Drifblim left just like that while Skarmory mourned the passing of his cardboard.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "In this season, I don't really like any of the couples. The thought of seeing Bisharp and Jumpluff is cute and all but it doesn't suit my taste."

* * *

Farfetch'd sprinted ahead of everyone else, reaching the camp first. He decided to check the mess hall since it was a prime candidate for a hiding place of any kind.

Chef Drapion was cooking something nasty. He used a ladle to taste the purple soup inside a pot.

"Need more of my special delicacy." Chef Drapion commented and poured more sludge into the pot.

Meanwhile, Farfetch'd searched under the tables, picked up a few chairs. He found nothing so far.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk and I need to win this challenge. Four Crazy Crawdaunt members already got eliminated. As long as there is Lucario, none of us are safe."

* * *

Aromatisse and Nosepass were the slowest of the bunch with the fairy type ahead of the rock type by a small gap.

"Smell my smoking gas." Raticate pressed a button and the robot rotated. The horn faced the two and tooted out a noxious gas.

"We are screwed!" Nosepass panicked, sounding hopeless. He stopped running, failing to find any energy to struggle any longer.

Aromatisse on the other hand, dug her feet through the ground hard. She didn't want to give up or look weak anymore. Otherwise, bottom tier guys like Bisharp and Lucario would take advantage of her again and again. She knew that she could be strong. The fight with Larvitar proved that. It was just a matter of time before she became both beautiful and brawny.

"Just a bit more, Aromatisse. You can do this. Imagine this as a runway. The crowd is waiting for you. Dig those heels. Hrgh!" Aromatisse grunted as she speeded up. True to her words, a cheering crowd was in front of her.

"Hold my hands." Ledyba offered three of her left hands. All of her right hands held onto Scolipede, who held onto Darmanitan. The three was ready to pull her toward safety.

"You can do this, homie!" Darmanitan cheered encouragingly.

Aromatisse gritted her teeth as she used the last of her energy to stretch her left arm out and grabbed the middle arm out of the three. Ledyba gripped her friend with the other two and signaled for Scolipede and Darmanitan to pull.

They burst with great effort and rescued Aromatisse from the fumes of poison. Aromatisse looked back to see Nosepass all alone, submitting to his cruel fate.

She stretched her right arm out to him. However, Miltank grabbed it instead.

"Nosepass, catch my hand." Miltank extended the rescue line.

Nosepass saw a ray of hope and ran impulsively for Miltank's hand. He thought that he was being saved. How wrong he was…

Once Nosepass grabbed her hand, Miltank threw him back toward Raticate.

"No! What have I done wrong for you to do this to me? Ahh!" Nosepass screamed in terror as the smoke consumed him. Sounds of stomping were heard and Nosepass got eliminated. Needless to say, Scolipede, Darmanitan and Ledyba didn't seem too pleased with Miltank.

Aromatisse twisted her hand out of Miltank's grasp and eyed her with disgust.

"You are disgusting both on the inside and outside. It is very mean and barbaric to fake to help him like that. Both you and Heracross have no shame. In that 80 kilograms of your fat body, I bet your heart and brain together take about one gram." Aromatisse scalded Miltank in scolding, scorching and insulting waters.

"Say that again!" Miltank dared, fuming like a smoking pot. Aromatisse didn't waste time and fled with the others, leaving Miltank with Raticate.

"Hey, ugly kid, your turn." Raticate grinned as he pressed a button. The mouth of the Raticatebot opened up and the cannon fired a boxing glove out. It collided with Miltank's face and sent her flying into the sky.

"This isn't over yet." Miltank shook her right fist and she disappeared into the sky.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Rather than being on a diet, she should take anger management classes."

 **Miltank:** "How dare she insult my weight? She is _dead_." She sounded serious.

 **Nosepass:** "I bet every single one of those jerks planned with each other to do that to me. I hate them all!"

* * *

Raticate flew around, avoiding Lucario and picking off stragglers. He founded Duosion exiting out of the restrooms and shot a spider web at her. It immobilized her and made strange buzzing sounds. The psychic closed her eyes, suffering from severe headaches. Eventually, she fainted.

"Another ugly kid down. This is what you get for humiliating me in the desert." Raticate said with satisfaction, proud of his revenge.

He glanced around, scanning through the area. However, he couldn't do it for long.

Lucario started kicking rocks up at him. One barely missed the right wing of his robot.

"Stop chasing me." Raticate fled to the intersection. Abruptly, the poison tail exploded and smoke released everywhere, clouding the sky. This obscured Lucario's vision greatly. The professional athlete threw a tantrum at his misfortune.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Coward, get back here. It is supposed to be your job to fight me."

 **Duosion:** "I thought that it is likely for something to be inside the restroom. I guess that was a foolish move after all."

* * *

After searching through all the tables and chairs, Farfetch'd approached Chef Drapion. He fixed his eyes on the pot.

"What are you cooking, chef?" Farfetch'd asked.

"None of your business." Chef Drapion replied in a rude tone.

"Mr. Stalk has a feeling that it is going to taste bad and nobody is going to eat it." Farfetch'd spoke bluntly.

"Shut up, I'm a great chef! Poison types love it." Chef Drapion refused to accept the criticism. "Who the hell are you to judge my food?"

"Mr. Stalk is a five-stars chef and I'm just his helper." Farfetch'd told, looking at his partner. "Right, Mr. Stalk?"

"Blasphemy! He isn't real." Chef Drapion slammed the ladle down.

"He is real. Let us prove it. Mr. Stalk, you know many things about Chef Drapion. Tell him." Farfetch'd positioned Mr. Stalk forward and started speaking. "Chef Drapion formerly used to be a stall owner in Toucannon Island. He sold his special delicacies that only poison types bought. Working with him was a Garbodor. They learned together at the same cooking school. They both earned first and second place respectively. Furthermore-"

"Enough!" Chef Drapion interrupted. He threw the pot toward the both of them. Farfetch'd smashed it to protect himself. The poisonous substance covered his entire body and Mr. Stalk's too. Neither of them knew about the purple sticker on the bottom of the pot.

"Get out!" Chef Drapion pointed to the door. Farfetch'd left to clean himself.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk wonders about this cooking school of his. It must be really horrible to produce such incompetent graduates."

* * *

Meowth paced around the intersection. He witnessed a flying Miltank just moments ago. Those two laborers disappointed him greatly. He would dock their pay for sure.

"I hired saboteurs, not violent street punks." Meowth facepalmed at how foolish they were.

"Did you hire a smoking dentist?" Raticate suddenly interrupted. Meowth turned around and lifted his face slowly, gulping at the sight of sharp black teeth.

The Raticate descended for a crunching bite. Until… Lucario appeared and saved the day.

"Don't hurt my teammate!" Lucario dashed in front of the Meowth and gave the robot a spinning kick, breaking all the teeth. Raticate gaped in a dumbfound fashion.

The scene was reversed for slow-motion. Lucario jumped up and kick all the upper teeth with his right leg. While spinning around, he used the back of his left leg to destroy the rest in an epic fashion.

"Thank you. I will recompense with valuables and riches." Meowth promised gratefully.

"No problem for my teammate." Lucario smiled complacently.

"How is it possible? My teeth all got smoking chipped like pieces of glass. Now, I can't really use dark type attacks. Kid, you will pay." Raticate scowled, pressing a different button this time.

"This is my last resort, Raticate's Fury!" Raticate announced deafeningly as his robot threw the battery high up into the firmament. Thunderclouds formed as the angry Godly Guy Grovyle appeared, blasting multiple lightning bolts at Lucario and Meowth. (Just joking, the battery shot the lightning bolts itself.)

The professional athlete tried to block the blows for Meowth. However, the lightning zapped through his body and shocked them both, causing paralysis.

"I can't move." Lucario felt a tremendous jolt of electricity overflowing his body.

"Bzzt." Meowth received a painful zap.

The battery dropped down and Raticatebot retrieved it before opening its mouth and blasted an ice cannon at both of them. The two were frozen solid upon impact.

"Time for the finishing blow. Raticatebot, blast them into smoke." Raticate ordered. The Raticatebot charged up laser beams with both of its eyes. Two red pointers flickered on their bodies before beams of normal type energy exploded the area into smoking flames.

Lucario managed to endure the rays of destruction, coughing a little. The professional athlete covered his face from all the smoke and staggered slightly over to Meowth. The businessman fainted, teleported away. Lucario clenched his fists.

"That should smoke them." Raticate said smugly as he flew away on his robot, not bothering to check.

Lucario escaped from the dome of smoke, heading toward the mountain area. Along the way, he saw burning trees. A burning leaf fell on his right shoulder and Lucario quickly snuffed it because it could burn him. This gave him the chance to take a closer look at his injuries.

He got black marks every there and then, especially on his right shoulder. However, he didn't take much damage overall. His steel typing helped a lot against the beam, the ice and the smoke. However, it was still a defeat no matter how you tried to spin the story.

"Rah!" Lucario roared in rage as he punched the ground, upset with his temporary defeat. He collapsed on the ground, not because of exhaustion or damage but disappointment and self-loathing.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I'm a weak leader. That defeat, it is unacceptable. I'm supposed to win, no matter what." He said it in his unusual quiet voice.

 **Raticate:** "I smoked him good. I mean if that tough kid survived the blast, he would swear and counter-attack me. I heard nothing and I saw nothing."

 **Meowth:** "I'm touched by my labor worker's concern for my safety. Perhaps, I will promote him."

* * *

Aromatisse, Ledyba, Scolipede and Darmanitan ran continuously without any breaks to the snowy area. They even surpassed Meowth, who seemed troubled about his personal matters.

"I… need… a break." Aromatisse ran out of breath, dropping down to the ground.

"Let me help, homie." Darmanitan dropped down to let her get on his back.

Aromatisse hesitated to piggyback him at first. Unlike her former self, the new Aromatisse was kind of reluctant to be a burden to others. She sought after independence. Another reason was Darmanitan wasn't her dream guy to say at the very least. She knew it wasn't time to be picky and choosy over such trivial matters and rode the Darmanitan Kart.

Unlike the Lucario Express, the Darmanitan Kart was slow and chill, kind of like a recreation ride. He walked very slowly, holding his passenger securely while the aura beast raced like a speed demon.

"Chill, homie?" Darmanitan asked.

"It's alright. Thank you." Aromatisse sounded grateful. Scolipede turned back to look at them, blinking a little before minding his own business. Aromatisse seemed a bit flustered from this.

The four soon arrived at the workshop and Darmanitan dropped Aromatisse down patiently and slowly.

"You are a true gentleman, Darmanitan." Aromatisse complimented.

"I agree." Ledyba nodded.

"Nah, I'm just chill." Darmanitan replied humbly.

"I can't argue with that." Scolipede remarked. "You like cold places?"

"Yeah, cold places and cold stuff." Darmanitan answered.

"I can imagine you and Cryogonal switching types." Scolipede said, chuckling. The two girls joined while Darmanitan just scratched his head.

Suddenly, they heard loud explosion sounds and smoke rising from a distance.

"What is happening?" Ledyba asked with concern.

"Probably Raticate." Scolipede guessed.

"Indeed, you are correct." Drifblim suddenly turned visible, scaring Darmanitan. Ledyba and Aromatisse seemed spooked a little as well.

"Yikes!" Darmanitan held heart with both of his hands. Drifblim giggled at his reaction.

"Chivalry might be one of your qualities but bravery is certainly not." Drifblim stated.

"There is a reason I like chill stuff, homie. I like calm, peace and yeah the cold." Darmanitan told, waving his arms when he spoke.

"Why are you here?" Scolipede narrowed his eyes with suspicion.

"Warning you all. Raticate is coming. We should spread out and find the stickers as quickly as possible." Drifblim suggested and they all agreed.

Aromatisse and Drifblim would search through the mansion while Darmanitan, Scolipede and Ledyba took care of the workshop.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "This is a very important moment for me. An opportunity to bond more with the others."

 **Scolipede:** "I don't exactly trust her but working together for now doesn't seem to hurt."

 **Darmanitan:** "I wonder if there are some chill pills inside the gift shop. I want some for the homie." He referred to Lucario.

* * *

Lucario lost sight of Raticate after the second intersection. The rat was smoking fast and he was no longer airborne. The Raticatebot wasn't that humongous as to be clearly visible either. Lucario estimated that its height was roughly somewhere between 2-2.5 m. Its height varied, depending on whether it stood up on its hind legs or not.

Nevertheless, Lucario decided to explore inside the auditorium. Perhaps, he would find a sticker there.

Once he entered, he was shocked to find a crying Smeargle on stage. Lurantis and Shiinotic were there, consoling her. The two noticed Lucario and walked over to him with a mean scowl on their faces, looking pissed at him.

"Why is she crying?" Lucario asked obliviously.

"Because of you!" Lurantis pushed him. Although, Lucario didn't budge one bit. He still looked baffled and oblivious.

"What kind of professional athlete are you? You don't even know your fangirl's feelings? She was hurt deeply by what you did yesterday. Get it now?" Shiinotic implied that Smeargle was hurt by how Lucario erased the wedding painting yesterday inconsiderately.

Lucario frowned guiltily. He didn't know that she would take it seriously or to her heart's discontent like this.

"Is there anything I can do to make up for it?" Lucario sounded genuine. He really wanted her back on his side. After all, he already lost Darmanitan.

"What are you waiting for? Go and talk to her! Stop standing like a statue. Seriously, you got no clue about how your teammates and fans feel." Shiinotic scolded.

Lucario lowered his head as he walked slowly to her.

Smeargle sobbed, lying on the stage, turning her back against him.

"Err… I'm sorry." Lucario apologized. Smeargle didn't respond. Shiinotic and Lurantis looked extremely frustrated at Lucario.

"Smeargle, you need to understand that I did it because…" Lucario paused, pondering something meticulously.

Time passed by awkwardly as Smeargle awaited his excuse.

"I hate relationships." Lucario said truthfully. Honesty was something that embedded itself deeply into his identity and character. The leader of the Aura Beast never lied. He never hid the harsh truth. He never cared if it hurts someone for Lucario valued the principles that he created.

"I get it… It is just a fantasy, Lucario. Just a fan art. I never meant for you to take it so seriously." Smeargle turned around, gazing at him rather sorrowfully. She soon straightened her face and gave him a weak smile. "Thanks for telling the truth, Lucario. I expect this much from you."

Lucario smiled as well. The situation went better than he thought.

"Can you help me with something? I want you to promote my new movie." Smeargle requested, taking this opportunity while Lucario got semblance of guilt inside his heart.

"Yes." Lucario accepted something that could cost him the challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "At least, I will have Smeargle left if Darmanitan is really gone…"

* * *

Darmanitan visited the gift shop, searching for chill pills and stickers.

"Like dad says, multiple chill pills a day keep the doctor away. Didn't the homie learn that?" Darmanitan scratched his head as he continued his search.

Ledyba and Scolipede entered the café. An Abomasnow intern was inside. The two searched around the place, even asking the intern who refused to tell them anything.

"Either you order or I will ask you both to kindly leave." Abomasnow gestured politely for them to leave.

Scolipede seemed like he wanted to disobey. The two didn't explore behind the counter yet. There were collections of cups and plates, coffee beans, teabags, ice packs and a lot more. However, Ledyba pulled him outside and Scolipede couldn't resist.

"Let's be polite." Ledyba easily convinced Scolipede.

Back to Darmanitan…

"Wow, a plush of Doctor Chillman. This is very rare. He's my favorite cartoon character. My dad got a quote from this guy. He's an ice type while my mom is a Darmanitan like me. Ah, chilly childhood." Darmanitan beamed with nostalgia as he hugged the plush of a Dewgong wearing a head mirror.

Noticeably, there was a dark blue sticker on its tail. Darmanitan was astonished when he saw it.

"No!" Darmanitan screamed at the cruel, twisted fate. He dropped down to the ground miserably. Ledyba and Scolipede were alerted by the sound of his scream and hurriedly came to check him.

"Why did you scream? I thought Raticate is here." Scolipede asked.

"Are you alright?" Ledyba flew over to his side and patted his back.

"No, I'm not alright. I don't want to hurt Doctor Chillman but he got a sticker on him." Darmanitan teared up, wiping his face. "He is my favorite cartoon character."

"Grow up, it's just a cartoon character. You can find a different Dewgong plush." Scolipede patronized. Ledyba glared at him and Scolipede quietened.

"It's okay, Darmanitan. Think of it like this, the doctor is sacrificing his life to save all of us. He will always remain inside here." Ledyba consoled. She placed one of her arms on his chest. Darmanitan felt a radiating warmth and smiled.

"Homie, you are right. The doctor will sacrifice his life to cure the rage disease. But let us give him a proper send-off. Show him the beautiful world at least one more time. Let's go outside." Darmanitan resolved with a determined face and carried the plush outside. Scolipede was astounded by his own girlfriend. How did she manage to pull off this level of… persuasion?

"Scolipede, please be sensitive next time, alright?" Ledyba tried to not sound angry.

"Yes, I will." Scolipede looked whipped for a second.

Darmanitan exited the workshop and breathed in the chilly air, turning the plush around slowly.

"Doctor Chillman, you like it around here? Wherever you go, I want you to have happy memories. Repeat zen if you are scared." Darmanitan prepared the plush for the sacrifice.

"Just do it already. Rip his head off." Scolipede hastened. Ledyba gasped and Darmanitan trembled.

"Scolipede, don't do it!" Ledyba raised her voice. Scolipede immediately became silent.

Ledyba flew over to Darmanitan to console him again. Instead of speeding things up, Scolipede slowed things down.

A shadow darted across the snow. It was the machine of terrors. The rat of destruction, Raticatebot Multitype.

"Smoke a cigarette a day to keep the ugly doctor away." Raticate used his own saying as he pressed a button. The machine charged up a blast of ice.

Darmanitan inhaled deeply as he gripped the head of the plush.

"Do it now!" Scolipede shouted desperately. Ledyba closed his mouth for him.

Darmanitan got pressured by Scolipede too much. He could no longer find the strength or the will to do it.

"Doctor Chillman, let's have a chill time together." Darmanitan accepted his fate as Raticate froze all of them in solid ice.

The Raticatebot reared its boot for a powerful, super-effective kick. This shattered the ice and knocked the three out. They all got teleported away.

"Stupid Doctor Chillman, you are my least favorite cartoon character. That's why I put a sticker on you. Hahaha…" Raticate laughed before heading off to find more victims.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Darmanitan is big and strong but he is so soft inside. I can't believe someone like him is a fan of Lucario."

 **Ledyba:** "I might need to have a chat with Scolipede later about this."

 **Darmanitan:** "It's my childhood, I can't do it. I know I look like a crybaby for crying over the plush but he is more than just a plush to me. The memories, the lessons, the smiles he gave me. It's just too much for this homie boy."

* * *

Lucario wore a dark blue tunic and a dark blue cap. He was currently approaching a circular pedestal with a dark sword sealed in the middle.

What was Lucario doing? Promoting Smeargle's movie, of course. The aspiring Pokestar Studio trainee wanted him as the main protagonist. The movie was called The Hero of Darkness.

The story summarized into a tale of a hero who wielded the power of darkness to fight against the villain who wielded the power of light. The Hero of Darkness got sealed time and time again by the celestial barbecue fork of flames. This was his last reincarnation, the last chance to stop the primal evil that reigned supreme over the ages.

"At last, I have found the sword that seals the light, the Darkness Sword." Lucario said his line as he lifted the sword up easily.

"Cut! Lucario, you are supposed to struggle. The Darkness Sword repels any Pokemon that tries to tame it. Make it more realistic." Smeargle criticized. Lucario sighed as they redid the part.

Lucario said the same line and lifted the sword up. However, it still looked too easy. They repeated, and repeated the same scene again and again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** He started pulling his ears out of frustration. "That is just stupid. Why does it matter if it looks easy or hard? I'm a professional athlete, not an actor. Other Pokemon will laugh at me if they see me struggling."

* * *

Raticate stopped in front of the mansion and pressed a certain button. As a result, an army of Gastly toys came out of the robot's mouth.

"My dead Rattata minions, smoke those ugly kids if you find them." Raticate ordered and the Gastly army infiltrated the mansion.

Drifblim and Aromatisse were inside a pretty pink bedroom filled with make-up kits, dolls and plushes. A mirror located opposite to the bed. The bed got heart-shaped pillows and white-pink stripes bed sheets. It looked livelier than the first time it was shown.

Drifblim painted Aromatisse's nails for her while the two talked, having a great time laughing together.

"Hahaha… You are right about that. Most boys in this island are so bottom tier. Like did you know that Nosepass picked his nose in the public? Disgusting." Drifblim bad-mouthed.

"You are totally right, girl. Most of them have no shame. Machoke scratched his own bottom. Scolipede… Wait, aren't we supposed to do a challenge?" Aromatisse wondered.

"Girl, do you want to fight Raticate and risk your face? It might worsen the damage." Drifblim warned.

Aromatisse gasped. "You are right about that. My face still comes first before everything else. Girl, I think you have done enough for me. Want me to put make-up on you?" Aromatisse offered.

"No, I'm a ghost. I don't need make-up." Drifblim rejected.

"That's poor reasoning. I can make you totally fabulous." Aromatisse reasoned.

Drifblim averted her eyes, sighing. "Here is the thing…" To her delight, an army of Gastly invaded the room.

"Let's get out of here!" Drifblim dodged the question and the Gastly.

Aromatisse rushed out of the room through the door while Drifblim floated through the walls. The Gastly decided to chase after Drifblim.

"I won't let any of you Gastly poison me." Aromatisse descended down the stairs quickly, exiting the mansion.

The ghost-poison types chased Drifblim outside of the mansion. The two girls got surrounded by both the Gastly and the Raticatebot.

"Smoke them up, my dead Rattata minions!" Raticate commanded, pointing at the two.

"Hey! Ghost types aren't reincarnations of dead Pokemon." Drifblim seemed annoyed.

"What are we going to do?" Aromatisse asked, hoping for a miracle or a plan from Drifblim. The latter got none so they relied on the former.

While Raticate charged up his icy blast, the Gastly floated closer to them. All hope seemed lost until all the Gastly suddenly exploded alongside the middle, lower tooth of the Raticatebot.

"Who did this?!" Raticate yelled out in wonder. Nonetheless, the ice blast froze Drifblim and Aromatisse successfully. The miracle wasn't enough.

Raticate smashed them with the iron mace, knocking them both out.

"Now, time to find the culprit." Raticate pressed another button. This time, the robot shot a fortune telling orb out. Alakazam teleported next to it. Seemingly, he held a remote with eighteen buttons. Possibly, they were used to weaken Raticate.

"What do you wish to know?" Alakazam asked.

"Who destroyed my dead Rattata minions? Tell me the location of this ugly kid as well." Raticate told.

"I presume you refer to the Gastly. Farfetch'd is the one. He is near the haunted mansion." Alakazam granted his wish before teleporting away alongside the orb. This was a one-time power.

"Farfetch'd, huh? I will smoke his ugly leek." Raticate said threateningly before activating Raticate's Gale.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "While I didn't win, I bonded with Aromatisse a fair bit."

 **Aromatisse:** "Drifblim isn't a bad girl. She is someone who I can talk to."

* * *

Lurantis painted Lucario's left hand with a strange symbol. It was a circle with three smaller circles inside. Apparently, it was called the Darkforce.

"Are you done yet?" Lucario sounded impatient.

"No, I can't rush it." Lurantis replied, concentrating on painting his hand with a brush.

It seemed like this would be a long day for Lucario.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lurantis:** "I'm honestly surprised Smeargle wanted me to do it instead. Maybe, she's over with Lucario already."

 **Lucario:** "This is taking too long for my liking."

* * *

Farfetch'd found a dark purple sticker on a fake Pikachu corpse. Using Mr. Stalk, he sliced the corpse and weakened Raticate successfully.

"Mr. Stalk, where should we go next?" Farfetch'd asked, shaking Mr, Stalk a little. "I got it." He nodded and left the haunted mansion.

The duck and his partner ventured inside the haunted forest. They were about to reach the auditorium where Lucario was until the Raticatebot landed in front of them.

Farfetch'd prepared an offensive stance, stretching out his legs a little and gripped Mr. Stalk tightly with both wings, positioning for a strike.

"Prepare to get smoked for destroying my minions!" Raticate expressed his thirst for revenge.

"Mr. Stalk will show you how he smokes a rat for dinner. He will slice your legs like onions and stuff your filthy mouth with soap." Farfetch'd threatened as he ran forward bravely.

Raticatebot raised the high heel to stomp Farfetch'd. However, he halted and jumped back just in time. Raticate didn't hesitate to pick the most effective weapon for this battle… the battery.

"Raticate's Fury, activate!" Raticate announced, throwing the battery up high into the sky. Godly Guy Grovyle appeared, charging up an electrical blast of the century.

Farfetch'd acted fast on his leek and used Mr. Stalk to dig up a hole and hid there. The ground provided him immunity to electrical attacks.

Raticate looked frustrated. He retrieved the battery and tried to come up with an idea to punish Farfetch'd for his move.

Suddenly, he got one.

Raticate raised his boot and stomped the ground rapidly, creating an Earthquake. Since, Farfetch'd was underground, he lost his flying typing.

Farfetch'd popped his head out of the ground dizzily. Raticate finished him off with the high heel. Farfetch'd got eliminated and Raticate grew more and more confident.

"Smoking yeah, no one can beat me!" Raticate celebrated prematurely.

"The Hero of Darkness has arrived. Prepare to be sealed in the name of darkness!" A certain voice ruined his moment.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Raticate:** "How did he…?"

* * *

After ages, Lucario found the Darkness Sword. He conquered all the trials of the hero and received the Darkforce. He even got a pot lid shield from a treasure chest. The Hero of Darkness was well geared.

A shield on his right arm. A sword on his left hand. He got nothing to fear anymore.

"Good luck, the Hero of Darkness. Beat Raticate!" Smeargle cheered him on his way out. Lucario smiled a little before he exited the auditorium.

What a coincidence, Raticate was near the auditorium as well. Time to settle old business.

"The Hero of Darkness has arrived. Prepare to be sealed in the name of darkness!" Lucario ruined Raticate's moment of early celebration.

"You again, the tough kid that puts a stop to my plans all the time. I will seal you once and for all. I beat you once. I can beat you again." Raticate tried to look confident. Although, he sweated a little.

"Times changed, I'm now the wielder of darkness!" Lucario proclaimed, sprinting at the Raticatebot.

The Hero of Darkness' speed was unmatched. He disappeared in a flash and slashed the vine whip into pieces, rendering it useless. Raticatebot countered by slamming the iron mace down. However, Lucario merely jumped high into the sky like the acrobatic expert he was and performed a downward thrust, targeting Raticate.

The Raticatebot protected its master by using the battery to form an electrical shield. The Hero of Darkness was unstoppable. He let go of his sword and kicked the hilt, sending it down straight at Raticate.

"Darkness Descent." The Hero of Darkness announced his special move while moving his way through the air to land on the ground safely.

The sword itself pierced through the electrical shield and nearly stabbed Raticate. The rat luckily dodged just in time.

"Smoking *beep*!" Raticate swore as the sword pierced through the head of the robot. He pressed a few buttons to test whether or not it was still fine. Luckily, the robot was still able to swing the Toucannon Sword around.

"I will teach you a lesson!" Raticate raged, pressing the same button rapidly.

The robot swung the Toucannon sword rapidly at the Hero of Darkness. Lucario backflipped multiple times to dodge until he got a chance for a flurry rush.

The Hero of Darkness used his fists to pummel the underside of the robot until sparks flew out.

"Enough! Raticate's Protection." Raticate activated his emergency defense by pressing a certain button. The robot stabbed the barbecue fork into the ground, releasing tremendous heat energy.

"Gah!" The Hero of Darkness' tunic got caught in flames as he backflipped away.

Lucario ripped his tunic off, leaving himself with the cap and the pot lid shield.

"Burn into smoking ashes." Raticate growled. The Raticatebot charged up the lasers once again. The Hero of Darkness patiently waited, positioning his shield where the red pointers pointed to.

The Raticatebot fired and Raticate anticipated the destruction of the hero. However, the Hero of Darkness performed a shield bash, reflecting the lasers back at the Raticatebot.

"So long, the incarnation of light." Lucario used a line from the script.

"*beep*!" Raticate used profanity as he got blasted off the robot.

The Hero of Darkness dropped his broken shield and walked over victoriously to the robot. He grabbed the hilt of his sword proudly and removed it from the head of the robot. Lucario raised the Darkness Sword skyward, absorbing the power of darkness from the heavens.

"The land shall be shrouded in darkness-" Before Lucario finished his sentence, an unprecedented event occurred.

"I will destroy you, Raticate and Lucario!" Miltank yelled as she drove a red truck toward both of them. Miltank grinned as she saw both of their shocked expressions.

"You aren't eliminated yet?!" Both Lucario and Raticate shouted in unison.

* * *

Flashback…

Miltank landed under the well in the desert area. She struggled for ages to get out. After she successfully did so, she saw Druddigon's red truck. Since he was nowhere nearby, Miltank broke through the window and stole the vehicle. Druddigon chased after it to no avail, cussing a few curse words at Miltank.

* * *

Back in the present…

Miltank crashed the robot and knocked Lucario down alongside his sword. Opportunity gleamed in Raticate's eyes as he seized control of his robot back by running up to grab the remote and fled.

"Come back here!" Miltank got out of her truck and chased after him.

"Face my fury!" Raticate initiated his ultimate attack. The Raticatebot used the last of its strength to send the battery to the heavens, summoning the god of all goodness in this world.

Godly Guy Grovyle appeared, charging up a shower of lightning bolts. The sacred deity unleashed his wrath upon the mere mortals.

The Darkness Sword flashed with electricity. The Hero of Darkness knew that this was his last reincarnation. He couldn't fail like last time. Lucario threw the sword toward the direction of Miltank and Raticate.

"*beep*!" Both Raticate and Miltank swore as Godly Guy Grovyle zapped them into the state of unconsciousness.

Lucario strode to collect his sword, raising his chin up high. The Hero of Darkness soon returned to the top of the robot, raising his sword skyward.

Smeargle opened the door to check the results. She squealed in delight once she saw the Hero of Darkness as the victor.

"The land shall be shrouded in darkness again. Darkness Strike!" Lucario said coolly before slashing the Raticatebot into a state where it could no longer function.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Miltank:** "Everything I've done up until now… It was all for nothing!"

 **Raticate:** "My 50,000 P! No!"

 **Lucario:** "Without the Darkness Sword, I wouldn't win. Thank you, Smeargle." His voice was strangely soft and kind.

 **Druddigon:** "Haha, Raticate lost! Worth the trouble of getting my truck stolen. Seriously, the interns need to learn to stop giving Lucario weapons. This time is a special exception though."

* * *

Where was Rhyhorn? Well, he stayed in his cabin all day, waiting for his inevitable defeat. It was as if he already quitted the game. Not a good sign for Rhyhorn's fans.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "Maybe I should find a different way to earn money. I don't feel like it is safe here anymore. I nearly lost it when Cryogonal and Heracross fought each other. My mentality is getting worse and worse. Soon, what happened in Toucannon Island will happen again."

* * *

After everyone heard the news of Lucario's victory, not many were in a great mood. If the professional athlete kept winning, he would soon secure a spot in the finale.

The elimination didn't seem to be a problem though, at least for now. Many agreed to vote out Heracross like Cryogonal, Shedinja, Ledyba, Scolipede, Aromatisse and Darmanitan. Farfetch'd probably would vote for her as well, alongside Nosepass and Rhyhorn.

However, Duosion got a different idea…

She invited Cryogonal, Shedinja, Ledyba, Scolipede and Aromatisse inside the mess hall. Meowth eavesdropped the conversation behind Chef Drapion.

"I suggest that we vote out Miltank instead. She is a much bigger threat than Heracross." Duosion proposed.

"No! Heracross bullied Shedinja for weeks! I don't care who is smarter between them. To me, they are equally dumb!" Cryogonal disagreed strongly.

"It is more logical-" Duosion tried to reason but got interrupted.

"Logic? Duosion, I can't believe you. You knew what Heracross did and you knew that she is hell a lot worse than Miltank yet you used logic as an excuse. Gah!" Cryogonal swung her snow chains furiously. Duosion dodged her angry eye contact.

"Calm down, I don't care if Miltank or Heracross-" Shedinja didn't get why she was making such a huge fuss.

"You don't care as well? Am I the only that cares?! Vote out Miltank then!" Cryogonal snapped and left the mess hall, banging the door shut. Shedinja looked a bit guilty as he floated after her.

"What just happened?" Scolipede couldn't comprehend everything fully.

Ledyba gaped in a flabbergasted manner. She couldn't believe that her friend would suddenly go on a rampage like that. Regardless, she got relationship matters of her own.

"Scolipede, we should talk." Ledyba sounded serious, motioning for them to leave. Scolipede looked nervous as they left.

Aromatisse patted Duosion consolingly. "Duosion, I know that you have good intentions but Cryogonal is right. Heracross bullied Shedinja for weeks and you know how she felt about him so think about this carefully, okay?" She advised, leaving as well.

Duosion seemed crestfallen as she left.

Meowth got out of hiding and paid Chef Drapion ten Skarmory tokens.

"Nice doing business with you, chef." Meowth smiled sweetly before he left to attend matters of his own.

"Yeah, pay me more next time… Wait, what is the use of having Skarmory tokens? I'm not a contestant… Did that cat sweet-talk me into helping him? Argh." Chef Drapion groaned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "What should I do? Am I making the right choice? Houndour, please tell me."

 **Meowth:** "I talked to Lucario and we got our sights on someone. You see, Miltank and Heracross are still my laborers. Despite their underperformance today, they are still two free votes."

* * *

Cryogonal rested under the shade of the giant tree, burning out after a horrible day.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly acting like this?" Shedinja asked monotonously.

"You still don't get it?! Throughout these days, I did so much for you. I tricked an innocent Talonflame to make your intern friend happy. I became the sacrifice in Shiinotic Shuffle. I yelled at Duosion so Heracross won't bother you anymore. I *beep* fought to the death for you. I befriended you but you never cared! You always acted like nothing happened! I hate it!" Cryogonal cried and yelled until she ran out of breath.

Shedinja looked down on the ground. "I never know you felt that way… I'm sorry." Shedinja apologized sincerely.

"You never know? Laughable. You rarely thanked me." Cryogonal averted her eyes, suffering emotionally and mentally.

Shedinja floated closer to Cryogonal and did the unexpected…

He hugged her.

"Why are you doing… this?" Cryogonal blushed in embarrassment, widening her eyes.

"This is my way of thanking you. You don't like it?" Shedinja let go.

"No, I like it very much. Please do it again." Cryogonal pleaded and Shedinja remained by her side, comforting her. The grass whistled and the wind chimed as the two hugged each other like a couple.

The tip of one unique tree branch was shaped like a heart. It resembled a horn of a certain contestant. Leaves that fell on the branch got hurled down to the ground.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "Maybe I'm acting too emotional. That is just embarrassing."

 **Shedinja:** "Today, special snowflake totally looked like an emo kid." He chuckled.

* * *

Meowth rushed inside the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin. He breathed deeply, looking terrified.

"What happened?" Heracross asked. Miltank raised her left eye.

"Lu-lucario." Meowth stuttered. Suddenly, Lucario kicked the door and sent Meowth sprawling across the ground.

Lucario entered, his face reddened with extreme rage. "Vote with me or all of you die!" Lucario shouted threateningly, stomping the ground and shaking his fists.

Miltank and Heracross retreated back fearfully and apprehensively.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Now, I don't need to keep my promise of voting for Shedinja. He isn't my target, anyways. I look like the victim and no one will associate me with Lucario."

 **Miltank:** "Enough with Lucario threatening us. When he loses immunity, he is gone!"

 **Lucario:** "Meowth told me to gather more votes and I will do just that."

* * *

Darmanitan sat on the edge of his bed, glancing at Lucario's bed before averting his eyes. Soon enough, he curled into a fetal position, making him look like a baby.

Darmanitan felt like a baby today. All he did was crying over a plush. He questioned a lot of things. His morals, his actions… The homie boy felt like a failure. He couldn't cure Lucario from the rage disease and left his side like a fake fanboy.

Derailing his thoughts was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Darmanitan said quietly and unenergetically. He stood upright, erecting his back to save whatever little grace he had left in the eyes of others.

Scolipede entered with apologetic eyes. Seemingly, he got henpecked by Ledyba.

"Darmanitan, I'm sorry. I hurt your feelings." Scolipede apologized.

"No, it's okay. Homie, it's my fault." Darmanitan redirected the blame, shaking his hands.

"No, don't say that. Darmanitan, here is the thing, I never really trust you. You are always Lucario's fanboy and I don't like Lucario. I couldn't fully trust you and that's why I can come off as unfriendly and harsh at times, okay? Can you please forgive me?" Scolipede pleaded.

"Of course, homie." Darmanitan accepted his apology without any hesitation. The two exchanged smiles with each other.

Scolipede soon left and his presence was replaced with Lucario.

"Homie, what do you want?" Darmanitan asked, happy to see his role model once again. The homie boy wanted a chill conversation with Lucario.

Unfortunately, Lucario didn't have the same idea.

"You _must_ vote with me, Darmanitan. Vote out *beep* (muted for suspense). No exceptions. Otherwise, I will make *beep* life a living hell." Lucario tried to force Darmanitan.

"No! I won't homie!" Darmanitan disobeyed, glaring at Lucario. "I thought you considered me as a friend, a loyal fan. For my sake, please stop."

"No! I won't stop! You aren't my friend! You left me. I don't tolerate insubordination of any kind. Vote *beep* out or else…" Lucario's voice grew more hostile.

Darmanitan gasped at Lucario's demonic facial expressions and trembled. His eyes were overwhelmed by darkness. His ears shaped like a beast. His mouth showed fangs of a demon. Lucario looked like the incarnation of darkness in front of Darmanitan's mild eyes.

"Fine homie, I will vote *beep* out. However, we are done from now on. I will no longer be your fan. Do you really want that? Throwing away my long-lasting admiration, respect and friendship for you just for a vote?" Darmanitan asked, praying for Lucario to say 'no'.

"Yes." Lucario didn't even hesitate. His eyes showed no regret. Darmanitan wanted to cry really badly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "I feel so much better after that apology. Thank you, Ledyba for always thinking of the best for me."

 **Ledyba:** "Honestly, I feel bad for scolding Scolipede. Maybe, I should be a bit nicer to him. Still, I know that I'm changing him in a positive way." She smiled.

 **Darmanitan:** He cried quietly all alone. "Why…homie…why?"

 **Lucario:** "I did the best for Darmanitan. He isn't suited to be my fan. He is too soft-hearted like Houndour. I need strong followers that can empathize with my reasoning and logic. I need fellow beasts like Meowth." He couldn't hold back his tears anymore.

"If Darmanitan continues to be with me, he will only hurt himself and others will hate him like Duosion and Scolipede. I notice how everyone isolates themselves from him because of me. By giving him special treatment, I'm only hurting him. I hesitated at first. However, I won't take the easy route. I rather be a beast alone. Find a sword and kill me, Darmanitan. It is for the best." He sniffled.

* * *

Meowth purchased a large sum of fluffy, pink Pokepuff from Skarmory today. How did he find so many Skarmory tokens? Well, Lucario was on the list of his donators and Skarmory gave him discounts. Enough said.

"Thank you for being a loyal customer, come back again." Skarmory hoped.

"No problem." Meowth replied before making his way to Scolipede and Ledyba. They talked to each other near the pathway to the first intersection.

"Hello, my friendly acquaintances. Want a Pokepuff? For free, of course." Meowth offered generously.

"Thank you very much, Meowth." Ledyba said with delight, accepting a Pokepuff that he handed to her.

Scolipede reluctantly accepted one that the businessman handed to him. Upon closer inspection, it was smaller than the standard Pokepuff.

"Hey! Why is mine smaller than the rest? What are you trying to pull, Meowth?" Scolipede accused. Meowth looked offended.

"Scolipede! He gave it to you for free. It might just be that the rest are bigger, rather than yours being small. How pessimistic. Apologize." Ledyba whipped.

"Yes… Sorry, Meowth." Scolipede obeyed his girlfriend's demand.

"It's not a big deal. I just saw Duosion looking all dejected. It was as if she declared bankruptcy. My, my, give my consolations to her in the form of Pokepuff, can you?" Meowth requested.

"Of course." Ledyba accepted, impressed by his generosity.

"Maybe, you two should vote with her. I heard she wanted Miltank out. Doesn't seem like a bad idea." Meowth coaxed.

"How did you-" Scolipede was about to finish his sentence until Ledyba glared at him. "-know?" He mumbled quietly to himself.

"Have a good day." Meowth bid his farewell, waving at them. Ledyba did the same.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Scolipede:** "Why am I whipped all of a sudden? I don't get it. She used to be so nice until now. Maybe, girls act nice around guys until they get comfortable and whip them when they least expect it. Wait, Leavanny used to whip me as… well. No, please tell me this isn't true. Ledyba won't be mean, right?" Scolipede gulped anxiously.

 **Meowth:** "Oh, poor Scolipede. I hope you are happy with your _marriage_. Heh, my plan is proceeding smoothly."

 **Ledyba:** "Meowth is right. I should vote for Miltank to cheer up Duosion. Hopefully, Scolipede will do the same."

* * *

Nosepass searched around the forest, looking for treasures to trade for a delicious Pokepuff of his own. He stepped on a branch and freaked out.

"Eek." Nosepass squeaked and fell down.

Suddenly, he heard noises of bushes rustling behind him. Nosepass turned around and saw sharp claws and a golden gleam on the forehead of this mysterious Pokemon. He soon figured it out that it was Meowth and shook rapidly, dreading the worse. Nosepass remembered very well what he did yesterday (ruining Meowth's snacks).

"Oh, my customer, where are you?" Meowth called out, holding a Pokepuff to lure him.

Nosepass didn't fall for it. He slowly backed away. However, he knew that he wasn't fast enough. Soon, he would be tortured.

Miraculously, Drifblim appeared and pulled him behind a tree, covering his mouth. Meowth looked around a bit before clicking his tongue and left, frustrated at his failed search attempt.

Drifblim eventually freed Nosepass. The timid coward eyed Drifblim suspiciously.

"Why did you save me? You want my vote?" Nosepass accused. Drifblim seemed taken back by this accusation.

"No, not at all. I know that you are the type that hates owing others. You don't need to pay me back in any shape or form. Just remember who put you into this position. Those Flygon jerks, am I right?" Drifblim planted a seed inside his head.

"Yeah, those stupid jerks! They kept bullying us Crawdaunt members, especially Lucario and Meowth." Nosepass hated them.

"Indeed, they voted out four of our members already. You seem hungry. Want me to get a Pokepuff for you?" Drifblim offered.

"If you don't want anything from me then yes." Nosepass had his terms.

Drifblim smiled sweetly at him before she floated over to Meowth. The businessman glanced around for someone.

"Drifblim, did you see Nosepass by any chance?" Meowth asked.

"No." Drifblim shook her head. "Can I have one Pokepuff, please?" She pleaded.

"Fine, remember who I told you to vote, *beep*." Meowth reminded.

Drifblim nodded as she took the Pokepuff and gave it to Nosepass. The nose Pokemon seemed very content to snack on the delicious sweet. Drifblim smirked at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I hate all of those Flygon jerks. I will only vote for their members from now on. Bye, Miltank."

 **Drifblim:** "Now, my plan has been revealed. Viewers, I will show you how to beat the strongest with the weakest. Yes, I will attempt to beat Meowth's strongest ally, Lucario with Nosepass. Please stay tuned for that." She bowed politely to the camera.

* * *

The elimination ceremony began. The heat from the bonfire rose with tension. Lucario looked smug with immunity while Miltank and Heracross got slightly worried expressions. The rest seemed confident.

"The votes are very interesting. Three of you got votes. Let's see who will be eliminated." Skarmory told and the contestants started to look worried. Three contestants? How? Meowth and his employees knew. However, they followed along with the surprised act. Darmanitan looked down on the ground in guilt.

"Lucario" The Hero of Darkness got an extra-large berry.

"Meowth" The businessman got a sly smile.

"Darmanitan" The homie boy refused to eat.

"Drifblim" She was on the edge of her seat with excitement.

"Nosepass" He glared daggers at some of the Flygon members.

"Cryogonal" She seemed much calmer than before.

"Duosion" She started to question her plan.

"Aromatisse" She glanced at the other girls, noticing their worried expressions.

"Rhyhorn" … The bonfire roused the rage inside his eyeballs.

"Farfetch'd" He gave the berry to Mr. Stalk.

"Shedinja" Cryogonal looked relieved.

"Ledyba" She held Scolipede close to her.

"Scolipede…" Skarmory paused to build suspense. Scolipede hoped that he will be safe.

"You should be worried like the skeptic you are, you are in the bottom two." Skarmory revealed. Ledyba hugged Scolipede and whispered words of comfort into his ears. Scolipede was overwhelmed by anxiety. Heracross and Miltank exchanged a hi-five. Cryogonal and Shedinja gave them dirty looks.

"Miltank…" Skarmory paused again. "You are safe." Miltank sighed.

"Heracross…" The beetle expected to be safe.

"You are…" Skarmory paused to build suspense for the final time.

…

…

…

…

…

"… tied with Scolipede." Skarmory revealed an unprecedented event. "Raticate, bring in the tiebreaker."

The contestants were all shocked. None of them expected a tie of all things. Hope lit itself in Scolipede's eyes, Ledyba's as well. Heracross got a cocky grin.

"Prepare to go down." Heracross said overconfidently.

"Wait and see the tiebreaker first." Scolipede didn't get ahead of himself.

Raticate rode his Raticatebot D-Type over. A giant Triple A battery and two guns were tied to its back.

"Contestants, I'm pleased to announce my new, original game. I like to call it Triple G, as known as Good Guy's Game. See these two guns? They shoot out electrical disks that attach itself to your opponent's body. After a certain amount of time, the battery will target the Pokemon with the most electrical disks attached. When it zaps you, it will remove all the discs, increasing the chance of a comeback." Skarmory paused for a short breather.

"The game will continue until one of you faints. Moves are also allowed. Any questions?" Skarmory finished his explanation, addressing the two tiebreaker contestants.

"You resort to ripping off Grovyle for a challenge idea? Pitiful, Skarmory." Drifblim mocked. Skarmory ignored her, fixing his eyes on the two bug types.

"Shoot stuff at Scolipede so lightning strikes him?" Heracross asked for assurance.

"Basically it." Skarmory nodded.

"Can we remove the disks? Do the number of disks increase the strength of the lightning strike?" Scolipede asked.

"First question, I doubt it but you can try. Second, yes. More disks mean more damage." Skarmory answered. The two got no more questions and the tiebreaker was about to start in the middle of the clearing.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "Scolipede, you can do this, I believe in you."

 **Duosion:** "This is all my fault… I put Scolipede at risk."

 **Cryogonal:** "Destroy that *beep*, Scolipede!"

 **Shedinja:** "I doubt that meathead can win."

 **Scolipede:** "I can do this… for Ledyba and the others."

 **Heracross:** "Scolipede is just a weak worrywart. He can't beat me!"

* * *

The other contestants all watched from a distance as Heracross and Scolipede stared each other down. They couldn't intervene. However, it seemed like insulting them was allowed.

"Heracross, lose, you *beep*!" Cryogonal swore.

"Scolipede, just give up, weakling. Heracross will stomp and hurl you into defeat." Miltank tried to intimidate him.

The two tried their best to ignore the insults, readying their guns.

"Start!" Skarmory announced as the battery was launched into the air with the help of the robot.

Heracross fired rapidly without aiming properly at Scolipede. The latter used Steamroller to roll away from the gray lightning-lure discs and shot a few at Heracross. It attached itself to her stomach successfully.

"Stop rolling away like a coward!" Heracross was getting frustrated as Scolipede kept exploiting the same tactic. Rolled away with Steamroller and shot a few discs. It wasn't helping Heracross when all of his friends were cheering for him either.

"Scolipede, I love you and I believe in you!" Ledyba motivated him. Scolipede smiled confidently as he rolled straight at Heracross.

"You are going to get it." Heracross started firing continuously at him. Scolipede leaped into the air, avoiding the discs and shot multiple discs at her horn. By now, ten discs attached to Heracross while Scolipede got none.

Godly Guy Grovyle appeared. He lifted his thumb up before putting it down below Heracross, releasing multiple lightning bolts from his thumb alone.

"Ouch!" Heracross yelled in pain as she received a mighty zap. At least, the discs all exploded as well.

"Scolipede got an early lead. Can Heracross come back from this?" Skarmory commentated.

"Screw this stupid gun!" Heracross threw her gun away and ran at Scolipede. Since she only needed to knock him out, any method was fair game.

The crowd started to laugh at her (except Miltank) as Scolipede kept rolling away and shot some more discs at her. Throwing the gun away was a stupid move. Now, instead of a fight, this looked like a circus show.

"Get back here!" Heracross yelled. Scolipede aimed a disc at her foot. This caused her to trip and fall, leaving herself vulnerable. Scolipede fired rapidly at her. This time, he attached fifteen discs on her.

Godly Guy Groyvle charged up another blast of lightning and cackled at Heracross before electrocuting her for the second time.

Heracross moaned in pain as she pushed herself off from the ground.

"Meathead, you are in for a clean sweep." Shedinja drawled.

"Shut up!" Heracross burst into a state of rage and desperation. How dare Scolipede made a fool of her in front of Shedinja? Heracross would make sure he pays for this.

"Die!" Heracross charged recklessly at Scolipede.

Scolipede looked bored of this fight. He would end this now. He shot the discs continuously at Heracross. She didn't bother to dodge any at all. Was she stupid?

Heracross got closer and closer to Scolipede. By now, she got twenty discs on her. Another zap would surely be her demise.

Unexpectedly, she wrapped her arms around his back and thrusted her right knee at Scolipede's genital part.

"Ekkarghughh!" Scolipede screamed in excruciating pain as the other contestants were shocked by how dirty and low Heracross stooped.

"Give up or else I will make sure you can't reproduce." Heracross threatened, digging her knee deeper. Scolipede was defenseless. He couldn't do anything other than cry in agony and wait for the lightning strike.

"Heracross, please stop! You are hurting him! I beg you!" Ledyba shouted desperately.

"I will *beep* murder you tonight!" Cryogonal threatened furiously.

"Your head will be displayed inside the meat store tomorrow." Shedinja sounded furious as well.

"You are severely hurting him. Stop now or else I will disqualify you!" Skarmory warned seriously.

Even Meowth disapproved of this action. The only one who seemed neutral about this was Miltank, who stopped cheering for Heracross and remained quiet. Heracross crossed over the line this time.

"Fine." Heracross spared Scolipede. He rolled around on the ground, whimpering and moaning.

Godly Guy Grovyle couldn't tolerate this injustice anymore. As a man, he understood the pain very well. The great gecko god passed his judgement by raining electric meteors upon Heracross.

The beetle looked strangely confident as the meteors stormed upon her. Did she think that she could survive the almighty attack?

The meteors exploded in such a huge radius that Scolipede got caught in it as well. Smoke clouded the result. Everyone all anticipated nervously as the smoke cleared out.

…

…

…

Scolipede fainted while Heracross stood victoriously with a red barrier around her. She used the move Endure.

"Hell yeah, I win!" Heracross was the only one who was happy. She still looked messed up from the attack though.

Scolipede was revived for his final confession and departure.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Ledyba, I'm so sorry that I can't stay with you any longer now. I'm not mad at you because you voted for Miltank. I understand your reasoning. I voted for Heracross, just in case. Still, it wasn't enough. Well, I hope you win and stay strong without me. Heracross, please lose.

* * *

Before Scolipede departed, his friends came to see him off.

"Stay fabulous in Loser Island and avoid Larvitar." Aromatisse said her parting words.

"Don't worry about Heracross. I got our revenge planned." Cryogonal winked.

"Yeah. It will be awesome." Shedinja sounded excited. Scolipede smiled in satisfaction.

"Scolipede, I'm the cause of your elimination. I'm sorry." Duosion apologized, looking guilty.

"It's okay, Duosion. We all make mistakes." Scolipede didn't seem to blame her. He soon turned to Ledyba, anticipating the climax before his departure.

"Well, we should give them some time alone." Aromatisse referred to Ledyba and Scolipede, gesturing for everyone else to leave.

Ledyba flew immediately to hug Scolipede, crying.

"It's okay. It's okay." Scolipede repeated consolingly.

"No, it's my fault. I should have voted for Heracross." Ledyba blamed herself.

"Ledyba, please don't cry. This is so unlike you. The Ledyba that I know is always optimistic and jovial. Please stay strong for me. Promise?" Scolipede eyed her worriedly.

Ledyba wanted Scolipede to depart without any worries or else he couldn't rest easy in Loser Island, Ledyba knew that.

"Promise." Ledyba assured, wiping her tears away. The two soon kissed each other amorously, twisting their faces as they pressed their lips together. It was one sweet, unforgettable smooch for them.

Ledyba waved as Scolipede departed, putting up a smile on her face to reassure him at the very last moment.

Surprisingly, Drifblim appeared next to her.

"Why are you here?" Ledyba asked.

"Nothing, just want to view the beautiful sea. Is that a problem?" Drifblim seem concerned.

"No, not at all. Enjoy your view." Ledyba said before she departed.

"If you want to know why Scolipede is eliminated, I suggest you think about it carefully rather than blaming Duosion. It isn't her fault. Console her. Trust me, you will see the true culprit soon enough." Drifblim gave her a mysterious smile before she floated away.

Ledyba looked deep in thought. This would be something that she thinks about all night.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Most of the pieces have been put in place. Meowth, how will you respond? I hope that you put up a great fight. The viewers will want to see that."

 **Ledyba:** "Drifblim is helping me all of a sudden. That's nice of her. Hmm… I still can't figure it out yet." She looked baffled.

* * *

Heracross opened the door to her cabin, humming happily. Strangely, Miltank wasn't inside. Heracross shrugged at this and lay on her bed to meet a shocking surprise.

Cryogonal and Shedinja borrowed the Triple G battery and placed it under her bed.

"Ahh!" Heracross screamed painfully as she would suffer for quite some time. Godly Guy Grovyle punished her in the name of justice and benevolence.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Shedinja, Cryogonal… I will kill you both!" The electricity coursed through her body once more.

* * *

Drifblim entered the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin. Miltank surprisingly slept there. None of the other girls seemed to mind at least for today.

Drifblim was the only one left awake. She floated over to her bed and retrieved something from underneath it. It was her diary.

Inside her diary, she wrote analysis on many contestants and other insights that she would later post on her blog. While the superfan wanted to relax and enjoy her time here, she got some sort of responsibility as well. Well, she chose to obligate herself to the task so if she felt exhausted, she got no one to blame but herself.

Drifblim really cared about the viewers. She could really empathize with them whenever there was a horrible season of their favorite gameshow.

Drifblim cared about the contestants to some extent. She wasn't the type to hurt or help others directly. If she wanted to get rid of a good-hearted contestant, she would manipulate a villain. If she wanted to get rid of a villain, she would manipulate good-hearted contestants. It was simply an effective strategy that required a lot of thought and planning.

Last of all, she cared about the host. Despite how preposterous this sounded, Drifblim wanted the show and the host to succeed.

Skarmory was a newbie to this whole game show business. He made mistakes at times like in the equestrian challenge. Instead of finding an alternative for heavier contestants, he simply chose to disqualify them.

On the other hand, he was very original and creative. Always coming up with new ideas to keep the contestants on edge. Drifblim must admitted that she liked it when he put the prize money at stake. It was exhilarating.

Still, Skarmory made other mistakes off-screen. In their contracts, it stated that when a contestant is eliminated, they may or may not return. It simply spoiled the redemption twist for nearly everyone.

Last of all, Drifblim preferred to keep things non-personal. She didn't share much information about herself to the contestants. What she likes to eat… What is her favorite color… Things of that nature, she hid it all. The Drifblim that we saw here differed greatly from the Drifblim that her friends and family knew.

When Scolipede first entered the game, and accused the contestants of wearing masks, she was one of them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Hopefully, no one tries to steal my diary. I got very personal and sensitive information inside."

* * *

The day wasn't over yet. Instead of a boring close by Skarmory, the host decided to replace that with more footage instead.

Meowth and Lucario walked together, side by side to the beach. The soothing ocean waves relaxed them after a long day. Soon, they sat down on the sand.

"We need to save those two employees of ours no matter what. Tomorrow, it will be an uphill battle in the stock market, I hope you are ready for that." Meowth told.

"I guess we need to save those two idiots. Can't you find votes through other means?" Lucario didn't seem fond of the idea.

"I'm afraid I can't. Duosion will probably destroy all of my ties inside the Feckless Flygon soon. What about you? Can't you persuade Darmanitan to come over to our side?" Meowth asked.

Lucario solemnly looked down on the ground.

"I guess that means no." Meowth assumed.

"Meowth…" Lucario paused.

"Hm?" Meowth had a look of curiosity.

"Will you be my friend?" Lucario asked all of a sudden. Meowth widened his eyes. Why would Lucario ask him to be his friend all of a sudden?

"If you are worried because of my violent nature or the fact that I might realize later on that you aren't really on my side and even manipulate me, don't. I'm not mad one bit." Lucario assured, giving him a reassuring eye contact.

"What are you talking about?" Meowth acted confused. Lucario placed both of his hands on Meowth's shoulders. Strangely, they were very comforting to the businessman.

"Meowth, I'm not dumb. Do you know why I knew that Magikarp voted for me instead of Feebas?" Lucario questioned. Meowth shook his head.

"Through his body language and gestures. Meowth, I dealt with sponsors and shady businessmen as the leader of the Aura Beast all the time. I know that you aren't loyal to me or the team. I know that you only see me as a lowly employee, a product to be used. I graduated school early at the age of 16 because I'm a precocious prodigy. I aced all of my classes. I worked for four years as a professional athlete. Now that I'm 20, I got a lot of experience." Lucario made a grand reveal.

"Why are you still with me, then?" Meowth asked apprehensively.

"Because we are so similar, Meowth. Both of us hate relationships. We are both in a high risk, high reward environment. We both care about our sports team and company respectively. I know who you are, Meowth. I read the newspapers unlike young Pokemon nowadays. You are the great heir to the multi-billion company." Lucario explained.

"Impressive. You aren't a labor worker after all. You are a true beast, Lucario. I must give you a raise." Meowth praised.

Lucario smiled a little at the praise. "I'm not as smart as I used to be after abandoning my knowledge of things unrelated to sports for four years but still, I'm smarter than the average Pokemon. I think my masculinity and emotional outburst hide that very well. No one knows what I'm truly thinking when they only see me as an outlandish barbarian. Duosion even called me a troglodyte and I know what it means." He said insightfully, turning to face Meowth with a warm smile.

"I can find another similarity between us. Want to hear it?" Meowth reciprocated the warm smile. Lucario nodded.

"Both of our biggest mistakes in this game is eliminating Houndour. I lost Duosion and you isolated yourself from the entire team but we both don't regret it." Meowth told.

"Care to tell me the reason?" Lucario challenged.

"Both of us have our values to protect. Values that are more important than the million. I won't work with someone who doesn't embrace the unclean side of business. Lucario, you don't want him on your team because he can't follow your principles. The principles that tie the Aura Beast together. Houndour will only suffer, working in a team that ruthlessly destroy others. I read sports articles occasionally, Lucario. I knew the history of your team." Meowth articulated.

"You are right." Lucario lowered his eyes a little. "Now, I also need to let go of Darmanitan. I don't want to turn either of them into someone like me. Meowth, do you feel depressed when a loyal customer leaves you?" Lucario asked, his eyes drowning in the ocean.

Meowth averted his eyes a little. "I used to when I was young. However, in business, you can't please everybody. I need to abandon loyal customers every once in a while."

"You won't abandon me, right?" Lucario asked the most decisive question. Meowth stared deeply into his eyes.

"No, I will consider you as a friend. Unlike all the other acquaintances, you will be the only one I care about outside of this game. Let's do some cross-promotion together. I will even invite the other Aura Beast members for a luxurious cuisine under the roof of the royal palace." Meowth answered, seemingly genuine.

"You never disappoint me, Meowth. You are the friend that I need. That friend that will destroy those traitors with me!" Lucario grinned gleefully.

"From now on, consider me as your bodyguard, not a boss or an employee. I will make sure you win this game as the last remaining Feckless Flygon member inside my heart." Lucario draped his right arm across Meowth's shoulders. The cat draped his head on Lucario's right shoulder, full of relief. They looked like best friends, despite just being friends. The two viewed the beautiful ocean waves together.

"Lucario, I have something to tell you." Meowth regained his posture. Lucario waited patiently with curious eyes.

"I got the advantage. Let's use it to destroy them all!" Meowth grinned sinisterly. Lucario chuckled darkly, slapping Meowth's left shoulder in a friendly manner. The professional athlete looked extremely pleased.

Light and darkness alike were attracted to their powerful presences.

* * *

 **Votes**

Lucario: Scolipede

Meowth: Scolipede

Miltank: Scolipede

Heracross: Scolipede

Ledyba: Miltank

Nosepass: Miltank

Duosion: Miltank

Shedinja: Heracross

Cryogonal: Heracross

Aromatisse: Heracross

Farfetch'd: Heracross

Drifblim: Scolipede

Rhyhorn: Heracross

Scolipede: Heracross

Darmanitan: Scolipede

Miltank: 3

Heracross: 6 (tied-safe)

Scolipede: 6 (tied-eliminated)

* * *

This is by far one of the craziest chapter, isn't it? I bet you don't see Breath of the Wild being a twist coming.

Originally, the name of Raticate's special moves were the following:

Trumbeak's Gale

Grovyle's Fury

Machoke's Protection

However, I changed it because I couldn't imagine Raticate saying any of these things.

It has been a long time since I teased a returning contestant, right? Good news for Triple G fans, your favorite Triple A battery boy will come back for season 2. Will he be a good guy this time?

This chapter focused mainly on Meowth and Drifblim. However, so many other characters got their development as well.

Next chapter will be the shortest by far so expect it sometime soon. It will feature a truth and dare challenge with a twist.


	22. Chapter 22

Well, this chapter is longer than I expected.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Nihilego Fanatic**

Thank you very much for your first review. I greatly appreciate it. Your favorites are certainly interesting. Cross your fingers and one of them might win. Remember, everyone got a chance to win, even Heracross.

 **InfernoMaster64**

The reason most of the contestants get curb-stomped is to convey a sense of 'final boss' feeling into Raticate and the insane amount of damage each enemy deal in Breath of the Wild.

Drifblim is created to be a likable villain. Meowth is created like her as well. However, you can argue that Drifblim isn't a villain but rather a neutral-type mastermind if you prefer.

I understand your concerns for Aromatisse. However, she won't be a floater or at least I hope.

I like to flip my viewers' expectations. I'm well aware that readers nowadays are smart so keeping that in mind, I can create unexpected twists.

I'm praying that the notifications get fixed as well.

* * *

 **Episode 22** **:** **Shiinotic** **'** **s Secrets and Dangerous Dares** **!**

The camera filmed the empty dock. (What?! Where's Skarmory? I guess it is time to improvise.)

Err… The wooden planks looked nice and comfortable…

The 'Skarmory Island' sign showed ownership of the island…

The beach area had sand… Um… (How _dare_ Skarmory slack off?! The author is panicking here!)

Suddenly, the camera rotated 180 degrees, turning to the side of the sea and… Skarmory. The host secretly hid behind the camera the entire time.

"Surprise?" Skarmory asked rhetorically. "Well, Raticate isn't here today. He took a day off for some unknown reason. Maybe, he is getting tired of working for me for free. Who knows? Last time, the contestants fought against our smoking, ugly rat intern. With a wide variety of weapon at disposal, he eliminated nearly all of them except for Lucario and Rhyhorn. The latter basically stayed in his cabin and did nothing while the Hero of Darkness sealed our intern away in darkness." He paused for a short breather.

"The story didn't end there. Meowth, the divorce lawyer, wanted to break Ledyba and Scolipede apart. He leveraged his wealth to make his business empire a reality. Unfortunately, he mismanaged his Pokemon resources and employed two violent street punks to antagonize the other contestants. As a result, those punks got voted against by many. At the elimination ceremony, we got ourselves a first tie between two Pokemon: Heracross and Scolipede. In the tiebreaker, Triple G was on Scolipede's side. However, a good knee to the nether region sure guaranteed Heracross her 'clean' victory. What will happen in this secretive, daring episode of Total Skarmory Island? Stay tuned to find out." Skarmory finished the opening.

* * *

Lucario and Meowth left their cabins early. They decided to meet with each other very early in the morning so that none of the contestants were awake to spy or eavesdrop them.

"A Meowrendezvous in the beach every day, how does that sound, Lucario?" Meowth asked while walking to the beach. Apparently, Skarmory stopped censoring the name now because Meowth and him came into an agreement to help advertising each other.

Lucario didn't stop walking. "Great, but what's with the strange name?" He asked curiously, turning to Meowth.

"Oh my, I don't wish to bore you to death or complicate things in a manner wish you can't understand. To put it simply, our gigantic corporation started out as a small merchant group one hundred years ago. During the time, foreign trade laws were very strict due to international disputes. My great-great grandparents circumvented the embargoes through _secret rendezvouses_. We used to carry commodities like copper and _such_ from Lesteel across the sea for millions of miles to Crystalia, tolerating turbulent winds and tough negotiations." Meowth explained, sounding vague at certain parts.

"I can see why you are very tolerant toward the living conditions here and work hard in challenges consistently." Lucario complimented. Meowth smiled.

"While I appreciate all the informal communication, I have important matters to discuss in this rendezvous." Meowth quickly moved on from the topic in a serious, business-like manner.

"What is it?" Lucario asked.

"After a long night of deliberation, I found a different way for us to control the elimination without those two laborers. It is risky but I think we can…" Before Meowth finished, the camera cut to the confessional.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth** **:** "I decided against it at first because it might backfire on my sales. However, I'm willing to take that risk after seeing those two laborers dirtying my name. Let me release an official statement from Meowth & Co. Ahem." He cleared his throat.

"We decided to cut our ties with Ms. Miltank and Ms. Heracross in light of their atrocities in yesterday's events. We would like to absolutely make it clear that they are external workers that lack any direct connection with our company. Meowth & Co. is a limited liability company that prioritizes the safety of everyone in Skarmory Island."

 **Lucario** **:** "Meowth is a real friend that I can talk to comfortably with. I will carry him to the finale even if it means that I need to sacrifice myself."

* * *

Darmanitan's pillow got drenched in tears. The fire type didn't mind the wetness one bit. He covered his face with his pillow, refusing to rise to the call of the morning sun.

Darmanitan was a big fan of Lucario for years. It was the strong, unbreakable friendship between the Aura Beast members that attracted him to them, Lucario specifically.

The leader would always protect his teammates, caring for them like a father figure. Sure, Lucario beat other competitors up ruthlessly and disrespected them afterwards but Darmanitan could always ignore that. However, the fanboy couldn't cast a glance past one thing though…

Lucario sold him for one vote. A measly, single vote.

Darmanitan felt like an ignorant, blind sheep after looking up to Lucario for years. He was an optimistic idiot to think that a nobody like him could chill Lucario out for the better. Darmanitan realized it too late. The damage was already done; Scolipede got eliminated. Darmanitan simply couldn't change this fact.

"Homie, I'm sorry that I voted for you." Darmanitan sounded very guilty, removing his face from the pillow. The homie boy eyed Scolipede's bed before quickly averting his eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan** **:** "The homie is a phony. I thought that he is a good leader. Yet, I kept my promise like a stupid fanboy." He sighed. "I should go and apologize to Ledyba."

* * *

Ledyba sat on the edge of her bed, her eyes were on the verge of tears. However, she held them back in, knowing that she promised Scolipede to never be sad.

Her top left and right arms held her chin and cheeks, preventing it from dropping down into depression. She pushed her cheeks up trying to make it seems like she was smiling.

Her middle left and right arms hugged herself self-consolingly. She tried to recall his warm body and soothing skin.

Her bottom left and right arms pushed against the edge of the bed, supporting her sitting posture.

Aromatisse and Cryogonal saw this and made their way over to her bed, sitting next to her left and right respectively.

"You don't need to hold back those tears, you know? It is fine to cry if you are really sad. Even I cry sometimes." Cryogonal said softly.

Ledyba shook her head. "No, I won't be sad. It won't be long before I get to see him again. He is just taking a vacation in Loser Island. Yes, he is just taking a vacation." Ledyba refused to cry.

Cryogonal and Aromatisse exchanged a glance.

"Ledyba, that's a fabulous way of thinking about it. But um… you know that Loser Island is a horrible place where I got this injury, right?" Aromatisse pointed to her face. The black marks minimized after nearly a week. It hadn't been fully healed yet. That Pyukumuku must be insanely strong to cause such a sickening damage.

"That doesn't mean that something like that will happen to Scolipede, be optimistic." Ledyba seemed annoyed.

"Alright, I will be optimistic. Girl, you seem fine. A lot better than both of us expected." Aromatisse admitted and Cryogonal nodded.

"Yeah. Ledyba, you are emotionally strong." Cryogonal praised.

The tears in Ledyba's eyes vanished and she smiled brightly after seeing her friends cared about her like this. To be honest, she was about to really cry. However, she needed to act strong for Scolipede. Ledyba could trick her mine to be happy whenever she wanted. It was a trick she learned after the Zorua's incident. Still, that didn't make her invulnerable to negative emotions.

Duosion approached Ledyba in an apologetic manner. Cryogonal glared at her a bit before turning away. Aromatisse looked down a bit. Ledyba could only give her a weak smile.

"I'm sorry, everyone. It's my fault that Scolipede got eliminated. I'm too stubborn to realize the errors of my ways. I just thought that I'm doing the right thing. I thought that I'm being smart. I thought that since I'm a psychic type, I would be right. Foolish me." Duosion apologized sincerely, turning to check Cryogonal's response first.

The snowflake soon looked at her eye to eye. "Don't look at me. Ledyba is who you should apologize to the most. If she forgives you, I forgive you." Cryogonal gave her response. Before Duosion even begged for forgiveness…

"I forgive you." Ledyba said in an instant. Cryogonal was shocked by how fast she said that.

"That's immediate." Duosion commented, surprised. "Why did you forgive me so soon? I don't know what to say. I-I'm so thankful."

"It's okay. We are friends. Just because you made one mistake, it's not the end of the world." Ledyba assured, placing one of her arms on the psychic consolingly. Ironically, the one that lost her boyfriend from yesterday consoled the one that thought she was being savvy by targeting Miltank, causing a rift in the votes. It was a rather… amusing imagery.

It seemed like they all forgave each other in the end.

"I believe that we should analyze and interpret the data from yesterday's elimination. The tie ruled out many possibilities. Since three Pokemon received votes and there were fifteen voters, Scolipede and Heracross received either six or eight votes for a tie to occur. I voted for Miltank. What about the rest of you?" Duosion asked, looking around for an answer from each of them.

"I voted for Miltank as well. I convinced Scolipede to vote for her too." Ledyba told.

"I voted for Heracross, obviously." Cryogonal thought that it was a bit unnecessary.

"Ditto." Aromatisse said simply.

"Now I can conclude that Scolipede and Heracross both received six votes. The main question is who voted for whom?" Duosion brought up for discussion.

"Shedinja voted for Heracross for sure." Cryogonal stated the obvious.

"I think Drifblim voted for Heracross with us. She seems like a good girl." Aromatisse suggested.

"I'm pretty sure Meowth voted for Heracross." Ledyba sounded fairly confident.

"Ledyba, I hate to break it to you but Meowth voted both Houndour and Scolipede out." Duosion revealed.

"What?! This isn't true, right?" Ledyba denied the truth, turning to Aromatisse and Cryogonal for support.

"It doesn't sound fabulous but I agree with Duosion. I mean who else can control the votes other than Meowth?" Aromatisse made a good point.

"Yeah, Meowth can't be trusted. Ledyba, When I played Monopoly with him, he tricked me into making bad deals." Cryogonal stated from experience.

"Duosion, he gave you a Pokepuff for free! All of you are just joking, right?" Ledyba said, somewhat delusional.

"Ledyba, please don't be naïve. Nothing is free in business. Accepting things from Meowth is like accepting candy from a stranger or taking a loan from unreliable financiers. Even though he said that the Pokepuff is free, it isn't exactly free. He expected more in return from you like giving him votes. A cheap tactic commonly used to build trust." Duosion explained without trying to be condescending.

Ledyba grew silent and contemplated on all of these things. Did Meowth manipulate her all along? Did he see her as only a blind customer? Did Drifblim hint that Meowth was the mastermind behind Scolipede's elimination?

Darmanitan knocked on the door. "Ledyba, can I talk to you?" He asked timidly.

"Yes." Ledyba replied and opened the door, confused about his strange mannerism.

Darmanitan shuffled his feet awkwardly, fidgeting with his hands. He seemed very anxious and antsy. He avoided direct eye contact and his eyebrows drooped down.

"What's with the withered face, Darmanitan?" Ledyba asked with concern.

"Ledyba, I-I'm sorry for voting Scolipede out." Darmanitan confessed with difficulty at first before forcing the truth out of his trembling lips. He didn't even say 'homie'. This was out of his character.

Ledyba was stunned for a moment. "Why did you vote my boyfriend out? Because he acted a bit mean against Doctor Chillman? His apology wasn't good enough?" She assumed.

"N-no, I-I need to go. Sorry for everything." Darmanitan dodged the question and left. He wouldn't care if they all blame him. All the fire type wanted was an end to all the heated conflicts. Furthermore, blaming Lucario felt strange. He had every right to do so but some sort of feeling lingered inside his soft and chilly heart.

Ledyba felt baffled. She couldn't comprehend why Meowth or Darmanitan would vote for Scolipede. If they had a problem with his attitude, they should just tell her. She could _adjust_ that. She found it much easier to forgive someone with a good reason… like Zorua. His reason wasn't the best but still, it was better than nothing. Ledyba preferred to hear their reasons first before actually being angry at them.

Suddenly, Skarmory's words from the first day materialized itself back into her mind. A painful recall that caused her to clench her fists.

" _Whatever, you will learn it the hard way."_

Ledyba thought the best of others because she was scared that they will commit suicide. That sounded extreme and ridiculous but once you witnessed someone jumping off a building, you are traumatized forever.

Cryogonal wrapped her snow chains around her clenched fists. "It's unlike you to be angry."

Ledyba loosened her fists and sighed. "You are right. I don't know what possessed me for a second there."

"That's unlike Darmanitan." Aromatisse commented.

"There must be a reason that he can't disclose to us. My best guess is that Lucario got some sort of involvement to it and Darmanitan didn't want to snitch on him." Duosion speculated.

As Duosion said that, Meowth carried something over to them…

A pile of delicious breakfast boxes. Four to be exact. Eating utensils like spoons and forks were placed on top. The box contained rice, fried eggs, Oran Berries, Flygon meat, Crawdaunt meat and honey crepes.

This was his plan? Bribing them with breakfast boxes? Seriously? The ingenious businessman could only come up with this disappointment after a long night of deliberation?

"My beautiful acquaintances, here are the breakfast boxes. I bring them to you since recession struck yesterday. This should cheer you all up. Enjoy." Meowth smiled lovingly as he placed them down.

"Smells good. The Flygon meat is going to taste fabulous." Aromatisse eagerly grabbed one.

Duosion glared at her rebukingly and Aromatisse placed it back down, frowning a little. Ledyba seemed conflicted due to recent events. However, seeing how Duosion reacted, she didn't dare picking it up either. Cryogonal had a sour expression on her face.

Meowth looked down on the ground, disheartened by their actions. "I see… I-" Before Meowth could finish, however…

"There you are, little bastard! How dare you feed our enemies?!" Lucario went berserk, storming suddenly toward them and kicked all the breakfast boxes away. The beast grabbed Meowth by the neck and shook him in a throttling motion. The businessman struggled to breath or talk in the grasp of the professional athlete. His body 'splashed' hopelessly like a Magikarp.

The girls gasped at the outrage.

"Lucario, you are hurting him really badly. Stop!" Ledyba tried to intervene.

"God! What the hell are you doing?" Cryogonal tried to pull Lucario back with her snow chains to no avail.

"Do you want to be disqualified? Severely injuring other contestants is against the rules." Duosion reminded threateningly.

"You are one brutal barbarian." Aromatisse insulted. Although, she didn't help much.

Lucario hissed before dropping Meowth down to the ground. The cat hyperventilated as Ledyba checked on him, lifting him up. At this point, Shedinja and Drifblim arrived to spectate.

"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Ledyba asked with concern. Meowth feebly shook his head.

Lucario clapped and laughed mockingly, sneering at Ledyba.

"What's so funny?" Ledyba scowled.

"I ordered Meowth to vote for Scolipede, Ledyba. Guess what? This little coward submitted to my supremacy like a total spineless coward!" Lucario fabricated believable lies with his aggressive voice and hostile gestures.

Drifblim looked amused, smirking. She didn't expose them though. If she did that, it was no different from suicide with Lucario around.

Ledyba nodded to herself. She understood everything perfectly in her mind now. Meowth and Darmanitan voted for Scolipede, true. However, it was all Lucario's fault!

"Lucario, you jerk!" Ledyba fumed furiously. A rather rare occurrence. "Just because you can't stand Scolipede doesn't mean you have the right to threaten both Meowth and Darmanitan. You should have just told me so that I can scold Scolipede so he will stop getting on your nerves. I can't believe that I thought of you as a good leader." She lost all love and respect for him.

"I also can't believe that I thought of you as an obedient teammate. From here on out, all of you are dead to me." Lucario whipped thin air with his right arm to dismiss all of them before leaving coldly.

"T-thank you." Meowth said gratefully.

"No problem." Ledyba gave him a smile in return. Duosion didn't seem to approve this.

"Look at all the fabulous food. They are all ruined." Aromatisse pointed at all the spilled breakfast boxes on the ground. They didn't look appealing to eat anymore.

"Don't worry, my hungry acquaintances. I will rebuy them all." Meowth assured. The girls looked very pleased at this or… most of them to be accurate.

"Shedinja and Drifblim, want one as well?" Meowth offered considerately.

"That will make me one happy camper." Drifblim accepted.

"Better hurry before they become lunch boxes." Shedinja quipped.

"My service is fast and reliable. I can guarantee that." Meowth grinned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Bribing me with food? It won't work, Meowth. I know that you are Lucario's accomplice."

 **Cryogonal:** "Thinking of it again, I did have fun playing Monopoly with Meowth even though he absolutely crushed me. Maybe, Duosion misjudges him."

 **Aromatisse:** "I don't appreciate eating all those ugly sludges every day. Finally, I can have a fabulous meal for once."

 **Ledyba:** "I should have more faith in Meowth. Of course, he always has a good reason for everything. I hate Lucario so much right now." She took deep breaths to calm down.

 **Meowth:** "Now, Meowth  & Co. is saved. Such great showmanship from Lucario. He is willing to be more than my bodyguard. He is willing to be my provision shield, burdening all the unexpected expenses to himself. Such an honorable man." Meowth was deeply moved.

 **Lucario:** "We will discuss about the elimination later. For now, Meowth need to keep his cool with the others while I taunt all of them to target me. As long as I can win immunities, I will be safe and we will have power to control the outcome of this game."

 **Drifblim:** "I'm loving it! Meowth is actually putting up a fight. However, you will need to do more than this to beat me. Trust me, Meowth. You see, hiding behind Lucario is a cute and adorable tactic but you can't stay there forever. Soon enough, your lies will be exposed… and I will make sure to be the one who exposes you."

* * *

Heracross licked her wounds lonelily inside her cabin, sulking. She started to wonder where the hell Miltank was. Her friend wouldn't leave her, right? As she started to doubt their friendship, the door opened up.

"Hey there, how you are doing?" Miltank greeted quietly.

"The hell you are? I got stuck in this depressing ditch for ages." Heracross replied.

"Just taking a short walk outside." Miltank sat next to Heracross on her bed. "Girl, I have been wanting to tell you something."

"What is it, you got a plan to beat Shedinja?" Heracross sounded excited.

"No, I think we should put an end to all this drama. Everyone hates us right now. Perhaps, we should play a bit nicer." Miltank suggested.

"You want us to give up?!" Heracross shouted in disbelief.

"No, girl! We won't give up. We will still crush those weaklings with our might, nice or not but you know… I'm not here to beat others up. I'm here to show my strength and we are both here for the money. Get what I mean?" Miltank tried to talk some sense into her.

"Yeah, I get you girl but Shedinja is a pain in the *beep* ass. He makes me so irritable and enraged. I kinda wish Archeops' here. Working with her in the early game is such a luxury. She might be a bit of a downer every time we lose but she sure keeps her members in line, maybe even better than Lucario." Heracross paused for a moment. "I want to ask you one thing. Between me and Shedinja, who will survive on the streets better?" She asked a very important question.

"You girl, Shedinja ain't beating you!" Miltank obviously supported her friend.

"Of course! I will destroy that ghost bug. Once we get him out of here, we can chill like the homie boy or whatever." Heracross made her decision and Miltank gave her a small smile.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I don't care if we are under Lucario's wings or whatever. As long as Shedinja is out, I'm happy."

 **Miltank:** "I want to get Shedinja out and all to make her happy but getting rid of Lucario will make me sleep hell a lot easier."

* * *

Nosepass got stuck in the mess hall with two predators: Farfetch'd and Lucario.

Farfetch'd sliced up the Flygon meat inside his breakfast box like a bloody butcher.

Lucario ripped the Crawdaunt meat into pieces and feasted upon it like a carnivorous beast.

Nosepass stared at his plate of special delicacy before pushing it away. He then left the mess hall. The nose Pokemon eyed Meowth and the others with envy before trudging back to his cabin. The sight of the honey crepe was too much for him. The honey drizzled on the thin pancake, bringing out its natural sweetness and flavor. Ledyba took a big bite, reinvigorating her entire body instantly. (Hungry now?)

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I'm tired of being surrounded by those _monsters_. Rhyhorn won't even be there to protect me anymore. What am I going to do?"

* * *

Rhyhorn skipped breakfast and locked himself in his secret base. He wrote something down furiously with a pen in his mouth. He soon stopped and took a short break.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "I can't protect Nosepass directly from now on. It is better if he stays far away from my life. However, I will leave something for him to inherit. Through countless silent observations, I managed to accumulate enough information about all the contestants to create a guide for Nosepass on how to win this game. I should finish by the day after tomorrow."

* * *

Time moved quickly and it was soon lunch. Who would have guessed that Meowth approached Skarmory to buy lunch boxes for his customers once more?

Unfortunately, he was running low on cash. Fear not, he got credit. However, would Skarmory accept it?

"My dear shopkeeper, I'm running low on the wherewithal to pay. How about, I promise you to pay back later with an interest charge of five percent?" Meowth negotiated.

"I will normally accept it, except when all the lunch boxes together cost three hundred Skarmory tokens and that's already the discounted price." Skarmory felt like Meowth asked for too much to warrant the transaction.

Meowth furrowed his brows and tapped his chin. Suddenly, he got an idea. He sneaked his way to Skarmory's right ear and whispered something.

"How about I give you a luxurious Meowrendezvous diamond ring after the show ends so you can give it to your wife as a present?" Meowth tempted. Apparently, Lucario told Meowth about Furret.

Skarmory pushed Meowth away to the businessman's dismay.

"Thanks, but no. I got money, Meowth. Lots and lots of it. I can buy one on my own." Skarmory rejected.

Meowth looked frustrated. However, he wouldn't give up so easily. Meowth got a cunning smirk on his face.

"Money is one thing but connection is another thing. Skarmory, I can empathize with your pain. You got a mate in a different egg group. I know that the ancient Shuckle professor invented a device that allows inter-breeding between different egg groups but it is still difficult, isn't it?" Meowth whispered, placing his right hand on his own cheek.

Skarmory blushed heavily. "What are you offering this time? I don't get it."

"I know a few doctors that can help you with your _little_ problem." Meowth clarified.

Skarmory sighed in defeat. "Just take all of it for free, Meowth."

The businessman collected all the lunch boxes gleefully before realizing that he had another business here.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask something. Does the advantage cancel out the challenge immunity in the second elimination?" Meowth used both hands to make a whispering pipe, keeping it as quiet as possible. Skarmory looked annoyed. No one was around them. This was a bit unnecessary. Meowth acted like it was some top secret, confidential corporate information.

"Nope, that's way too overpowered." Skarmory answered.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Sometimes, you need to be able to dig up some _juicy_ information in order to finalize a deal. Just because I hate romance doesn't mean I don't understand it. I know some stuff. Most importantly, I got a better idea on how to use the advantage now."

* * *

Drifblim, Cryogonal, Shedinja, Aromatisse, Ledyba and Meowth were enjoying their lunch boxes. Truth to be told, the lunch boxes were the same as breakfast boxes. Just the name change. Duosion got one as well but she wasn't exactly too keen on eating it. If she ate, it was because of politeness.

"Special snowflake, remember yesterday when you cried and ranted about how I never cared about you?" Shedinja teased.

"Stop already, Shedinja!" Cryogonal reddened. Aromatisse and Drifblim shared a giggle. They seemed to be having a great time gossiping with each other.

Ledyba and Meowth conversed with each other, mostly about the food. However, Meowth strayed over to business topics a little. The bug seemed confused but she just nodded her head and went along with it.

Duosion ate slowly, mostly staring at Meowth with distrust and contempt. The cat noticed that. However, he wouldn't let it get to him easily.

Soon enough, Darmanitan passed by, sneaking a look at all the food. His stomach started to grumble.

"Darmanitan, Duosion got some food left. Why don't you share with her?" Meowth suggested without Duosion's consent. It was as if he was trying to intentionally annoy her.

"That's a great idea. Duosion, you should share!" Ledyba persuaded.

"Can I? Homie, no pressure. I can eat the chef's food." Darmanitan addressed Duosion.

Despite Duosion's animosity toward the likes of Meowth and Lucario, the thought of sharing food reminded her of Houndour. Besides, Duosion didn't see Darmanitan as merely Lucario's puppet anymore. She still had her doubts against him, especially when he refused to tell the reason behind voting for Scolipede. Yet, he sounded apologetic.

"Sure." Duosion decided to share food with him. Darmanitan gave her a warm smile as he sat next to her.

Seven Pokemon sat in a circle, enjoying their food and conversations. It was very similar to a nice picnic. Yet, tension hid underneath the lunch boxes.

Darmanitan became remarkably quiet whenever there was a mention about Lucario, Scolipede and yesterday's elimination.

Meowth delivered a message to Drifblim's eyes with a sharp stare, conveying something. Drifblim beamed in delight.

Ledyba seemed oblivious to it all, believing that everyone was merely having a great time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "The food is nice and all but I don't feel comfortable eating with everyone."

 **Duosion:** "I find it gullible of my friends to easily trust Meowth because of food. As a member of the Treasure Trio, I spent more time with Meowth than anyone here and I can't stress this enough. Meowth can't be trusted."

 **Drifblim:** "I will translate Meowth's body language for the viewers. He trusts me completely now. Soon enough, he will reveal something big to me. That will be my chance to strike."

 **Meowth:** "Drifblim is a smart employee. I'm sure that the superfan doesn't want her time in this game cut short. She should just follow her boss' orders like a good, little girl and stay safe. I'm pretty sure she won't betray me, evident from the fact that she voted together with me throughout the merge."

* * *

Skarmory instructed the contestants to gather over to the first intersection. Once they arrived there, they saw two giant carpets. One colored green with the word 'Truth'. One colored red with the word 'Lie'. The carpets were next to each other. The truth to the left and the lie to the right.

Behind the carpets were multiple giant present boxes. Seven to be exact. Perhaps, they had something to do with the 'dare' part of this challenge.

Shiinotic stood on the carpet, tapping her feet as she waited impatiently. Once everyone gathered around, she had a satisfied expression on her face.

"Welcome contestants, to a short, nice and _easy_ challenge." Shiinotic emphasized.

"Easy? Yay!" Nosepass threw his arms into the air.

"Enthusiastic, aren't we? Let me explain. It is a simple game of truth and dare. I tell you something and you judge whether or not it is a truth or a lie. Stand on the carpet to confirm your answer and don't get it dirty. If you are correct, you move on to the next round. If you are wrong, you need to do a dare in order to survive. There are seven dares in total and I get to select them. Any questions?" Shiinotic explained, looking around for questions.

Drifblim raised one of her arms. "Why isn't Skarmory here? Is it because he is lazy?"

"Bingo." Shiinotic answered simply. Drifblim chuckled, shaking her head in disapproval.

Lucario raised his right hand. "What if you run out of dares?" He had a confident look on his face. "Seven won't be enough to take me down."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Lucario. These dares are all extremely terrible and humiliating. Even if I run out, I can re-use some of them. Trust me, it gets progressively worse." Shiinotic answered, rubbing her long fingers in excitement after there were no more questions.

"This isn't easy!" Nosepass complained, feeling deceived.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "When will I get a challenge that I can win?"

 **Duosion:** "Statistically, one of us should win. However, I learn that probability is thrown out of the window with Lucario around."

 **Lucario:** "No matter what the dare is, I can do it." He looked really smug. "That stupid mushroom chooses the wrong athlete to mess with. I still remember all the bad things she did to me. Yesterday, she got lucky because I'm busy with Smeargle. Today, I will annoy the hell out of her. Not only will it be satisfying to give her a headache as a payback, I will be on everyone's radar instead of Meowth."

 **Drifblim:** "I wonder if the viewers will be interested to hear Shiinotic's secrets. Well, better than them knowing mine."

 **Heracross:** "I do dares all the time. Easy-peasy, chicken dinner, tasty Torchic. Lucario and Shedinja are going to get stomped."

 **Aromatisse:** "Please don't do messy dares."

* * *

"First, I'm 25 years old." Shiinotic revealed her age, real or fake?

"More like thirty to me. 6.5 % less cheese? (Chapter 13's pizza) You sound like one of those middle-age women that are unreasonably worried about their weight." Lucario mocked. Shiinotic seethed. She pinched the skin of her face to calm down. Heracross and Miltank snorted.

"We should divide into two groups. One will always vote for truth, the other for lie. Sounds like a good idea?" Duosion suggested.

"Spreading the risk? A decent business strategy." Meowth commented.

The 'anti-Lucario' gang soon divided into two groups. Duosion, Meowth, Cryogonal and Shedinja will stay on the green carpet while Ledyba, Aromatisse, Darmanitan and Drifblim will stay on the red carpet.

"Quickly decide." Shiinotic snapped her fingers.

Lucario, Miltank and Heracross chose lie while Farfetch'd, Nosepass and Rhyhorn chose truth.

"Sorry, green carpet contestants. I'm 26 years old." Shiinotic revealed.

"An easy one please." Nosepass begged. He looked so pitiful as he clasped his hands together.

"Oh, don't worry. We are starting off easy." Shiinotic walked over to a purple present box with a black bow on top. She unwrapped it to reveal… Chef Drapion. He held a giant pot, filled to the brim with his special delicacy.

"I will stuff your bellies full with my sludge." Chef Drapion asserted. "Keep it inside your mouth or else you are out."

"Hah, that's pathetic!" Lucario jeered. Shiinotic groaned. Chef Drapion bubbled in anger.

"Pathetic? I will *beep* these kids up!" Chef Drapion said inappropriately as he shoveled the sludge forcefully with a ladle and shoved it into the contestant's mouth one by one.

Nosepass closed his mouth with both of his hands to keep the sludge inside. Farfetch'd's cheeks were stuffed full of sludge. They were about to explode. Shedinja didn't show much emotion and slowly ingested the sludge. Cryogonal closed her mouth with her snow chains. Meowth tried to swallow and suck it up. Duosion gave Lucario and Chef Drapion looks of disgust as her body suffered from the sludge.

Rhyhorn vomited it all out intentionally. It was one revolting scene. (There, I spare you the details.)

"There goes our first victim, Rhyhorn." Shiinotic announced.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Why is big brother out so easily? I don't get it. Is he even the big brother I used to know anymore? Probably not." He looked down on the ground.

 **Duosion:** "Gee, thanks, Lucario, for making it worse."

 **Drifblim:** "If I need to pick a contestant that I don't know anything about, it is Rhyhorn. The guy is too mysterious. Very dangerous to keep around."

 **Rhyhorn:** "My time here is about to end."

* * *

"Next one, I have more than ten boyfriends." Shiinotic stated something ridiculous.

"I bet they all break up with you because you are such a picky eater!" Lucario attacked her with his words again. At least, he didn't use his fists…

"I bet no one wants to be with you and deal with your childish tantrums, you man-child!" Shiinotic retorted. Aromatisse, Cryogonal, Chef Drapion, Drifblim, Duosion, Heracross and Miltank all laughed at this. Lucario grumbled about how he hates relationships anyways.

"I don't have a good feeling about this. Maybe we should change our carpet." Cryogonal expressed her concern to Duosion.

"I know that it sounds ridiculous but maybe that's what she wants us to think." Duosion advised against it.

"Yeah." Shedinja agreed. Cryogonal sighed worriedly and remained on the green carpet.

Lucario chose truth while Farfetch'd, Nosepass, Heracross and Miltank all chose lie. The anti-Lucario gang remained on their designated carpet.

"It's true. To be specific, I have eighteen boyfriends. I broke up with fifteen while three broke up with me." Shiinotic revealed an astonishing fact. Most of the contestants in the red carpet dropped their jaws.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Eighteen?! Girl, that's messed up."

 **Ledyba:** "Why did she break up with so many? I don't get it."

 **Lucario:** "Haha! Called it."

 **Darmanitan:** "The shroom homie is crazy. First, the knife and now this?" He gasped suddenly, stepping backward. "This is one crazy thing I'm about to say but by 'breaking-up', did she mean stabbing them with the knife and taking their body parts? Doctor Chillman, I need medical help!" He ran outside the confessional. (You are overthinking it, Darmanitan.)

 **Drifblim:** "Skarmory's interns impress me on their own ways."

 **Cryogonal:** "Now, I feel fortunate."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk feels like she's too picky. Love isn't all about perfection. It's about compromise. I do compromise a lot for my girlfriend."

* * *

Shiinotic approached a fern green present box with yellow bow on top. Lurantis got released, holding a wide variety of embarrassing props like fake mustaches, girly dresses and much more.

"I will take an embarrassing picture of you and post it on the official website of Total Skarmory Island." Lurantis explained. "Do you dare to accept this punishment?"

"How embarrassing?" Aromatisse asked fearfully. Shiinotic smirked.

After some time…

Nosepass once again wore the Lurantis pants on his head. The legs of the pants were no different from his ears by now.

Lurantis drew two black circles around Farfetch'd's eyes. She then surrounded both with straight lines, turning them into suns.

Aromatisse wore a prisoner uniform in black and white. "This is so bottom tier." She complained.

Ledyba wore a fake, soggy mustache. She scratched her nose a little as the mustache made her feel itchy.

Miltank wore a Snorlax costume. It enlarged her body, making her look overweight.

Drifblim got her arms all chained up while her face got wrapped around by toilet paper like a mummy.

Worse of all, Darmanitan wore a pacifier and diaper, all white. His face turned extremely pink from this humiliation. He used his two hunky arms to cover the front side of the diaper.

"Homie boy is a baby. Hahaha…" Miltank laughed and Heracross soon joined in as well. Lucario scowled before he whispered something inside Lurantis' left ear. She nodded and left to get something.

Darmanitan felt even more embarrassed. He wished that he could bury his face under the ground.

"Darmanitan, no one is going to judge you." Aromatisse assured.

"Think of it like this, Darmanitan. You get to go back to your childhood days. How does it feel to be young again?" Ledyba tried to uplift his spirits.

"You are just shooting an advert about infant products, Darmanitan. You can do this." Meowth cheered. Duosion was a bit shocked by what Meowth said.

Hearing so many cheering cries and encouraging his looks from his friends, Darmanitan felt motivated to endure this humiliation. He meditated, the power of zen cleansed his mind free of the public humiliation.

"Heracross, I got something for you." Lurantis called her name and Heracross turned. Her face paled immediately once she saw a pink diaper alongside a pacifier of the same color.

"I won't do this!" Heracross freaked out and ran away. Now, the others started to laugh at her.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I must thank all of the homies. Without them, I couldn't do it."

 **Lucario:** "That might be the last thing I can do for you, Darmanitan. In front of you and the others, I need to be a beast. None of you are suited to join my _team_ and follow my heartless path. Therefore, there shall be no room left for you and the others inside my heart." His sadness was replaced by madness. "I will destroy all of you so that Meowth can win!"

* * *

The photo was taken and only Heracross was eliminated. The contestants quickly removed their props while Farfetch'd washed his face. Shiinotic moved on to the next round.

"I broke up with one of my boyfriends because he bought me cheese sticks with one more percent cheese than what I asked for." Shiinotic claimed.

"If I'm one of your boyfriends, I will shove those cheese sticks down your throat! You should just stay single for life." Lucario continued to annoy her. Shiinotic clenched her fists.

"Told you, she is the pickiest eater I have ever known. No exaggeration." Chef Drapion reinforced.

Lucario, Miltank, Farfetch'd and Nosepass all chose truth. This left Aromatisse, Drifblim, Darmanitan and Ledyba as the only four to choose lie.

"The correct answer is truth." Shiinotic revealed.

"Finally, no punishment for me!" Nosepass celebrated.

"That's just sad." Lucario shook his head, trying to aggravate him. Nosepass glared with despise.

Shiinotic walked over to a dark green present box with a purple bow. "Everyone, I introduce you to the boyfriend that bought me those cheese sticks. Meet Decidueye." She didn't sound too happy with the reunion.

A handsome archer bird stepped out of the present box. He combed his hair a little before paying attention to the contestants.

"Good afternoon everyone, nice to meet all of you." Decidueye greeted in a charming voice.

"Now, this is top tier material!" Aromatisse shouted with excitement and joy.

Decidueye seemed flattered, turning to Shiinotic. "Miss me?" He asked with a conceited smile.

"Not one bit." Shiinotic turned away.

"Oh, come on. It's just one percent." Decidueye sounded annoyed.

"Just do your job. I didn't call you here just so you can crawl your way back to me." Shiinotic reminded in a serious tone.

"Fine." Decidueye turned back to the contestants, explaining the dare. "All of you will be my target practice. I will attempt to shoot the apple on top of your head. You can't flinch, close your eyes or show any signs of fear in this dare."

"I'm sure you won't miss." Aromatisse ogled, placing her chin on the back of her left hand. Cryogonal rolled her eyes at this.

"Oh, I will also be blindfolded." Decidueye added. Now, Aromatisse sweated a little.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "The guy is like so handsome and fabulous. If Shiinotic doesn't want him, I will gladly take Decidueye."

* * *

Drifblim, Aromatisse, Ledyba and Darmanitan pushed their backs against a tree, holding an apple on their heads.

Decidueye put the blindfold on and aimed at Drifblim first. He pulled the feather arrow back and released it. Drifblim didn't even blink as the arrow pierce through the apple on her head successfully. She didn't get hurt one bit.

Decidueye pushed the blindfold up to check the results. He pushed his eyebrows up and down twice flirtatiously at Drifblim. She seemed amused by his attempt.

"Just go, bird boy, you aren't my type." Drifblim rejected. Decidueye frowned dejectedly as he moved on to Aromatisse.

"Please don't miss. If you miss, please don't hit my face." Aromatisse requested.

"Rest assured, milady." Decidueye assured as he pushed the blindfold back down. Aromatisse took multiple deep breaths as Decidueye pulled the arrow back.

Aromatisse focused on his handsome look as the arrow flew toward her.

Unfortunately, Decidueye's face wasn't enough as Aromatisse closed her eyes in fear at the last second. The arrow didn't hit her, however.

Decidueye removed his blindfold and frowned because Aromatisse didn't trust him. The fairy type covered her face in shame.

"I'm such a coward." Aromatisse mumbled, clearly upset.

Darmanitan sat in a meditative pose, the apple balanced itself perfectly on his head. Through the power of zen, he completed the dare successfully as Decidueye never missed a shot.

Ledyba had complete trust in him after witnessing his flawless accuracy. She also moved on to the next round.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I missed my shot with him. Guess it's time to search for a new top tier guy."

* * *

"Next round, I'm… insecure about my weight." Shiinotic admitted, lowering her head a little. Was this an act?

"Obviously, you are. You are such a picky eater." Lucario said rudely and loudly.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Anyone wants to switch?" Darmanitan looked at the other four on the green carpet.

"Fine by me." Shedinja drawled, switching with Darmanitan. The homie boy looked much more comfortable with his choice.

Lucario, Miltank and Nosepass all chose truth while Farfetch'd chose lie.

Suddenly, Chef Drapion carried a mass scale over to Shiinotic. She grinned at the result as Lucario chose truth.

"The answer is lie." Shiinotic revealed as she stepped on the mass scale. Her weight was 9.6 kilograms, lighter than the average 11.5 kilograms Shiinotic.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "This doesn't make any sense!" He banged the wall of the confessional.

 **Miltank:** "Her head is big as hell. I thought her weight was like 20 kilograms."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk is a lie detector. Although, he can only occasionally detects lie."

* * *

Shiinotic tapped her chin a bit, trying to select a killer dare for Lucario. She chose a yellow present box with a black bow on top.

Inside was a beast. A Pokemon known for stimulating pain against all types of Pokemon.

"This is Masseur Confer, the greatest sports massage therapist that I could find." Shiinotic informed. "Please welcome him."

A Cofagrigus floated out of the present box. He had a sadistic countenance. A man who earned his sustenance through improving other Pokemon's health. At the same time, he was a beast that asserted his dominance over the poor bodies of his patients.

"I will make all of you healthy and young again by breaking your bones." Cofagrigus chuckled in a sick manner. Nosepass gulped. Many others felt uneasy as well.

"A massage ain't hurting me." Miltank looked confident.

"Be my first patient. Don't scream or make any noises for ten seconds and you pass." Cofagrigus gestured for her to come over. Miltank strode over to him, not realizing her mistake.

Cofagrigus squeezed her shoulders with his four arms. Sounds of bones cracking were heard.

"Ouch! Ah! Stop!" Miltank screamed in pain immediately. Cofagrigus released her and the cow crawled away like a scarred child.

"Why did I switch?" Darmanitan questioned his foolishness.

"I take sports massage all the time." Lucario said boldly. "I will be your next patient."

"Your funeral." Duosion remarked. Lucario scoffed as he exposed his back to the coffin Pokemon.

Cofagrigus squeezed Lucario's shoulders. However, the professional athlete didn't show any signs of pain. He relaxed comfortably as the masseur gave him a proper message. Shiinotic seethed as Lucario easily completed the dare. Duosion didn't look pleased either.

No one volunteered next so Cofagrigus picked his victims randomly.

Nosepass screamed before the masseur even touched his shoulders. A small tap sent the coward running away.

Darmanitan managed to grit his teeth and bite through the pain for three seconds before screaming out loud.

Cryogonal thought that her body was shattering after two seconds and decided to stop.

Meowth could only endure the pain for one second before submitting to it.

Only Duosion was left. Could her gelatinous body protect her against the agonizing pain?

"You can do this, Duosion. Keep on fighting for Houndour." Ledyba encouraged. Duosion nodded, resolving to not give up.

"I bet she will last half a second." Lucario betted 0 P. This made her friends cast a dirty and hateful look toward him. Lucario enjoyed the attention that he was receiving. Those fools didn't know that this was all a masterful plan to keep Meowth in the game.

Duosion determined to not let Lucario's words get to her. The masseur placed four of his arms on her body and started the massage of death.

Three seconds passed…

Duosion coated her mind against the pain with memories of her friends.

Six seconds passed…

Duosion had a horrible grimace of pain. She struggled through this with memories of Houndour.

Nine seconds passed…

Duosion opened her mouth. She was about to scream out in pain until…

"You are done." Cofagrigus stopped the massage.

"Duosion, you did it. Way to go, girl!" Cryogonal shouted proudly.

"You look so fabulous, enduring all the pain by yourself." Aromatisse complimented.

"Good job." Even Shedinja said something, which was a rarity.

The others gave her looks of respect. However, Lucario folded his arms as he turned his back at her.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I can't allow Lucario to win this challenge. I will take him down once and for all."

 **Nosepass:** "I'm honestly shocked that Duosion could do it. I mean she doesn't look that strong compare to Lucario. Maybe, someone like me can do something like that too… What the hell am I thinking? Nosepass, you are weak. You can't do that! You can only wait for something to be handed to you on a silver platter, you idiot." He found himself to be delusional. Despite the few times he showed bravery, Nosepass felt like caving to his fear still. Didn't he want to be a mineral extractor and stop waiting for things to be delivered to him?

* * *

"Round five, I like to gamble." Shiinotic said nonchalantly.

Farfetch'd and Duosion chose truth while Drifblim, Ledyba, Lucario and Shedinja chose lie.

"The green carpet Pokemon are safe." Shiinotic announced, walking to a red present box with a black bow.

Opening it, the contestants anticipated another breathing, living Pokemon. However, they only met a cardboard Bisharp wearing the floral headband.

"This dare is simple. Just tell cardboard Bisharp that he is hot like the sun and kiss him... on the lips." Shiinotic explained.

Drifblim and Shedinja got horrified looks on their faces.

"Kiss him? Ew. I will pass." Drifblim quitted.

"Me too." Shedinja drawled.

"Come on you two, Jumpluff won't be mad. It is just a cardboard." Ledyba tried to change their minds. However, the two still refused to kiss cardboard Bisharp.

"You are hot like the sun." Lucario said emotionlessly and kissed him briefly, getting it over with.

"You are hot like the sun. Hope you and Jumpluff are happy together." Ledyba kissed him a bit longer than Lucario and removed her lips.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "I need to wash my mouth with soap."

 **Drifblim:** "Kissing cardboard is just disgusting, especially cardboard Bisharp."

 **Aromatisse:** "I agree with Shedinja and Drifblim. If I were them, I won't kiss that low tier guy either."

* * *

"Round six, is Lurantis my best friend here among all the interns?" Shiinotic held Lurantis closed as she said that.

"They seem like real friends." Ledyba commented.

"Yeah, I think so." Duosion didn't sound exactly confident.

"I'm not falling for her tricks again." Lucario said, stepping confidently on the red carpet.

Farfetch'd alternated between the two mats until he decided to stop on the green one with the two girls.

"Sorry, my best friend is the sun and her best friend is actually someone else who doesn't get screen-time on this show." Lurantis revealed to the dismay of the three.

"Yeah, I rather befriend the sun than her too." Lucario nodded.

"And I rather befriend a certain brat than you." Shiinotic hinted, walking to a brown present box with a pink ribbon on top.

Before Shiinotic even opened the box, the voice of a spoiled brat disturbed the ears of the contestants.

"Servants, get me out of here! It is so stuffy and difficult to breath." Eevee whined. The contestants moaned among themselves, not thrilled one bit to meet this devil child once again.

The present box was soon uncovered and Eevee showed her face to the contestants once again. This time, she came back with vengeance in the form of a mud bucket behind her.

"Prepare to taste my mud choreography, servants. After what you did, I will bestow a dangerous dare upon you all. As I wipe mud off my beautiful feet on you low-life peasants, you aren't allowed to say anything for one minute. No complaining, no whining. Shut it!" Eevee addressed the contestants with utmost disrespect.

Duosion sighed, this would be another torturous dare for her.

Farfetch'd, Ledyba and Duosion lay down on the ground as Eevee covered her feet in mud.

Afterwards, she walked ostentatiously toward them, raising her head up high as she swayed her tail. The bratty heiress stooped so low as to dirty her own feet. She gained nothing but vanity as she started stomping on their backs with malice. Such sadistic display of power.

Eevee stomped Ledyba again and again, pressuring her to make a noise.

"Ow, it hurts." Ledyba yelped in pain. She lost her shot at immunity.

Next, Eevee targeted Farfetch'd. The duck sealed his mouth shut. Even when his back was riddled with mud, he didn't utter a single word.

Eevee grew tired of his persistence. She would teach him a lesson. Her eyes locked themselves to his leek stalk.

"Everything that you possess is mine, servant." Eevee tried to steal Mr. Stalk from Farfetch'd.

"Don't get your dirty paw on Mr. Stalk!" Farfetch'd accidentally blurted out. He facepalmed himself with his left wing as Eevee made her way to the final target.

"Duosion, I remember dearly what you did to me. I save the best for last. Prepare to suffer-" Eevee was interrupted.

"Time's up." Shiinotic ended the dare. Eevee gaped in disbelief before throwing a childish tantrum.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Serves her right."

 **Lucario:** "So, it comes down to me and Duosion. Interesting."

 **Meowth:** "Lucario needs to win this, no matter what."

* * *

"Round seven. See? Seven dares are enough. Last statement, a wrestler is inside the final present box." Shiinotic smirked with subtlety.

The last present box was dark blue with a silver bow on top. Sounds of punching were heard as the box got a few dents and bumps from the inside.

"I will let you choose first because I will be on a different carpet." Lucario told.

"Fine." Duosion replied without any direct eye contact. She didn't even want to see his jerkish face.

Duosion picked the red carpet, believing that the punches were all misleading clues. Lucario stepped confidently on the green carpet.

Shiinotic frowned as she revealed the results. "Duosion, you will need to do the dare."

Duosion had a clear look of frustration as the final Pokemon showed itself, ripping the present box opened with its talons from the inside.

"Braam! All of you are dead meat when you meet Brawk Hawk, the professional wrestler in Birdsville." Brawk Hawk the Braviary introduced himself before the present box fell down and covered his face.

"Who turns off the lights? Help, I'm scared of the dark!" Braviary screamed urgently. Shiinotic removed the box for him.

"Thanks, as I was saying, I'm a professional wrestler. I got this belt to prove it." Braviary pointed at his brown cardboard belt. It got the word 'Chamion' written on it.

"That isn't how you spell champion, you forgot the P." Duosion corrected.

"Oops, give me the marker." Braviary addressed Lurantis, who got the marker which she used to draw the two suns on Farfetch'd's face. Braviary quickly added the P after the A, making the word "Chapmion'. Duosion wanted to facepalm herself.

"Is he even a real wrestler?" Decidueye asked Cofagrigus, who shrugged in reply.

"Here is your awesome dare. Kiss my butt." Braviary turned around.

"What?! Is this some sort of sick joke? Not funny." Duosion thought she heard something wrong.

"You heard it correctly. This is the worst dare. Honestly, I wanted to save this one for Lucario but well you got unlucky." Shiinotic smiled sheepishly at her.

Duosion looked horrified as she stared at his butt. Pieces of cotton candy and cheesy fries got stuck on it. She wondered if she will catch some sort of contagious disease.

"Duosion, you don't need to do it. Just let Lucario win. Trust me, we won't blame you." Aromatisse thought of the best for her.

"Yeah. Not worth it." Cryogonal shook her head.

"Trust your own judgement. I believe in you no matter what you decide." Ledyba didn't want to peer pressure her.

"Let me at least try." Duosion swallowed her own words as she got closer to Braviary. He started jiggling his butt. Duosion held her breath and headed closer and closer.

Aromatisse closed her eyes, not daring enough to watch.

"Think of Houndour, Duosion. He doesn't want this." Lucario discouraged her. "Besides, there is no guarantee that you will beat me. The probability is too abysmal."

Duosion stopped before her face touched his butt. Unexpectedly, Braviary farted and Duosion fainted.

"Oops, I ate too many tacos." Braviary rubbed his head and looked at Duosion apologetically, fanning the gas away.

"Lucario wins immunity… again." Shiinotic said unenthusiastically.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Haha, I'm invincible. Suck it, suckers."

 **Meowth:** "Perfect. It is now time for us to collect the profit."

 **Duosion:** "I now officially hate wrestlers as much as I hate bandit groups in ancient times."

 **Aromatisse:** "I should create a new tier for guys like Braviary. I will call it the disease tier."

 **Miltank:** "Lucario's safe. I don't want to admit this but I think either one of us is going home."

 **Heracross:** "If I tied yesterday, I'm eliminated today. Time to go back to the streets, I guess."

* * *

Meowth paced around quietly, waiting for his employee near the mountain area. Drifblim soon appeared in front of him.

"That's punctual, good. Drifblim, I want to reveal something important to you. I got the secret advantage. It allows us to trigger a double elimination where the user is safe. Lucario won't lose his immunity if I play this either. More than that, it allows us to inspect the votes and remove one. What do you think? How should we play it?" Meowth asked for her opinion.

Drifblim smiled in surprise, absorbing the knowledge before she started processing it.

"You shouldn't play it on yourself." Drifblim advised. Meowth widened his eyes, appalled by the suggestion.

"Listen to me first. If you play it, the others will ask will these troublesome questions: Where did you find it? How long do you have it for? Why didn't you tell us? Correct?" Drifblim made a good point.

"Indeed. A great suggestion. I'm right to tell you this piece of information after all." Meowth seemed pleased. "This meeting is adjourned. You are dismissed."

"Wait, may I ask where we should meet up next? Our alliance meeting place should always change." Drifblim held him back.

"The forest area. Find the roses and you will find me and Lucario. Don't reveal this to anyone or even tell Lucario. I can do that by myself. Understood?" Meowth turned around and pierced through her eyes in a business-like manner.

Drifblim felt a twinge of nervousness but quickly hid it with a smile. "Yes, Mr. Meowth."

Meowth chuckled at the formality before he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Foolish Meowth, you just basically gave me all the corrupted files inside your business. Time to expose them to the government." She smirked. "My masterplan begins now." Unease suddenly crept up on her arms. "Now isn't the time to be nervous, Drifblim. You waited years for this moment. The moment to prove your gameshows mastery to the world. Keep calm and execute the plan."

 **Meowth:** "Now, the question is who should I use it on and when."

* * *

First, Drifblim invited Heracross over for a secret meeting inside the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin.

"What's up, Drifblim? Am I leaving?" Heracross asked, sounding rather glum.

"Don't be so down in the dumps. This is so unlike you." Drifblim commented.

"Miltank and I know it. Because Lucario is safe, they are coming for us instead. I really do wish to go back to the old days with Archeops and you. Those days are the best. I look strong and mighty but now I can't even beat Shedinja. I don't understand why I can't just curb-stomp him. I always tried my best but that stupid bug beats me easily. Gah! I hate it! I wish I can drag him down to elimination with me." Heracross vented off her frustration, stomping on the ground. She visualized herself crushing Shedinja underneath her foot.

"Then do it, who's stopping you from beating him?" Drifblim asked rhetorically. Heracross grew quiet, looking down on the ground.

"You, yourself. Only if you got more on the brain side, Shedinja is no match for you." Drifblim lifted Heracross' face up.

"Heracross, I need an ally for myself as well. While I have great plans, I can't execute them by myself. I can convince the others to vote for Miltank instead of you. Will you join me? I can't guarantee that I will keep you until the finale. I can't guarantee that I will split the money with you. However, I can guarantee you that Shedinja will be eliminated." Drifblim offered.

Heracross grinned. "What's our plan?"

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Drifblim told me everything. The girl is up to something big. Time to mess around with this game."

* * *

Drifblim headed over to the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin next. Along the way, she checked the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin. Apparently, Lucario and Meowth weren't there.

"Oh, Drifblim, glad to see you here. We are discussing about who to eliminate between Heracross and Miltank. You should join us." Aromatisse said invitingly.

"Of course." Drifblim followed her inside. She heard an argument between Duosion and Cryogonal.

"Duosion, please just vote for Heracross this time. We need to unite our votes." Cryogonal pleaded.

"We can unite our votes against Miltank." Duosion argued before noticing Drifblim. "What is your opinion? Since you are the member of the Crazy Crawdaunt, you probably know Heracross better than the rest of us."

"Heracross is so, so incredibly dumb. She works for Skrelp the entire time. She can never think for herself other than beating Shedinja up. What an imbecile. Miltank, on the other hand, lasts far longer in challenges, smarter and stronger. Just vote for Miltank." Drifblim exaggerated on certain parts with a persuasive voice.

"Cryogonal, convinced now?" Duosion asked, feeling victorious. Cryogonal sighed and threw snow chains up in defeat.

Once everything settled, Drifblim held Aromatisse back. The fairy type eyed her inquisitively.

"Girl, look at your face. It is getting better and better but I think it will look even better if you decorate it with roses, you know? Maybe, Decidueye will fall for you then." Drifblim suggested.

"Yeah girl, I will go pick them up before the elimination starts." Aromatisse said giddily, nearly running into the door. Luckily, Drifblim held her back again just in time.

"Thanks. I don't know what got inside my head for a moment there." Aromatisse said sheepishly.

"Girl, I don't think you can do it by yourself. You are a nervous wreck right now. You will end up picking all those non-fabulous roses. I suggest you ask Ledyba kindly to do it instead. She owns a berry garden, right? She also seems knowledgeable about floriography." Drifblim manipulated.

"You are right, I will go and ask Ledyba." Aromatisse ran hurriedly over to her friend. Ledyba obviously accepted the request.

Drifblim looked all flushed, her plan was about to complete.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ledyba:** "Oh, I know that place, I have been there with Scolipede often. That's our dating spot besides the berry garden which is also nearby."

* * *

"For Meowth & Co! For Meowth & Co! Cheers!" Meowth shouted and toasted with Lucario. They collided their wine glasses filled with Soda Pop together. The two shared a hearty laugh as they drank all of it.

"Those two laborers will be out of jobs within no time. After that, Duosion, Farfetch'd, Rhyhorn. We will keep on going until there are no competitors left." Meowth planned ahead.

"Indeed, all of this for the prosperity of Meowth & Co. When Heracross, Miltank and Drifblim are all gone, no one will know the existence of our secret alliance." Lucario indicated. This reminded Meowth of something he had been meaning to ask the professional athlete.

"Lucario, can I ask something? Can you use aura to see if anyone is following us? In case our employees turn against us and reveal our location." Meowth inquired.

"Sorry, Meowth. Unlike all the other Lucario, I only practice how to utilize aura offensively. That's why I'm debatably the strongest Lucario of my age." Lucario told. "I can try but it's not effective. I use my other senses like hearing or sight for that kind of task."

"That's regrettable." Meowth shook his head in disappointment.

Suddenly, bushes rustled nearby. Lucario immediately grabbed Meowth and hid underneath patches of rose.

Ledyba hummed a tune to herself as she flew over to collect the roses. Inevitably, she spotted Lucario and Meowth.

"Meowth… Lucario… Why are you two together in a patch of rose?" Ledyba was astounded. Suddenly, everything clicked. The ladybug quickly flew away, shedding incensed tears of wilted rose fragrance.

"Wait!" Meowth got up and called for her. The businessman knew that he couldn't chase her fast enough. Therefore, he turned to the speed demon next to him.

"Chase after her and ask who sent her here." Meowth ordered and Lucario obeyed, blazing through the forest in no time.

Meowth tailed after Lucario, running multiple scenarios and solutions in his mind. Suddenly, Meowth saw Heracross anticipating his arrival.

"You must save me, Meowth. Vote out Miltank!" Heracross clung to his feet.

"Now isn't the time, you filthy, homeless degenerate!" Meowth yelled furiously. Heracross was stunned by what Meowth just said. The cat realized that he lost control for a moment there.

"Forgive me, my customer. I will tolerate your sympathetic begging for the last time, please let go." Meowth said in a much more calm and controlled manner.

"Please save me, I can help you." Heracross begged again.

"She is right, Meowth. The commotion leads me here. What's happening?" Drifblim acted oblivious. Meowth glared at her skeptically.

By now, Lucario returned, ready to report his discovery.

"So, why is she there? It is out of place for someone to be there when the elimination is going to start soon." Meowth demanded an answer.

"Aromatisse, she wanted the roses to attract Decidueye." Lucario revealed, lowering his head.

"Aish!" Meowth yelled out in rage. "Everything is ruined because Aroma-fricking-tisse wants roses?" He laughed at his misfortune.

"Meowth, not all hope is lost. Remember when I told you to not use the advantage on yourself?" Drifblim reminded.

"Do you want me eliminated?" Meowth accused. "Everyone is carrying pitchforks over to my company."

"Calm down, Meowth. Not all hope is lost. You know Ledyba well. She won't tell the others just yet. She will contemplate and deliberate on it first. Therefore, you need to eliminate her now. Silence her. However, here is the thing, if you use the advantage on yourself, Heracross is gone for sure. You are much more likable, Meowth. Want to take a risk to save your company?" Drifblim enticed.

"You are implying that Heracross should use the advantage?" Meowth asked. Drifblim nodded and Heracross grinned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Thanks for the free advantage, Drifblim."

 **Ledyba:** "I can't believe that Meowth tricked me all this time. He even hurt himself to manipulate me. Unbelievable… What if Lucario tricks Meowth to create that scene? Is that even possible at this point? I want to trust him but… I don't know anymore."

 **Lucario:** "Aromatisse, why the *beep* did you want roses? Stupid coincidence."

 **Meowth:** "My monopoly, everything is gone… all because of Aromatisse's whimsical choice? If she manages to win this game after this fluke, I will donate one thousand roses for her to enjoy for free."

 **Drifblim:** "I will explain a few more things after the elimination is over."

* * *

The craziest elimination ceremony started. Meowth and Lucario hid their fears under their serious demeanors. Drifblim felt exhilarated. Heracross patted Miltank's back. Aromatisse asked for the roses from Ledyba, who said nothing. Duosion and the others started to feel concerned for her strange behavior.

"You know the drill. I will now start giving out the berries." Skarmory initiated. The contestants straightened their postures and fixed their eyes on the host.

Normally, Drifblim would make a snarky remark by now. However, she wasn't in the mood.

"Lucario" He got a large Leppa Berry.

"Duosion" She got her eyes on Miltank.

"Meowth" He sharpened his claws.

"Drifblim" She looked the most comfortable out of everyone.

"Darmanitan" He meditated in tranquility.

"Rhyhorn" …

"Nosepass" The coward felt content that he survived another day.

"Cryogonal" She feared that something like yesterday would happen again.

"Shedinja" He had a small smile on his face.

"Aromatisse" She daydreamed about the roses and top tier guys.

"Ledyba" She was lost in the sea of deep thought.

"Farfetch'd" He gave the berry to Mr. Stalk.

"Heracross…" Skarmory paused to build suspense. Miltank and Heracross hugged each other.

…

…

…

"You are safe." Skarmory revealed the results. As Miltank was about to leave to the confessional, Heracross stood up.

"Wait, I got the advantage, everyone." Heracross publicized.

She walked over to the bonfire and dug up something with a wide grin on her face. Duosion and her friends started to panic. Miltank gaped in disbelief. When did she have the advantage?

She dug the entire silver Skarmory statue up for Skarmory to inspect.

"Yep, this is the advantage." Skarmory nodded. "Heracross triggers a double elimination where she will be safe. Lucario is still immune as well." He hid other benefits of the advantage to the surprise of a few contestants. This was logical considering if you get to inspect the vote, you would want the others contestants to not know that and vote naturally.

"This means I'm still going to Loser Island?" Miltank asked, believing for a second that she was about to be saved.

"Yep." Skarmory dashed her hopes and dreams.

* * *

 **Miltank's Final Confessional**

I thought Heracross is going to save me but I guess not. At least I had a fun time showing off my masculinity. I destroyed those pipsqueaks and blew them out of the water. That's what I want my co-workers to see. A shame I don't get the money but who knows? If Heracross wins, she is going to split with me. Hope she wins and Lucario can just lose.

* * *

While the contestants were making their ways to vote inside the confessional, many resorted to body language to communicate with the others. Duosion glanced at Aromatisse, before suddenly darting her eyes to Meowth under the watchful eyes of Lucario.

Cryogonal and Shedinja exchanged a glance before both looking at Rhyhorn.

Ledyba kept her opinion quietly to herself.

Drifblim enjoyed the chaotic scene.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk wants to vote for Darmanitan to weaken Lucario. He feels that Darmanitan still got some sort of connection to him."

 **Duosion:** "Meowth, I will vote for you. You separated me from Houndour alongside Lucario. Your lunch boxes tactic won't work on me."

 **Nosepass:** "Screw all of you Feckless Flygon jerks."

 **Lucario:** "Meowth, please be safe."

 **Drifblim:** "Now that no one got any time to discuss about the elimination, anything can happen."

 **Meowth:** "It's time to abandon my loyal customer." He had a look of regret.

 **Ledyba:** "Meowth…" She looked away.

After everyone finished casting their votes (including Heracross), she got a list detailing who voted for whom.

 **Heracross:** "Thanks, Skarmory, for giving me the list. Let's see… one vote for Duosion, one vote for Darmanitan, three votes for Rhyhorn, four votes for Meowth and four votes for Ledyba. Well, Drifblim told me to…"

* * *

"Another round of Leppa Berries. Here we go!" Skarmory started the second elimination ceremony with excitement.

"Lucario"

"Heracross"

"Shedinja"

"Drifblim"

"Cryogonal"

"Aromatisse"

"Farfetch'd"

"Nosepass"

"Darmanitan"

"Duosion"

"Rhyhorn"

"Meowth and Ledyba, both of you are dangerous in your own ways. Well, Meowth you are a smart businessman who seems to always get discounts. Ledyba, you are one of the nicest Pokemon here. Your words are deeply motivational to many. Both of you are tied but, Heracross got another power. She can remove a vote after inspecting it. She ended up breaking the tie. The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory paused dramatically.

…

…

…

…

Upon hearing Heracross broke the tie, Ledyba accepted her fate.

…

…

…

Meowth stared at Heracross. She seemed inscrutable.

…

…

…

…

Drifblim knew the result very well.

…

…

…

…

"Ledyba" Skarmory announced officially.

* * *

 **Ledyba's Final Confessional**

Scolipede, it looks like I will get to see you sooner than expected. That's excellent, right? I'm happy that I managed to make so many new friends and compete in many exciting challenges. It's really a shame that my trust got abused. Maybe, that's why I need Scolipede to keep me in line. Duosion, you are a very smart friend and a great one as well. Cryogonal is a nice Pokemon to talk to when she isn't angry and Aromatisse can be Aromatisse sometimes. I can't really find a word for it other than fabulous. It's time for me to go now. Good luck, girls and Shedinja too. Oh, can't forget Darmanitan as well.

* * *

The dock packed full with Pokemon. Ledyba was pretty popular and had a lot of friends so it wasn't strange. Miltank, on the other hand, already left with no one to see her off.

"Chill out and stay safe, homie." Darmanitan wished for a safe journey.

"Have a great time socializing with the ex-contestants." Drifblim came to see her off as well.

"Take care." At least, Shedinja said something.

Cryogonal seemed proud of him. She said something of her own too. "Girl, stay awesome. I know that you are going to have fun with Scolipede, Houndour and the rest so no need for a sad farewell, alright?"

"Of course." Ledyba showed her a bright smile. Cryogonal felt relieved.

"Yeah, have fun with Scolipede. I will admit that he is pretty fabulous." Aromatisse sounded sincere. "Sorry about the roses, it got you eliminated." She felt guilty.

"It's okay, you don't know better." Ledyba wasn't mad in the slightest. Aromatisse felt better and stopped blaming herself.

"Ledyba, thank you for always being on my side, helping me to confess to Houndour, consoling me, you did so much that I couldn't list them all. I wish that I could do more for you." Duosion sounded a bit disappointed.

"It's okay. You did a lot for me as well. It might not be the most obvious of things but I know that you look out for me all the time. Take care, Duosion and everyone." Ledyba bid her farewell, waving to everyone before the Lapras departed.

"Wait!" Suddenly, a loud voice interrupted. It was no one other than Meowth.

"Meowth, you aren't welcomed here. Ledyba told us everything already." Duosion tried to get rid of him.

"Duosion, let him say what he wants." Ledyba gave her a reassuring gaze and Duosion reluctantly moved out of Meowth's way.

"My customer-no, Ledyba. I want to release an official apology from Meowth & Co. but that is impossible. A company can't bow down to one, insignificant customer. No matter how I want to keep you in the game, you must be eliminated for the sake of business. Therefore, all I can do is apologize as a normal Meowth. Have… a safe trip." Meowth said his parting words before turning his back on everyone.

"I forgive you!" Ledyba shouted and Meowth stopped, his ears perked. "Only the normal Meowth, not the businessman." She clarified.

Meowth chuckled lightly before leaving for real.

Ledyba continued to smile as the Lapras headed out further and further.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Oh, you silly, blind customer…" He said in an adoring tone.

 **Duosion:** "Meowth, I will be the one who put you out of business."

* * *

It was late in the night and everyone already went to sleep, except for Drifblim and Heracross. The two met each other on the beach.

"I was worried for a second that Meowth will be eliminated." Drifblim told, sounding relieved.

"Why do you want to keep him in this game? Care to explain it to me, again?" Heracross asked for a reminder.

"You see, Heracross. He must be eliminated after Lucario. This is the most important thing. The goal of my plan today is just to immobilize him, stripping him of his power. Meowth is now powerless. However, if he is eliminated before Lucario… You don't want to see a true beast, don't you?" Drifblim asked.

"Of course not, but what do you mean by true beast? Lucario is already a beast." Heracross asked, confused.

"Lucario, he is holding back to some extent. He doesn't use his full force all the time. I guess he is having mercy on us. Personally, I find him much scarier than Meowth. That's why my plan needs to be complicated. Lucario can't know that I'm the mastermind or else I might get… hospitalized." Drifblim sounded a bit serious.

"Hospitalized? Girl, are you that scared of Lucario?" Heracross found it amusing.

"I rather be safe than sorry. Regardless, I already got someone that can deal with Lucario." Drifblim smirked.

"Great. Still, it means nothing if he keeps winning immunity. Why don't we go for Shedinja first?" Heracross suggested selfishly.

"Fine, Shedinja, Duosion, Farfetch'd and Rhyhorn. Your pick." Drifblim lifted her eyes toward the sky, viewing the shining stars above her.

After the two left to sleep, Skarmory landed on the dock.

"Well viewers, all I have to say is that there will be a big twist coming next episode. Stay tuned for that on Total Skarmory Island." Skarmory yawned before he flew away to sleep.

* * *

 **Votes**

 **Elimination 1**

Miltank: Heracross

Heracross: Miltank

Duosion: Miltank

Ledyba: Miltank

Cryogonal: Miltank

Shedinja: Miltank

Aromatisse: Miltank

Drifblim: Miltank

Meowth: Miltank

Lucario: Miltank

Darmanitan: Miltank

Nosepass: Miltank

Farfetch'd: Heracross

Rhyhorn: Heracross

Miltank: 11 (eliminated)

Heracross: 3 (safe)

 **Elimination 2**

Farfetch'd: Darmanitan

Rhyhorn: Duosion

Meowth: Ledyba

Lucario: Ledyba

Duosion: Meowth

Aromatisse: Meowth

Cryogonal: Rhyhorn

Shedinja: Rhyhorn

Ledyba: Meowth

Nosepass: Meowth (vote removed)

Drifblim: Ledyba

Heracross: Ledyba

Darmanitan: Rhyhorn

Darmanitan: 1

Duosion: 1

Rhyhorn: 3

Meowth: 3

Ledyba: 4 (eliminated)

* * *

This is the most insane elimination by far. Takes a lot of skill to craft these.

Did anyone notice 'The Sea in You' foreshadowing about rendezvouses on the beach? I like to put foreshadowing in because it adds a re-read value. You can go on a scavenger hunt for them. An easy trick to spot them is to ignore all the dialogues between characters. It is unrealistic if what they said foreshadow future events. Rather, you should focus on poetic descriptions of the world.

Will one of the four that Drifblim mention be eliminated in the next episode? Maybe…

Does your elimination list change? Feel free to tell me.


	23. Chapter 23

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

Welcome back, glad to see you again! Hopefully, you will update your story soon. I really want to read it. Yep, Rhyhorn is getting out of his secret base. You will see more of him from now on.

 **InfernoMaster64**

The level of strategy Drifblim uses is the equivalent of myself. So, if you wonder how I will fare in a TPI-like setting, just think of her.

Good luck with Lucario… Trust me, you are going to need it. My best advice, remove all Lucarionite from his proximity. You don't want to see Mega Lucario…

You are tempting me to include Decidueye in one of the later seasons. You really are.

Yep, TSI shouldn't be animated. If I really want to, I can create a TPI animation and probably call it Total Scizor Island. (Get it? TSI) The host will be different and the setting will be bland. This will probably never happen considering how many stories I planned.

 **Parousia45**

The tier list thing is supposed to be a parody of the list of male contestants that other TPI authors commonly use. I want to stand out from them.

Certain villains only suit certain stories. I read your story and I know that you are a good author. Don't worry about that.

Yeah, I know it's short but that's because I really want to finish this before September. At the same time, I don't want to rush it. That's why I simplify a few things to make it shorter and easier for me to write.

 **OctoRiter**

Shedinja and Cryogonal aren't official yet.

Except Houndour and Ledyba, Darmanitan is probably one of the nicest contestants.

I think Duosion has a lot of plot relevance. There are a lot of tension between her and Meowth. She also despises Lucario.

Houndour returning? He might. I want to develop him more and show his other qualities other than niceness. However, I feel like there are more undeveloped characters than him.

 **Fallenstreet01**

Sorry for eliminating another of your favorites. I can't do anything about that. The finale and everything has been determined already.

Nosepass has many bad qualities and I see why you dislike him. However, he's more sympathetic than anything.

* * *

 **Episode 23** **:** **Coupling Competition**

The camera turned on and we saw two brown lines on a cheek of a cute, cream creature. The camera soon zoomed out and a ferret-like creature appeared, wrapping herself around Skarmory. She waved to the camera politely once Raticate gave the signal.

"Great to see you all return to our show, viewers. You might wonder why my wonderful wife is here with me this time." Skarmory said lovingly, turning to her.

"That's because two heads are better than one, right, my handsome husband?" Furret replied, staring knowingly into his eyes.

"Yep, we got a twist. However, we won't reveal it now. Anyways, back to the usual. Last time…" Skarmory signaled through eye contact for Furret to continue.

"…lies were everywhere! Meowth victimized himself by ordering Lucario to threaten him, diverting all of the attention to the athlete." Furret made it sound dramatic.

"Our intern also lied about many things, her age, weight insecurities and best friend." Skarmory stopped after a sentence.

"Lucario endured all the dares and earned himself another individual immunity." Furret didn't seem thrilled saying that.

"However, the truth limped behind the lie, waiting for the opportunity to strike. That opportunity is when…" Skarmory tried to make his voice suspenseful.

"Drifblim orchestrated a masterful plan, exposing both Meowth and Lucario while Ledyba and Miltank got eliminated." Furret revealed.

"What will happen this time? What will the twist be and will Lucario win again? Hopefully not. Find out in this coupling episode of…" Skarmory dragged the last syllable.

"Total Furret Island!" Furret finished it for him. The two seemed a bit embarrassed after finishing their little wordplay.

* * *

Lucario and Meowth both seemed despondent after yesterdays' events. There was no chatter; there were no smiles. The two dragged their feet lifelessly to the beach like two jobless bums.

"Meowth, I'm sorry. It is my fault. I'm responsible for keeping both of us safe but I can't even hide us properly. I don't deserve to be your bodyguard, fire me." Lucario blamed himself.

"It's okay. I can imagine worse cases without you around. Don't be too harsh on yourself." Meowth said consolingly.

"No, I need to accept the responsibility. I'm the great and almighty leader of the Aura Beast. I need to win no matter what. I will make it up to you one way or another." Lucario yearned for redemption.

He opened his right hand and aura manifested itself in a form of a destruction sphere. The professional athlete threw it across the sea, travelling long distances with unstoppable velocity. It soon exploded into a spectacle. Meowth spectated everything with slight confusion.

"Good for nothing aura! Only if I take the time to attend aura reading classes…" Lucario regretted.

"I don't wish to reiterate myself, Lucario. Don't be harsh on yourself. You are an expert in the field of sports. It is a waste of precious time to learn something you don't need. We don't need to close our doors yet. I assure you that we are still in this game. As long as we divert their attention to Heracross, we can buy ourselves at least one more day." Meowth told, placing a hand on his shoulder.

'Thank you for… being by my side. Without you—my friend, my follower—, I don't know my own identity in Total Skarmory Island. Am I a monster? Am I a dictator? Am I a respected leader? In the Aura Beast, I know who I _am_. The invincible leader that keeps food on the table for everyone but here does anyone really need me? Maybe they rather let Houndour lead or Duosion lead because I can be too bossy, pushy and demanding." Lucario released his innermost feelings, sighing.

"You are my bodyguard." Meowth reminded. "If no one wants to hire you, I will be the one." He said prettily.

Lucario straightened his face into a stern expression, awakened from defeat. "Thanks for reminding me of my job, Meowth. I won't fail you. You can count on that." He smiled before leaving from the beach with a newfound strength. Yet an aura of loneliness surrounded him.

Meowth watched his desolate figure with a solid but concerned face. Lucario had good intentions for his team but one by one, they turned their backs against him. All because they couldn't accept his ruthless ways and authoritarian rule. As a result, Lucario banished them all from his heart.

Darmanitan was a fool that admired him for the wrong reasons.

Aromatisse only saw him as only a dirty barbarian.

Shedinja thought nothing of him despite the few times they interacted.

Cryogonal snapped at him when he tried to get his way.

Duosion held a deep-seethed grudge against him and couldn't have a lower opinion for the troglodyte.

Lucario suffered quietly to himself. His biggest fear was losing. To be precise, losing friends, family, followers and fans. However, his team would never see this side of him. He couldn't show sadness, guilt or fear in front of his team. That's because Lucario thought a leader needs to be invincible, strong, serious and capable of motivating his teammates even to the extent of heartlessness. Needless to say, Lucario had a twisted perception of leadership.

Lucario grew up in an ugly world, his friends and family were poor. He learned things the hard way. Kindness was a disease that shall be cured. Teammates shall be sacrificed for the sake of the team. Love was only a distraction.

However, one thing differentiated him from the jerks, criminals and villains of the world.

The ecstatic fans that cheered and chanted his name whenever he won.

His family that watched the event from a colorless television. His little brother who jumped up wildly every time he beats his opponents up mercilessly.

The followers that had a mixed opinion about him. Still, they respected and admired his power and skill.

Most importantly, a friend that would rant about relationships with him. A friend that would beat his competitors with him without hesitation. A friend like Meowth.

Even if Meowth wasn't exactly the most trustworthy or friendliest, he was the one that understood him the most. Without him, Lucario wouldn't be the same Lucario that we knew. He would be the drunk alcoholic seen in the ruined hotel.

Or worse, the _true beast_.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I fear that my audacious bodyguard will get himself eliminated. Without him, I got no employee. While I can work as a sole proprietor, I prefer to kick back and manage. Meowth & Co. needs to pass down its legacy as the best alliance ever created in Total Drama. With that kind of reputation, customers will rush over to my business." He rubbed his hands together.

 **Lucario:** "I will do everything to keep Meowth in this game, including lying, backstabbing, threatening, blackmailing, anything! I can't afford to lose him or else I will be _lost_ again." He clenched his right fist tightly, tenaciously holding firmly to his convictions while his eyes showed desperation.

* * *

Early morning in the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin…

'…and that's why I believe Meowth gave the advantage to Heracross. He wanted to vote Ledyba off the island." Duosion rambled on about Meowth and yesterdays' elimination.

Cryogonal fully paid attention to her psychic friend while Aromatisse pretended to be listening by nodding a bit. The fairy type was applying her make-up.

"Aromatisse, are you listening?" Duosion asked, expecting a reply. However, Aromatisse just nodded. Duosion sighed. Cryogonal whispered something to her slyly and she smirked.

"Decidueye is outside, Aromatisse! Go and meet him quickly!" Duosion lied in an urgent tone.

"What?! My handsome prince, wait for me!" Aromatisse rushed outside, scrambling around to find Decidueye. The two girls giggled as they watched.

"Not funny." Aromatisse growled once she realized that they tricked her.

"Well that's why you should listen when others are speaking." Duosion taught her a lesson.

"Duosion, it is too early in the morning. Can't we talk about this later? I need to do my make-up after having my beauty sleep." Aromatisse complained.

"Fine, fine. Anyways, I realize our biggest flaw now. Communication. We need to learn how to communicate better." Duosion told.

"Just now? Seriously? You should learn this since Scolipede's elimination." Cryogonal didn't seem impressed.

"Yeah, I must admit that's my mistake." Duosion said apologetically. "Still, we need to communicate better. Care to tell me why you voted for Rhyhorn again, Cryogonal?"

"Well, he is just mysterious and silent. I can't get a proper conversation out of him. He might be secretly evil. Besides, I think he might work for Meowth." Cryogonal explained.

"Good point." Duosion could see the reasoning behind it.

"Well, girls, if you excuse me, I will go and grab breakfast. All of you should too. Eat the sludge and get it over with." Aromatisse suggested and left, bringing the make-up kit with her. Duosion and Cryogonal soon followed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Rhyhorn nearly severely injured me once. I don't exactly have the best relationship with him either. After Meowth, Lucario and Heracross, I will probably vote him out next."

 **Aromatisse:** "Is it so wrong that I want to take my time to look pretty so I can attract top tier guys? If you are a girl on a dirty island with a bunch of low tier guys, you probably want some eye candy too."

* * *

Inside the mess hall…

Nosepass carried his empty plate to Chef Drapion. However, Lucario cut in front of him.

"Hey!" Nosepass shouted in annoyance. Lucario turned around slowly, piercing though Nosepass' eyes with intimidation. The timid coward lowered his head and turned silent.

Lucario had no love for Nosepass. In fact, he enjoyed terrorizing a poor weakling like him. The professional athlete saw Nosepass as nothing more than a cheap fodder that didn't deserve to make it this far, let alone getting into the merge.

Nosepass stored the grudge inside his head. There must be a day for his uprising. A day where the strong will tremble to the weak. The day he would reign sup-

"Hurry up and get your food!" Chef Drapion hastened angrily.

"Sorry." Nosepass said submissively. He accepted the food obediently in a docile manner and left to find a seat with his head hanging down dangerously close to the sludge. Consequently, his nose accidentally touched it.

"Ugh, go me." Nosepass said sarcastically.

"Here, clean yourself up." Drifblim handed him a tissue after watching everything.

"Thanks." Nosepass placed his plate down before he accepted the tissue, wiping his nose clean. The two sat together, quickly eating their breakfast. Drifblim nudged him after they finished, signaling that they should go and have a private conversation outside.

"Tired of Lucario?" Drifblim asked, expecting an obvious response.

"Yeah, stupid athlete. I wish that I can beat him up so he knows how it feels. But, it's only a wish that will never be true. I mean he is smarter, faster, stronger and so much better than me." Nosepass expressed his hopelessness.

"I don't think so." Drifblim disagreed.

"You think I can beat Lucario?" Nosepass scoffed.

"Nosepass, a silver medalist can't beat a gold medalist. Duosion, Farfetch'd and everyone else including myself stand no chance against him. Why? Because Lucario know very well what each of us are capable of. He will be prepared." Drifblim constructed the idea to Nosepass.

"But I'm not capable of anything." Nosepass insulted himself. Suddenly, he was enlightened.

"Are you trying to say that…" Nosepass opened his mouth in awe.

"Yes, because you are absolutely unthreatening, Lucario got nothing to fear. He will go easy on you. When he lowers his guard, you take him down and kick his butt out of the immunity challenge." Drifblim punched thin air for extra emphasis.

"With no immunity, Lucario is as good as gone. Everyone will vote for him." Nosepass understood the plan now. Drifblim smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "My plan is proceeding smoothly. If Lucario loses immunity, he will be out. Without Lucario, Meowth is vulnerable. Without Meowth, my biggest competitor is out of the game and I win."

 **Nosepass:** "Lucario will go down and I will be the one to do so." He had a sudden moment of courage. "I-I'm kidding, right? It's Lucario! Even with his eyes closed, hands and legs tied, he can still beat me. I'm delusional!" His courage disappeared in an instant. It was safe to say that he wouldn't be chosen by the Darkforce of Courage.

* * *

Duosion, Aromatisse and Cryogonal entered the mess hall some time after Drifblim and Nosepass left. Lucario was gone as well.

The three sat down and chatted for a while, slowly eating their food.

Unexpectedly, Shedinja entered the mess hall. This early?! After a few days ago, his sleeping schedule changed a bit but still… it was a surprise and the girls' reaction reinforced that.

"Am I dreaming?!" Cryogonal widened her eyes in shock, rubbing it a little to confirm the reality.

"If I'm dreaming, it better be about Decidueye." Aromatisse stated.

"It is highly unlikely for you to show up at this time. Did someone rouse you by any chance?" Duosion asked.

"No. I slept a bit early and wazah, I woke up a bit early." Shedinja drawled.

"Wazah? Did you ever say that?" Cryogonal thought his choice of words was rather peculiar.

"Wazah? Did you ever say that? I can ask the same question." Shedinja parried.

"Touché." Cryogonal admitted that he made a point.

"Anyways, I got something to show you. Follow me." Shedinja motioned for Cryogonal to follow him.

"What is it?" Cryogonal seemed curious as she followed him out.

Aromatisse and Duosion exchanged a glance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Is he finally…"

 **Duosion:** "…asking her out?"

* * *

Cryogonal's icy body heated with intense curiosity as Shedinja led them toward what appeared to be the clearing with the giant tree in the middle. She ran many things through her mind as to what possibly could be his intention. Some were too embarrassing to think about.

"Close your eyes." Shedinja instructed as they were about to enter the clearing.

"Fine." Cryogonal obeyed, a bit confused as to why it was necessary.

Shedinja guided her over to the tree and told her to open her eyes. Cryogonal gradually opened them, surprised to see a wooden plank being tied to a gigantic branch like a swing. Each side of the plank had a hole, where the rope went through to tie a knot.

"You like it?" Shedinja asked with slight enthusiasm. "I made it on my own."

"Why did you do this?" Cryogonal didn't get it.

"As a thank you present for all the things you have done for me and a little consolation after Ledyba got eliminated. What are you waiting for? Sit on it." Shedinja urged, sitting on the plank eagerly. Cryogonal rolled her eyes at his out-of-character enthusiasm.

"Are you some sort of illusion, disguise, Ditto, Zorua, Zoroark? I don't think the Shedinja that I know likes to do any of this stuff." Cryogonal accused, sitting on it with a suspicious look. The ropes looked a bit stressed out by her 140.7 kilograms of weight.

"I assure you I'm still the Shedinja that you know. I just open up a bit. The reason why I made this swing is because it is rather nostalgic." Shedinja explained, swinging back and forth.

"Nostalgic?" Cryogonal sounded interested, swinging alongside him.

"Yeah. When I was still a Nincada, my parents brought me over to the swing set in the local park all the time. They told me that it will help me to stimulate flight. I always got excited because I thought that it will be really cool to be a Ninjask and fly around at an insane speed. They often pushed the swing hard and I would jump out, flapping my legs like wings only to plant my face on the ground." Shedinja recalled, amused.

Cryogonal giggled. "You seem very brash as a kid." She commented.

"That's true. I'm pretty hot-blooded as a Nincada. Popular with the girls, athletic, pretty handsome as well." Shedinja boasted.

"Ugh. Stop rubbing your own ego." Cryogonal slapped him playfully. Shedinja smiled, enjoyed getting a reaction out of her until he remembered when everything changed.

The swing slowed down.

"Playing with a swing is fun when it's fast. However, I… could never be a Ninjask in the end. I will never know how it feels to truly have wings." Shedinja paused for a moment, looking down. Cryogonal followed his eyes, staring at the ground.

"Ninjask got family, friends and speed. Everything I want. I hated him for always showing off that he is better than me. I hated myself for being jealous of him even more. Worst of all, I despised my parents and friends for leaving me. That's why I decided to discard my childhood away and left to live alone. Even then, I still cried every night, agonizing over the loss of everything I used to have. Getting revenge by stealing his audition tape didn't make me feel better, only worse. For a short period of time, I couldn't focus on my work and got scolded for it. I blamed my own emotions, believing that I'm better off without them. That's why I decided to desensitize myself and live in apathy." Shedinja suddenly lifted his head up and turned to face Cryogonal. Her eyes gleamed in delight and her cheeks caught fire, gazing into his passionate eyes.

"However, everything changed after I met you and Trumbeak. You two taught me that repressing my emotions is no different than running away from my problems. It will only push those that care about me away. I wanted to experience happiness, excitement alongside everything else too. I don't care anymore if jealousy, hatred, trepidation or whatever else comes at me. It will just make the good times all the even better. I don't want to annoy Ninjask or make my parents and friends regret what they did anymore. I care about the future. The future that I want to share with-" Shedinja's moment got ruined as the swing couldn't support Cryogonal's weight anymore.

Snap! The rope submitted to the pressuring force. The two fell down, levitating before hitting the ground.

"Oops, sorry. My species are generally heavy. Can't do anything about that." Cryogonal said sheepishly. Shedinja didn't look impressed.

"I bet you love the chef's food so much that you gain weight here. No wonder why you can't sit on a Rapidash." Shedinja teased.

"Hey! I said sorry." Cryogonal replied in annoyance.

"You should lose some weight, you know? At this rate, your bed will collapse." Shedinja continued to poke fun of her. Cryogonal swung one of her snow chains at him but he ducked.

"Stop making fun of my weight, you jerk! You can't make fun of a lady's weight like this. Eat your own mean words this instant." Cryogonal started chasing him around.

"Catch me if you can. Only then will I eat my own words and hopefully it won't contain that many calories." Shedinja challenged, floating speedily around the clearing.

Cryogonal and Shedinja laughed as they had fun chasing each other around jokingly. It was one zany date…

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "I'm legit curious as to what he was about to say though. Hopefully, he tells me later about it."

 **Shedinja:** "Well, I built all of that up for nothing. Great, just great." He said sarcastically.

* * *

Heracross and Drifblim discussed about strategy privately inside the Crawdaunt girls' cabin.

"Girl, I want Shedinja out but we need the votes so how do we do it?" Heracross asked, keening to listen.

"Lucario and Meowth are desperate. They will vote with us for sure. I think I can convince Nosepass that Shedinja is a threat. Relax." Drifblim assured.

"That's only five votes though, girl. That isn't enough." Heracross pointed out.

"Heracross, one of the most important rule of Total Drama is to not overplay yourself. You don't want others to see you as a threat. Let Meowth do it." Drifblim told.

"What do you mean let Meowth do it? I don't get it." Heracross scratched her head, baffled.

"Meowth is on everyone's radar at the moment. Just tell him to find the votes to get rid of Shedinja and he will do it. Like they say in business, the best position is management. He will serve as a shield in case the plan backfires as well." Drifblim clarified.

"Girl, you are a genius! With you around, it will be easy to get rid of Shedinja." Heracross praised.

"Yeah but, you still can't be overconfident. I don't want to lose Meowth just yet. He has a potential to create more drama and Lucario will be enraged if he's gone. If Meowth really needs to go, I hope Lucario blames someone else at the very least. Keeping ourselves safe is the priority." Drifblim reminded.

"I'm pretty sure Lucario will blame Duosion and her gang, not us. Isn't that obvious?" Heracross was pretty sure Drifblim would approve her point this time.

"Until he watches the footage and kill us all. Besides, Lucario is unstable. He might decide to attack everyone without any discrimination. Take his object of comfort away and he will hunt you down. He will probably keep his guard up at all times as well. If that's the case, Nosepass can't beat him and we all lose. Lucario will just win all the immunity challenges and crushes whoever left in the finale and this show will be a failure. Short-sighted, Heracross." Drifblim lectured, shaking her head in disapproval.

Heracross seemed disappointed in herself, she smacked her own skull.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "The girl is too smart. I think she will win this game. After me, I sure hope she wins, especially when she will help me to get rid of Shedinja."

 **Drifblim:** "I doubt that Heracross even watches this show before signing up." She sighed. "No wonder why most antagonists and strategists of Total Drama nowadays are just bland cardboard cut-outs. Offense intended, Bisharp. They are all just unoriginal archetypes. Oh, I'm the model. I'm beautiful. I can trick boys/girls to vote with me and do make-up all day. Yuck." She expressed her disdain.

* * *

Rhyhorn barricaded himself in his secret base. The traps were all cleared out. It was as if he was ready to move out. The only thing left was an A2 sized paper filled with bad handwriting or mouth-writing. It was quite a struggle to read, incomprehensible on certain parts.

"Darmanitan is trustworthy…" Rhyhorn mumbled as he wrote down something. He paused, trying to recall for a second before continuing to list past events, strategies, analysis on remaining contestants. A few names like Ledyba and Miltank got crossed out.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "It will benefit everyone if I just disappear without a trace. I don't really talk much to anyone except for Nosepass so none of them will miss me. The viewers also got no reason to root for me. I did nothing to deserve to win this game. At first, I really wanted the advantage to lessen all the drama and make everyone happy. However, that plan is out of the window since Heracross got to it first or rather one of the Treasure Trio members. I saw Ursaring throwing a fit of rage inside the Skarmory Cave several days ago. I suspect that Meowth gave it to her."

* * *

"Contestants, gather around my shop because the next challenge is about to start!" Skarmory publicized. The contestants eventually arrived, wondering about Skarmory's devious look.

"Chef Drapion, give me the surprise." Skarmory ordered. Chef Drapion grumbled as he handed the host a bag of twelve candies, wrapped in six different colors: light blue, dark blue, green, pink, purple and black. Two candies for each color.

Skarmory placed the bag on the ground. "Enjoy your treat." He smirked. Drifblim saw through his trick and smiled knowingly.

Lucario pushed everyone out of his way to pick first.

"Rude." Aromatisse glared at him. Lucario simply ignored her. Meowth realized that Lucario tried to taunt everyone to target him again. The businessman moved to the end of the line, avoiding attention.

The professional athlete picked dark blue as it was one of his favorite colors. Drifblim nodded slightly at this. She got to choose next.

The ghost picked purple. In addition, she took the last dark blue candy out of the bag.

"One per Pokemon, Drifblim." Skarmory disallowed.

"I'm giving it to Nosepass. Look, he is at the back of the line, looking all hungry and depressed. While everyone got their lunch boxes, he ate the chef's food for days. Is this so wrong?" Drifblim clarified, making an emotional appeal. Everyone seemed touched by this except for Rhyhorn, Lucario and Meowth. Nosepass was actually drooling a bit which made this even more believable.

Skarmory sighed. "I can empathize with that. Chef Drapion's food sucks. So, I will allow you to give it to him."

"Hey!" Chef Drapion seemed offended.

Drifblim seemed relieved, floating to Nosepass and handed the dark blue candy to him.

"Thanks." Nosepass seemed grateful, unwrapping the candy and moved out of the line. Meowth took his spot, eyeing Drifblim suspiciously.

"You got a problem? I'm speeding up the line for you. What's wrong?" Drifblim noticed this, acting innocent.

"Oh, it's nothing." Meowth put up a smile on his face, shaking his head slightly.

Farfetch'd was the third in line. "Mr. Stalk is green so I choose green." He stated his reason.

Duosion picked green as well since her body was green. Aromatisse unwrapped the pink candy and ate it.

Cryogonal and Shedinja decided to choose together.

"I will take black." Shedinja drawled.

"Edgy kid, I want light blue." Cryogonal disagreed.

"Special snowflake, I want black." Shedinja argued. The two bickered for a while.

"Err… Homies, my turn yet?" Darmanitan waited awkwardly. Cryogonal apologized and quickly took the black candy, giving a Shedinja a dirty look. He only returned her a playful look.

Darmanitan decided to take light blue, a chill color. Rhyhorn was next, picking purple. His eyes showed that he had a purpose for it.

Heracross didn't have much of a choice and took the light blue one, leaving Meowth with pink.

"Contestants, here is a special twist. For the next two challenges, you will compete in teams. Look around, your teammate has the same candy wrapper color as yours." Skarmory revealed the surprise.

No one saw this coming except for a few like Drifblim and Rhyhorn. However, they also acted surprised.

"I got Nosepass?! Rah! Did you do this intentionally?!" Lucario roared, pointing accusingly at Drifblim.

"No, how am I supposed to know?" Drifblim shook her head and hands profusely.

"Don't accuse someone without evidence, you jerk." Aromatisse took her side.

"Stop acting like a baby." Duosion degraded. Lucario made growling noises before redirecting his anger at Skarmory.

"This is so unfair! Nosepass is such a liability. I want to compete alone." Lucario complained.

"It is fair. I let you all choose unlike other hosts who would 'randomize' it. Right, Chef Drapion?" Skarmory asked for support.

"Fair, but lazy." Chef Drapion begrudgingly agreed. "I rowed the boat for miles to Toucannon Island to get the candies while you sipped lemonade under the shade."

"See?" Skarmory left Lucario argument-less.

As Lucario threw tantrums like a ten years old that got a free candy but the flavor he disliked, the others paired up with different reactions.

"Homie boy, we gotta chew the competition." Heracross hung her arm over his left shoulder. Darmanitan looked really uncomfortable.

"We got to work together, Shedinja!" Cryogonal sounded thrilled.

"Yay." Shedinja said unenthusiastically.

"I know that you protest against my business practices. However, let us put our differences aside and work hard to win the challenge." Meowth tried to come into terms with Aromatisse. She seemed really reluctant to work with him but was soon reassured, granted through his powerless position in the game.

Duosion headed over to Farfetch'd. "Looks like I got you as a partner." She showed her candy wrapper.

"Mr. Stalk, what do you think? Is she a good partner? Aha…" Farfetch'd discussed things beforehand with Mr. Stalk. Duosion felt crept out.

"Rhyhorn, are you excited to work together with me? Let's help each other to get far in this game." Drifblim tried to get a word out of him to no avail. Rhyhorn was silent and expressionless.

Nosepass realized that this was his opportunity to eliminate Lucario. Just throw the challenge and he would be eliminated for-

"The twist doesn't end here. The next two eliminations will be double-automatic eliminations. If you lose the challenge, both of you are out. If you win, you get a reward." Skarmory dropped the real surprise.

"What?!" Drifblim was actually astonished this time. "Why the hell would you come up with this twist?"

"That equates to 33% of us in a span of two days. That's a lot." Duosion didn't like the odds.

"Hell yeah! Weed the weaklings out and thin the competition." Heracross liked the twist.

"To speed up the season. Seriously, I got other things to do other than watching all of you compete for 1,000,000 P. In addition, the broadcasting station only authorizes up to thirty-two episodes maximum for new shows. The last episode will be a bonus episode. Just do the math and you will get it." Skarmory explained.

"Great, I got Nosepass. You better work your *beep* ass off or else…" Lucario threatened Nosepass. The coward trembled in fear. Rhyhorn scowled at Lucario with spite but didn't say anything.

"Listen, everyone!" Skarmory used his megaphone to gain their attention. At the same time, Chef Drapion gave each team a booklet with five pages.

"The challenge will start shortly. It is a simple one but requires teamwork. All of you need to pass through ten stations, each has a mission. Once you complete one, you will get a stamp on your team booklet. For today, you will only need four stamps because we are starting off easy. Once you got all four stamps, head over to me and show me the booklet to complete the challenge. Any questions?" Skarmory finished explaining.

Lucario immediately lifted his hand. "Are we allowed to abandon our teammates and work alone to collect all the stamps?"

"No, you can't. It's a _team_ challenge." Skarmory emphasized.

"Stupid teamwork." Lucario muttered.

"I thought you care about your team the most, Lucario." Duosion indicated, trying to expose him.

"I only care about my team. In my team, there's only Meowth. Nosepass is an unwelcomed loser!" Lucario made it clear with his loud voice.

Nosepass raged quietly, clenching his fists. Rhyhorn glowered at Lucario with loathe.

"Poor Nosepass, I feel so bad for him." Drifblim sympathized. "Don't you agree, Rhyhorn?" She thought for sure this time he would respond but Rhyhorn only fixed his eyes on Lucario. Drifblim frowned.

"Before we start, I will tell you the team names. Farfetch'd and Duosion, both of you will be known as the Psycho Stalkers for two days." Skarmory stated.

"Mr. Stalk doesn't like the name. It makes him look like a creep." Farfetch'd told.

"At least that's one thing we can agree on." Duosion found it hard to talk to Farfetch'd.

"Darmanitan and Heracross, the Chillhorns." Skarmory revealed.

"I like the name, homie. It's chill, calm and collected." Darmanitan gave a thumb up.

"Lame." Heracross folded her arms.

"Drifblim and Rhyhorn, Team… Reticence." Skarmory took some time to come up with a reasonable name.

"It suits the rocky guy more than me but I will take it." Drifblim didn't seem to mind.

"…" Rhyhorn's opinion was unknown.

"Cryogonal and Shedinja, Cryoninjas." Skarmory combined.

"Lazy and uninspired." Shedinja criticized.

"Don't be picky." Skarmory responded. "Up next, Meowth and Aromatisse. Team High Expense."

"Hey, I don't spend that much money on a daily basis. I just need to buy some make-up, dietary food and fashionable stuff." Aromatisse wasn't helping her case.

"That's more than what I buy in two weeks. Nice shopping list, princess." Heracross retorted. Aromatisse groaned in annoyance.

"Last but not least, Team Strong and Weak." Skarmory created lazily.

"I'm the strong and you are the weak. You should be ashamed of yourself." Lucario scorned Nosepass with belittling eyes. The coward averted his eyes, feeling worthless.

"That is a misconception, Lucario. Nosepass is the emotionally strong and you are the emotionally weak." Skarmory corrected. Lucario gaped, never expecting this in a million years.

"How does it feel now, Mr. Zero Emotional-Intelligence Quotient?" Duosion mocked. The other contestants started to laugh mockingly at Lucario except for Meowth and Rhyhorn. The latter got a small smile on his face though.

"Haha…ha…ha…" Darmanitan laughed nervously, feeling strange. Heracross snorted and slapped his back.

"You gotta laugh like this, homie boy. Muahahaahaha…" Heracross laughed maniacally. "Now, this will suit you."

"Alright, homie." Darmanitan replied uncomfortably.

Lucario blocked his ears. "Shut up!" He yelled but the laughter didn't die down for quite a while.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I feel that Lucario did unnecessary things. What's the point of insulting our disloyal customers? It will not suddenly turn them back into loyal customers. In this kind of predicament, a smart business owner should apologize and crawl back to them or corner them in a dark alley or ruin reputation of other businesses or…" He listed many twisted, morbid, unfunny ideas.

 **Lucario:** "I will beat Nosepass up if we lose!"

 **Darmanitan:** "I feel like there are still things to be cleared between us." He referred to Lucario and himself.

 **Nosepass:** "At first I want to throw the challenge but now I'm not so sure…"

 **Drifblim:** "It won't be hard to convince Nosepass to throw the challenge. Trust me."

 **Heracross:** "If Lucario isn't going today, I will take Shedinja out."

 **Cryogonal:** "I want to get rid of Heracross but it looks like Darmanitan will be caught in the crossfire. I'm not that close to him but still it sucks."

 **Duosion:** "Lucario will get eliminated in the most humiliating way possible. Losing because of Nosepass."

 **Rhyhorn:** "I know what Drifblim is up to and I will save Nosepass." He seemed determined and serious.

* * *

The contestants were around the berry garden, the starting point. This was Snorlax's station. The intern told them that they needed to fill an empty basket with berries until it's overflowing. One Pokemon from each team would be inside the garden, fighting for the berries. The other would be outside, catching the berries their teammates threw at them. They were allowed to steal the berries that the other teams threw unless they were already inside the basket. The gate was locked so they couldn't trespass into the other area.

The following contestants fought for the berries: Lucario, Heracross, Shedinja, Farfetch'd, Meowth and Drifblim.

The following contestants held the baskets: Nosepass, Darmanitan, Cryogonal, Duosion, Aromatisse and Rhyhorn.

"Start!" Snorlax declared and Lucario speeded ahead of the pack. He pounced on the berries like a predator, collecting an armful before throwing them at Nosepass.

"Berries are raining!" Cryogonal shouted, floating up high so she could collect them. Duosion manipulated her basket with Psychic (not against the rules), controlling its movement well to net a lot of berries. Darmanitan got some. Aromatisse got less and Rhyhorn got the least.

Nosepass, however, got none from Lucario's effort.

"Don't stand there like an idiot and collect them!" Lucario scolded.

"I'm trying." Nosepass felt really pressured. On one hand, he wanted Lucario to lose. On the other, he didn't want to get beaten up.

Shedinja pulled a few berries out of a tree until Heracross jumped up and smacked the berries out of his hands.

"Prepare to lose, Shedinja." Heracross cracked her knuckles, readying for a fist fight.

"You are only hindering your own progress. Cryogonal got more berries than Darmanitan. Just look." Shedinja pointed out.

"I don't care. If you don't get eliminated. I will at least make sure you won't get the reward." Heracross said stubbornly.

"Fine, whatever." Shedinja couldn't care less about her pathetic attempts, floating away. This irritated Heracross.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "He will regret it. Acting like I'm some non-existent punk, huh? You will taste my fists, Shedinja."

 **Lucario:** He started banging the wall of the confessional before pulling his ears, gritting his teeth. "Every single berry I fricking threw, Nosepass got none."

* * *

Farfetch'd batted a few berries, aiming accurately at Duosion's basket. Soon enough, they were done.

"Farfetch'd, let's go." Duosion hurried, bringing the basket over to Snorlax who stamped their booklet.

"Great job, Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd praised his trusty partner before he climbed up the gate and jumped down.

"A team of three is certainly advantageous for us." Duosion tried to speak his language in an attempt to socialize.

"Indeed." Farfetch'd's reply was very short.

The Psycho Stalkers were instructed by Snorlax to head over to the first intersection. Along the way, they should meet Druddigon and his station.

Cryoninjas finished and got the stamp seconds after the Psycho Stalkers. Both teams were in the lead.

"Let's win this together." Cryogonal addressed Duosion, who nodded. Both teams headed to the first intersection together.

Meanwhile…

"Nosepass, *beep*!" Lucario swore, fed up with his incompetence. Nosepass could only stare at his empty basket as Darmanitan and Aromatisse took most of the berries Lucario threw once again.

"Cheer up." Rhyhorn gave a few words of consolation. He picked up a lone berry from the ground with his horn and placed it inside Nosepass' basket.

Nosepass grinned joyfully, glad to see his big brother back by his side.

"Big brother, you are back, right? Tell me that you are back on my side." Nosepass was hopeful for a second. Rhyhorn's reply was only silence, however. Nosepass slowly lost his short-lived happiness.

"Rhyhorn, pay attention! I'm going to throw the berries now." Drifblim snapped her partner back into reality. Rhyhorn collected the berries and started making progress of his own.

Team Chillhorns soon got their stamp, thanks to Lucario and Darmanitan. Heracross pretty much did nothing other than annoying Shedinja.

"Collect the raining money!" Meowth shouted so Aromatisse would be alerted. He threw a handful of berries at the fairy type. She collected all of them and Team High Expense completed their first station.

Team Strong and Weak competed with Team Reticence to not be last.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Rhyhorn better step up his game because I don't want to go out in the lamest way possible, through automatic elimination."

 **Darmanitan:** "Working with Heracross is tough. I saw what she did to Scolipede. The chillhorn homie is as crazy as the shroom homie."

* * *

Team Psycho Stalkers and Cryoninjas eventually saw Druddigon and his obstacle course station.

It was designed around the giant conveyor belt. The contestants must run through a series of obstacles while running against a conveyor belt that tried to send them back to the beginning. The obstacles included swinging spike balls, flamethrowers, a giant cannon and electric hurdles. All of it seemed controlled by a strange metal contraption, systematically activating the attacks.

"Contestants, welcome to Conveyor Carnage! Get to the end with your partner for a stamp! No psychic or ghost abilities! Skipping over any obstacle isn't allowed either!" Druddigon shouted from far away.

"How are we going to do this?" Cryogonal asked everyone worriedly.

"Mr. Stalk said that we shouldn't lump together or else the obstacles will knock all of us out." Farfetch'd advised.

"Good strategy." Duosion agreed.

The four spread out. Farfetch'd was in the front, testing out the obstacles for everyone. Duosion was behind him. Cryogonal was behind her and Shedinja stayed at the back.

Farfetch'd ducked near the spike balls and gestured with Mr. Stalk for everyone to do the same. However, there was one major problem.

The conveyor belt sent them back.

"It's not working. We need to constantly move to get through it. Therefore, what if one of us throws the other across?" Duosion suggested an unorthodox idea.

"Are you sure?" Cryogonal didn't seem fond of the idea.

"Let's do it." Shedinja said, seemingly excited. Cryogonal went with it in the end.

Farfetch'd held Duosion like a giant ball, prepared to slam her through the obstacles.

"You are making me scared." Duosion seemed a bit nervous.

"Don't worry, Mr. Stalk is a professional baseball player." Farfetch'd assured.

"That isn't very-" Before Duosion finished, Farfetch'd struck her through the spike balls.

"Ah!" Duosion screamed as one narrowly missed her.

"Ow." Duosion yelped as she got a rough landing on the conveyor belt. She quickly got up, finding herself near the glowing flamethrowers to her left. She quickly floated through it as the flamethrower shot out flame in order. Front to back. There were five flamethrowers in total.

"That's pretty easy to get through." Duosion commented, noticing that Farfetch'd just hit Cryogonal across.

"Ah!" Cryogonal nearly smashed her face into a spike ball as well. Luckily, Farfetch'd timed the hits well.

She landed near the middle flamethrower and quickly floated away before she got burned.

Shedinja opted to float through the spike balls by himself. He was fast enough to make it across safely.

"Farfetch'd, what about you?" Duosion asked with concern.

Farfetch'd was stuck with Mr. Stalk at the beginning. He tried to build up speed before running past the spike balls. However, it required a tremendous amount of energy as the conveyor belt speeded to the opposite direction fast.

"Go, Farfetch'd, you can do it!" Duosion cheered as he passed the first, unscathed.

He slowed down considerably when the second swung at him. It got dangerously close to his face.

"Mr. Stalk, I think we need to retreat." Farfetch'd ducked and the conveyor belt sent him back to the beginning.

"You can do it next time!" Cryogonal encouraged.

"Just go on without me!" Farfetch'd shouted. "I can do it by myself. I don't want help."

"I think we should." Shedinja nudged Cryogonal but she still seemed hesitant.

"Just go. We will be alright. With any luck, Lucario should be gone. Enjoy the reward." Duosion gave her a reassuring look.

Cryogonal sighed. "Fine, he helped us. I really just want to pay him back."

"You can do it later." Duosion reminded.

The Cryoninjas made it through the cannons and hurdles with no problem. The giant cannon shot at a very slow speed. It looked big and intimidating but in the end, it was a poor excuse of an obstacle. The hurdles posed a threat to only those that walk on the conveyor belt. The two could easily float up and over them.

Druddigon gave them a stamp before instructing them to go to the auditorium for Smeargle's station.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk wants to get through this obstacle by himself. No help or anything. He wants to accomplish a difficult but satisfying challenge."

 **Cryogonal:** "These challenges have a strong emphasis on teamwork. I can imagine things being very difficult for Team Strong Nosepass and Weak Lucario." She said mockingly.

* * *

After Team Reticence completed their first mission, Team Strong and Weak finally got a chance. Since Nosepass got no competitors, he got all the berries that Lucario rained down upon him and his wrath as well.

"Your performance is absolutely *beep* horrible! You are a failure of a Pokemon." Lucario insulted infuriatingly.

"Find yourself a new partner then." Nosepass talked back at him.

"I rather work with Magikarp than you!" Lucario shouted back. They went back and forth about how much they couldn't stand each other.

"Yummy berries." Snorlax snacked on the berries like a bag of popcorn as he watched the drama ensued.

"Enough of this pathetic digression, we should focus on an important topic like winning the challenge. Let's *beep* go!" Lucario finally had enough and Team Strong and Weak got their first stamp.

Lucario literally carried Nosepass on his back and sprinted through the forest like a speed demon.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Who the hell does he think he is? I'm the 'strong' member of this team."

 **Lucario:** "Do I need to babysit Nosepass while doing the entire challenge by myself? He better thanks me for saving him. Without me, he will be eliminated for sure."

* * *

Farfetch'd sweated as he dropped down on the conveyor belt and let it carried him back to the beginning. He decided to take a short break to recover his strength. Soon enough, Team Chillhorns and Team High Expense arrived.

"Let's do this, homie boy." Heracross lifted Darmanitan up without his consent.

"Homie, what are you doing?" Darmanitan asked nervously.

"Teamwork, remember? I'm using you as a meat shield." Heracross answered, running toward the spike balls, positioning Darmanitan so that he would soften the blow for her.

"What?! Homie-argh!" Before Darmanitan objected to the idea, the spike ball slammed onto his back.

Darmanitan screamed in agony as he shielded Heracross from all of the spike balls with his back. It got bruised up really badly at the end.

Heracross dropped him down roughly when they reached the flamethrowers. Darmanitan regained his footing and jogged so the conveyor belt wouldn't send him back to the spike balls.

"Why are you still here?" Heracross raised her right eye after seeing Duosion. "Scared of the cannonball?" She assumed, pacing to the speed of the conveyor belt.

"No, I'm waiting for Farfetch'd. You are very selfish for doing that to Darmanitan." Duosion replied, hostility hidden in her voice.

"It's teamwork. Right, homie boy?" Heracross aggressively grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her, demanding a positive answer.

"Yeah, she is right." Darmanitan went along with it. Duosion eyed Darmanitan with disapproval. The homie boy could only return her an apologetic look.

"Good, now let's go." Heracross pulled Darmanitan to get him moving though the other obstacles.

When they reached the hurdles, the two held each other's arm and jumped in synchronization over all of them.

Team Psycho Stalkers fell behind from first to third. All hope wasn't lost as Team High Expense was struggling as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Darmanitan is a very apologetic and submissive person. I'm worried that he will be convinced easily by the likes of Heracross to vote against us."

 **Darmanitan:** "Zen, chill, don't be mad at Heracross, inhale, exhale. Zen, chill…" He repeated over and over again.

* * *

Cryoninjas entered the auditorium. There, they noticed six scripts on the stage. Each with a number from one to six written on each of them. The content was hidden from plain sight as only the number was shown on the cover.

"Pick one and attempt to recreate a famous scene from books or movies. It depends on your luck what you get. Once prepared, head up to the stage and I will be the judge. The props are all in the backstage by the way." Smeargle informed. Cryoninjas nodded in understanding.

"Just pick number one." Shedinja grabbed it without a second thought.

"Hopefully, something good." Cryogonal hoped.

Unfortunately, it was about a sappy romance novel called the Miracle of Love.

"We are dead." Shedinja sounded very serious as he read the script.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "The problem is on his side. Not mine, I can act all sappy but Shedinja is just an emo, edgy kid who wouldn't even wear a bowtie."

* * *

Farfetch'd, Meowth and Aromatisse attempted at the same time. Farfetch'd dashed through the first spike ball safely. Meowth and Aromatisse held each other's hand to make themselves feel secured, running together at their maximum speed.

"This isn't fabulous. Ah!" Aromatisse screamed, luckily dodging the spike ball.

"So, this is the true meaning of manual labor. Injuries with no medical insurance." Meowth said with trepidation.

Farfetch'd jumped, flapping his wings for extra airtime. This seemed like a great technique as the conveyor belt wouldn't reduce his speed. However, precision was also incredibly important. Overshooting the jump distance and the next spike ball might collide with you. Landing improperly and you risked losing speed or tripping over.

Farfetch'd landed between the two spike balls, running on the spot to build his speed back up. He soon surpassed the last spike ball, surviving through the fierce first obstacle.

"Mr. Stalk, we did it!" Farfetch'd had his short celebratory moment. At the same time, Team High Expense jumped as well, following his example. However, they didn't stick the landing quite well. Jumping with two Pokemon was harder than one. Aromatisse tripped and fell. This sent Meowth off his balance as well.

"My face is screwed!" Aromatisse dreaded the worst as the spike ball maintained its momentum, craving for carnage.

"Help us!" Meowth called for help urgently.

"Great job, come on. Let's go." Duosion hurried, unwilling to help Meowth. However, Farfetch'd acted instinctively with no hesitation, he turned back and hauled the two to safety.

"Thank you very… much." Meowth said in a sincere but tired voice as he forced himself to keep moving immediately. Any rest or sedentary action had grave consequences and dire implications to your health.

"No problem and take care. The three of us need to go now." Farfetch saw Duosion's brooding eyes and decided to quickly move on.

Aromatisse could only nod and smile gratefully as she ran out of breath. They watched as the two conquered the rest of the obstacles with no problem. Farfetch'd jumped through all electric hurdles, unharmed to their reliefs.

After Team Psycho Stalkers got their second stamp, Farfetch'd turned to Duosion for a small conversation while walking slowly to the auditorium.

"I hope you know that we aren't trying to make us lose. If they aren't in threat of any danger, Mr. Stalk wouldn't even think about saving them in a million years. He just wants a clean cut, fair competition. Having them eliminated isn't what you wanted right? Mr. Stalk knows that you want to get rid of Lucario." Farfetch'd conveyed his message.

"I know, I'm not mad at you. Aromatisse is my friend. I just… forget about it. We should focus on the challenge." Duosion avoided his inquiring, disconcert eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "When Duosion got assigned as our partner, Mr. Stalk knew that she wouldn't fit in with us well. She gives us this weird Skrelp vibe. I think she probably wants an easy win. However, we want a hard-earned victory. Mr. Stalk also remembers that she ate Meowth's Pokepuff a couple of days ago. For someone that campaigns against Meowth, I find that odd. Right, Mr. Stalk?" He shook Mr, Stalk up and down. "Right."

 **Duosion:** "I just can't believe that I'm willing to hurt Meowth at the expense of Aromatisse. No pun intended by the way. I wonder if I'm a horrible Pokemon…"

 **Aromatisse:** "Farfetch'd is a returner just like me. Maybe we should keep each other safe since the others might find that to be a reason to vote against us."

 **Meowth:** "Farfetch'd is a boat connoisseur while I run a car manufacturing business. We hardly can cooperate with each other. He got no reason to work with me and that's a shame. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate what he did. Don't get me wrong." He used an analogy.

* * *

Team High Expense received a minor electric shock at the last hurdle. After getting off the conveyor belt, they collapsed on the ground immediately. Too exhausted to move or get the stamp.

"You two better hit the gym sometimes." Druddigon suggested. "Wait, is that…" He saw something in the distance.

The Lucario Express stormed to the next station with its passenger.

"Holy mother of-" Druddigon was at a loss for words.

"Hold on tight." Lucario cautioned as he blazed through the spike balls, flamethrowers, cannonball and hurdles as if they were all a joke. He was so fast that the conveyor belt nearly caught on fire. Nosepass closed his eyes throughout the entire thing.

They went from last to fourth.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I must admit that while Lucario is a crazy jerk. He is pretty reliable."

 **Lucario:** "I don't care about winning anymore. With Nosepass around, getting fifth is a luxury."

* * *

Team Chillhorns appeared inside the auditorium. They picked the sixth script. It was a movie called the Chill Gangsters. They were a group of gangsters that sell chill pills. Darmanitan widened his eyes and smiled as he saw the title.

"I can't believe my luck! Homie, this is easy. Let's chill out!" Darmanitan exclaimed.

"Alright, calm down, homie boy. Let me see the script." Heracross took the script from him forcefully.

Team Psycho Stalkers arrived next. They picked the second script. It was about an educational book, teaching kids to be proper role model students. One chapter told a 'tragic tale' about parents who don't raise their kids right.

"Um, this is feasible." Duosion said after analyzing the content. Seemingly, the script had a lot of room for deviation.

Suddenly, Team Strong and Weak stormed inside the auditorium.

The other six contestants stopped what they were doing, horrified to see the professional athlete again. Lucario grinned as he tasted their fears like delicious honey.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "We better hurry! I want to win that reward."

 **Duosion:** "My worst nightmare is back again."

 **Darmanitan:** "The movie is all about acting all chill, for the most part. The most famous scene is when the gangsters are about to be captured by the police and must find a way to escape."

 **Lucario:** "We got a script about the movie 'Divorce Lawyer'. A story about a bickering couple. This is perfect. I will be the man, Nosepass will be the woman. I will also get to do bad things to him like water slap his pathetic face. Yes!"

 **Nosepass:** "Great, now I need to wear a dress. Everyone will laugh at me. Screw you, Lucario."

* * *

Shedinja re-read the script multiple times, stalling the worst part…

"Shedinja, time to put on your costume." Cryogonal exited the backstage, holding a black suit with bowtie. She wore a snowy white dress herself. The costumes were all tailored for specific contestants. The backstage had something for everyone. (Big budget production, courtesy of the author.)

"No way." Shedinja retreated. Cryogonal glared at him critically.

"Shedinja, I thought you changed. Just put it on, it isn't going to kill you." Cryogonal patronized.

"Just look at how ugly it is. I bet the bowtie is made from Rowlet's body parts." Shedinja eyed it suspiciously.

"I will say this one last time. _Put it on_." Cryogonal sounded deadly serious.

"No." Shedinja replied disobediently. Cryogonal grabbed Shedinja and forced the suit on him.

"Stop acting like such a baby." Cryogonal ended up doing all the work.

Surprisingly, he didn't resist at all. Instead, he smiled at her as she adjusted the bowtie.

"Done. Why do you look at me like that?" Cryogonal asked in confusion.

"Thanks for putting on the suit for me. I'm too lazy and demotivated to do it. Suits are stupid." Shedinja revealed that it was his plan all along.

Cryogonal heated up with anger. "You tricked me?" She asked, the sweet exterior of her voice betrayed the raging interior.

Shedinja nodded.

"Die!" Cryogonal started chasing Shedinja all over the place, swinging her snow chains. Heracross laughed at this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "Worth it. I got Wonder Guard, she can't hurt me."

 **Cryogonal:** "Shedinja, you little-" She took deep breaths. "I still like him but I will get back at him for sure in the future."

* * *

The Chillhorns headed up the stage first since Cryoninjas wasted so much precious time. Darmanitan wore a knit black cap with a skull design and black sunglasses. Furthermore, he wore a bling-bling necklace.

The homie boy carried two props to the stage, a cardboard cut-out version of Machoke and a box of chill pills. The cardboard opened his hands in a receiving gesture.

He placed it down and walked to the other end of the stage. Once Smeargle gave him the signal to start, the homie boy walked over gangster style to cardboard Machoke.

"Welcome to tha chill club, the chilliest in tha street. Homie, here we chillin. I got the good goods. Pimpin' like a king, chillin' like a shill. How many do ya want?" Darmanitan asked. The cardboard obviously couldn't talk so Darmanitan needed to talk for him.

"The entire box." Darmanitan soon switched back to his voice. "The entire box? Alright homie, take it and don't tell anyone."

Suddenly, sounds of police sirens were heard from a distance.

"Whatcha I do now? Homie, cover it for your boy." Darmanitan schemed by taking all of his accessories off and put them on Machoke. The technician now wore a cap, sunglasses, necklace and held a box of chill pills.

Heracross, the policewomen arrived, holding a gun. She pointed the gun at Darmanitan who raised his arms up immediately.

"Kid, I got a call that something is about to go down here today. Got something illegal?" Heracross stared at him accusingly.

"Not me, ma'am. It's him. He is trying to sell me chill pills." Darmanitan framed, pointing toward Machoke.

"Care to tell me more? He got any accomplices? Any leads, any clues? How many pills does he sell?" Heracross interrogated.

"I don't know about the amount. He got a whole gang. They are twenty blocks away from here. Turn back and head that way." Darmanitan lied.

"Thanks for the help, kid." Heracross picked her radio up. "Boss, I need reinforcements. We are going to catch the whole gang tonight." She arrested Machoke before exiting the stage. Darmanitan got away scot-free. The show ended. The Chillhorns anticipated their result.

"Give me the goods." Smeargle said vaguely.

"You mean the chill pills?" Heracross looked confused.

"No, your stamp booklet." Smeargle clarified. Darmanitan handed her the booklet with a happy face.

"Yes, in your face, Cryoninjas. I'm in the lead! I'm the best! Sweet freaking reward, here I come!" Heracross exulted.

The Chillhorns' lead ruined everyone's mood.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "Great, meathead got first."

 **Aromatisse:** "We just got there when the Chillhorns left. Apparently, our script is about a book called 'The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises." What a weird and gloomy name." She didn't remember that it was the book the Skrelp read.

* * *

Team Reticence finally got to the obstacle course.

"Rhyhorn, please cooperate with me, alright? I don't want to lose." Drifblim pleaded desperately.

"Fine." Rhyhorn said simply. Drifblim looked much better.

Team Reticence's strategy was simple. Drifblim held onto Rhyhorn as he charged through all of the obstacles. Drifblim was impressed by his speed. Rhyhorn was also strong and durable. She realized then that Rhyhorn was the black horse of this competition. He must be dealt with instantly in the final eight. Obviously, she wouldn't eliminate herself to take him out.

After they were done with the obstacles, Drifblim brought the booklet over to Druddigon. She struck a small conversation with him.

"How many injuries did you rack up today, in total?" Drifblim asked curiously.

"You are sadistic, eleven hits in total." Druddigon answered, stamping the booklet at the same time.

"Sadistic? No. I see it as entertainment for the viewers… to a certain extent. It's a good thing, eleven hilarious moments of contestants failing." Drifblim defended, accepting the booklet back.

"Not all of it is going to be aired. I like your sense of humor though." Druddigon chuckled. Drifblim did the same. Rhyhorn only watched.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I know that I'm basically asking to be hated. It's my guilty pleasure."

* * *

Shedinja and Cryogonal performed next. They sat in a dining table with a candle in the middle and two empty plates. They also got their napkins and everything.

"My sweet honey-" Shedinja said with his deadpan voice until Smeargle interrupted him.

"You failed. Your voice is monotone." Smeargle told.

"What? You are being too harsh. Shedinja's voice rarely got any emotion. It's his normal voice." Cryogonal argued.

"I'm afraid rules are rules. I must enforce them strictly." Smeargle said, unyielding. Cryoninjas left the stage hopelessly.

"I hope you two have a better time than us." Cryogonal talked to the Psycho Stalkers. They were about to perform next.

"Don't give up just yet. You can do it, Shedinja." Duosion encouraged before heading up. Shedinja sighed, not feeling any better.

The two took a while to set up the stage. Soon enough, they placed a table and a chair. The table got various books on it. Most were random, nonsensical magazines. Only one was a book about mathematics.

Smeargle gave them the signal to start, a copy of the script was on her lap.

Duosion read the magazines, procrastinating irresponsibly.

Suddenly, Farfetch'd appeared. He held Mr. Stalk with his left wing and a rolled-up newspaper on his right wing. Duosion quickly hid the magazine and acted as if she was studying.

"Daughter, are you studying for the exam tomorrow? Yesterday, your teacher told me that you failed in your type match-ups class." Farfetch'd asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, dad. I got it." Duosion replied, smiling confidently.

"Good. What is one times one?" Farfetch'd tested.

"Eleven oops, I mean one." Duosion tried to make her voice sound very dumb.

"Great job, I believe that you will do well." Farfetch'd said before he left. Duosion threw the book away and returned to reading her magazine.

Scene one was over and the two removed everything, replacing them with a couch. A newspaper was placed on it.

Farfetch'd got back up on stage. When he read the newspaper, he clutched his heart in agony.

Farfetch'd staggered off the couch before falling unconscious. The headline showed a Duosion being murdered by a Mightyena. Apparently, the young girl didn't know that dark type moves were super effective against psychic types. Furthermore, she didn't use common sense and run away.

This ridiculous story was judged mostly on body language. Therefore, they weren't a lot of words. Smeargle approved of their acting skills and gave them a stamp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "How am I supposed to show emotion? My voice is always like this as a Shedinja."

 **Cryogonal:** "Hopefully, we manage to get through this crisis. Smeargle should be a bit lenient, honestly."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk believes that we still got a chance to beat the Chillhorns. I want to win a challenge for once."

* * *

Team Chillhorns were instructed to travel to the prison for Alakazam's station. They met him near the entrance, next to a table full of walkie-talkies.

"What is the challenge, brainiac?" Heracross asked informally.

"Skarmory requested me to explain things in a very simple manner to you, Heracross. I hope you understand and don't mind this 'special treatment'." Alakazam patronized condescendingly.

"Give my thanks to Skarmory for the special treatment." Heracross was oblivious to his sense of superiority.

"This is an easy brainteaser. One of you will enter the prison while the other stays outside. The Pokemon outside will receive five pictures of different areas inside the prison. Here's the catch. There are five differences to be spotted between the real prison and the pictures. Both of you need to work together to find them. The walkie-talkies are there for you to communicate with each other." Alakazam limited his vocabulary.

"Homie boy, you take the easy job and I will go inside the prison." Heracross dictated everything in her 'team'. Darmanitan didn't even get a say in anything as Heracross rushed inside the prison. No discussion about strategy. Alakazam teleported the pictures to him and Darmanitan sighed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "In this team, I learn to just you know, shut up and take her orders. No point in saying anything when she won't listen."

 **Heracross:** "I love to be the leader because you get special treatment, minions, more canned food and just basically everything."

 **Alakazam:** "I hope my elementary explanation will suffice in aiding that simpleton. In hindsight, I should go over rules regarding forbidden actions such as the displacement of any objects. However, any sentient being with brain cells should be able to infer that axiom."

* * *

Team Reticence arrived and they got a play created by Smeargle called 'My Son is a Cardboard'. Drifblim thought it was hilarious. This play continued the cardboard Bisharp running gag. It was also pretty short, perfect for the silent Rhyhorn.

Team Strong and Weak put up a show next. The setting was exactly the same as the Cryoninjas. However, there was a divorce contract in the middle of the table. The two glasses of water were completely filled.

Nosepass reddened in embarrassment because he was forced to wear a pretty pink dress. Unlike Nosepass, Lucario got a dark blue tuxedo that fitted him perfectly. The professional athlete seemed concerned with the coward's ability to act.

"Don't fail. This is your one in a lifetime chance to assault me. You don't want to waste it, do you? Be angry, don't be scared. Show me your rage." Lucario pep-talked.

"Fine." Nosepass' face returned to normal. "I will get my revenge after all the bad things you have done to me." His voice was no longer timid, much more serious and determined. Lucario loved it.

Smeargle signaled for them to start.

Lucario banged the table furiously, before pointing at Nosepass accusingly. "You slept with another man! How could you? I'm divorcing you for your dirty affairs!" He fitted his character.

"Oh yeah? I bet you won't because you can't find someone else to babysit a whiny, little man like you." Nosepass said in a girly voice, hiding his cowardly nature.

"I can! I'm handsome and attractive. You married me because of that." Lucario crossed his arms, sounding haughty.

"Nope, I married you because of your money. Duh." Nosepass revealed. Lucario gritted his teeth, seething.

"The ten years we are together, you never care about me? That isn't true. That isn't true! I'm perfect!" Lucario asked in denial. The feeling mixed with rage perfectly.

"No, you are just a short-tempered, insecure little man. That little head of yours only got pride and arrogance. You never admit that you are wrong. Must I be the only one who make mistakes? Get off your high horse!" What Nosepass said was kind of… accurate. Not perfectly accurate but you got the idea.

"You evil *beep*!' Lucario splashed the water at Nosepass.

"My dress is now wet, you jerk!" Nosepass water-slapped him back, his impulse coming into handy. Despite his enraged look, Lucario was pleased inwardly at the coward's boldness.

"Rather than a divorce, I will kill you!" Lucario yelled, lunging at Nosepass.

The table got knocked down as the man and the women wrestled. This was the end of the script. However, they continued rolling around, holding onto each other until Smeargle gave them the approval.

"Enough, both of you. Come and get the stamp." Smeargle ceased the fight.

"Aw, I want to see Nosepass beat Lucario up with a pink dress on." Aromatisse sounded disappointed. After finishing her rehearsal, she had a great time watching the soap opera.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I just did what he said. He doesn't have any rights to beat me up or get any revenge. I feel like my hatred against him overshadows my fear… slightly."

 **Lucario:** "I went easy on him. Nosepass is just so pitiful that he needs a ridiculous play to humiliate me. It was all just an act. I hope that no one takes this seriously. I will never get into a relationship, _ever_."

* * *

Heracross entered the staff area of the prison. This was her first time to get a closer and clearer look at the place since she was the prisoner.

To the right, installed a jacuzzi tub. It was filled with water. To the left, a refrigerator cornered itself to the wall. In front of her eyes were multiple objects:

A light brown couch with a red square pillow.

A board game of monopoly with dices, chance cards and moving pieces. No money or deeds were to be found.

A collection of green bean bags, four of them in total.

A table with two golden keys and three police hats.

The ceiling got an air conditioner.

However, Heracross wasn't detail oriented. She called Darmanitan to tell him her dismal observations.

"Homie boy, I see like beanbags, Monopoly, keys, hats and other shit and stuff. Got anything different?" She listed, lacking in detail.

"Um… no. Is there a refrigerator, air conditioner and jacuzzi tub inside?" Darmanitan asked.

"Yeah. I will move on." Heracross put the walkie-talkie away.

"Wait-" Darmanitan didn't get to finish.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I was about to tell her that Duosion and Farfetch'd just got there, listening to Alakazam's explanation. Second, there are only five areas she need to check, the staff area, the cameras room, the jail cells, the mess hall and the working station. Frankly, I want her to chill and calm down for a second so I can talk to her properly."

 **Heracross:** "This challenge is just stupid. It is for mentally-challenged kids. I want a physical one not whatever mental, detail stuff this is."

* * *

Farfetch'd soon entered the prison to Heracross' dismay. At first, Duosion opposed to the idea as he was unfamiliar with the place. However, the duck insisted and got his way. Farfetch'd wanted to tour the prison for himself and Mr. Stalk.

"Mr. Stalk, find anything?" Farfetch'd asked his trusty partner as he glanced around the room for any object of interest.

"Farfetch'd, you only need to check the staff area, the area you are currently in. The camera room, to your right. The jail cells, head through the middle door. The mess hall, the area after that and the working station toward the right of the mess hall. Need a repeat?" Duosion informed.

"Nope, we got it. Also, don't hang up. We should constantly communicate with each other." Farfetch'd suggested.

"A good idea. Does anything catch your eyes or do I need to give you a few pointers?" Duosion asked.

"Mr. Stalk finds Monopoly to be a bit strange. There are no deeds or any cash at all." Farfetch'd told.

"There are no deeds and cash in the picture either. Anything else?" Duosion asked further.

Farfetch'd crouched down to take a closer look. He widened his eyes immediately. "There's no jail area on the board. It got replaced by the jacuzzi tub." He observed.

"Fantastic, Farfetch'd!" Duosion praised. "I squinted at the picture and my board got a jail. I will mark it. Proceed to the next area."

Farfetch'd smiled at Mr. Stalk as he went to check inside the camera room.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "We are making decent progress so far. All thanks to Mr. Stalk. He stalked the board long and hard for that easy to miss detail."

* * *

Team High Expense started their recreation of 'The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises.'

The lights were all turned off to create a dark and dreary atmosphere. Only a lonely moon shined down the stage. The background showcased a hill. The viewpoint at the top connected to the dark sky.

Sounds of panting and moaning were heard from our protagonist, Meowth. He ran away from a flock of fiery pitchforks. Sweated covered his body as well as scratches and bruises. He barely survived those _government dogs_. Among one of them was his mentally-ill brother.

You would be confused because this was the climax of the story. To summarize the whole book, it started off as an ordinary plight of the poor style of story with third person narrative.

The protagonist was a Zoroark, He lived in a small village where drought and famine took lives of many. Yet, the corrupted government pressured them to pay preposterous amount of taxes. They were doomed to live cruelly or die painfully.

Among all those that gave up, there's our protagonist. He had a crazy little brother (one year younger), who needed to be treated.

The brother was a secondary lead character, who put the psychological thriller into the genre of the book. He completely lacked self-consciousness. He never cared about how the public viewed him and often wandered into dangerous territories recklessly. In reality, he wanted to find his brother who disappeared every single night and captured the mysterious being who called himself the Darkness.

The Darkness was in fact, our protagonist. Underneath his cool exterior, he was filled with stress. With so much responsibility, he was pushed to the extreme. As a result, he attacked government officers each night and stole their resources. The Illusion ability was in fact underused as the protagonist felt the need to come clean. He wore a black cape to hide his identity though.

There were many scenes where his little brother nearly discovered his identity. All were thrilling and tense.

There were much more to the story like the cause of the brother's insanity, the backstory of the government officers and many more supporting characters. However, it would be too long to list them all. Shamefully, the reveal of the Darkness' identity was supposed to be a surprise.

Preceding the event of the climax, the little brother reported his own big brother to the government.

What did Skrelp say about the ending? The protagonist died, of course.

Meowth eventually collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion. Aromatisse slowly walked over to him, hiding a knife behind her back. She played the role of the protagonist's girlfriend.

The female lead character rarely appeared in the story. However, every time she appeared, it was obvious that she had a lot of influence over the protagonist's actions. Unfortunately, the main villain, the rich son of a government officer disguised himself as a poor villager and slowly gathered information, mostly from the little brother until he found the location of her family and threatened her to kill her own boyfriend.

Team High Expense acting was acceptable and Smeargle gave them a stamp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I even put on fake tears for the crying scene in the end. I can't believe how messed up it was. The book is definitely not my cup of diet drink."

 **Meowth:** "I need to wash all the fake blood off." He wiped his bloody face and revolted in disgust at the amount of fake blood.

* * *

Team Strong and Weak arrived at the prison. Lucario chose to go inside while Nosepass stayed outside.

The professional athlete didn't waste any time. He searched through the place like a madman, rushing to find every single, tiny detail.

"Nosepass, what is the color of the beanbags? Answer now!" Lucario demanded. "Faster, idiot!" He already insulted him one second after he asked.

Nosepass cringed at his loud voice, suffering from a headache. Working with Lucario wasn't easy.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "God, I hate Lucario. This and that all the time, take a break."

 **Lucario:** "We got a chance to win first place now but Nosepass is too slow. On average. it takes him five seconds to respond. In the Aura Beast, my members take three seconds maximum to respond to me."

* * *

Heracross checked the jail cells, finding cardboard cut-outs of Grovyle, Archeops and Skrelp in three different cells.

Grovyle buried his face on a pillow. Skrelp read a book. Archeops looked all crestfallen, staring at the ground guiltily.

"Grovyle, Archeops and Skrelp, all cardboard." Heracross notified.

"Homie, everything looks to be the same here but-" Darmanitan didn't get to finish as Heracross ended the call again.

She headed over and gripped Archeops' jail bars.

"What's up, Archeops? What's with that face? Cheer up, at least one of our alliance members should win. Probably Drifblim but still… Be happy, girl. You are a pretty good leader. No one back where I live promise to pay, you know? You got a generous heart, girl.' Heracross talked to a cardboard like a crazy dweeb.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "You know what? Archeops is one of the few I'm willing to be led by. Stupid Skrelp, I wish I can break her freaking cardboard face. But… I'm smarter than that. It's stupid to destroy stuff in prison, you could get in serious trouble for it. They will sentence you to years of labor."

 **Darmanitan:** "I want to tell the homie that Grovyle catches some Zs."

 **Duosion:** "We found another difference. The belt conveyor system lost one of its pulley in the actual prison. It reminds me of Houndour so much that I got side-tracked a bit." She seemed a bit embarrassed.

 **Farfetch'd:** "Duosion just gave me a history lesson about conveyor belts. How it originates from manual treadmills and something about method of punishment against prisoners or whatever. Mr. Stalk doesn't care one bit. He wants to concentrate on the challenge."

 **Lucario:** "One of the shovels inside the working station got placed upside down. At the very least, we spotted one, which is a miracle with Nosepass as your partner."

* * *

Team Reticence got their act together.

A crying Drifblim sneezed into a tissue paper before she threw it away. She entered a cardboard store and met the Rhyhorn owner. He wore a cardboard hat with the word 'Owner'.

"Mr. Rhyhorn, my Bisharp son just died! The world took him away so soon. Please bring him back! Wah!" Drifblim cried harder with the help of fake tears.

"I'm very sorry for your loss. I hope the angels bless his poor soul and you can find comfort and solace in your happiest memories." Rhyhorn commiserated. "Anyways, I have a replacement. Please take a look." He lifted up a cardboard Bisharp and Drifblim squealed in joy.

"I will never let you go again, my son." Drifblim hugged cardboard Bisharp affectionately.

(Behold, the greatest plot twist of all time!)

Suddenly, the screen transitioned to an advertisement, taking place in Loser Island at night (after yesterday's elimination). A goalie cardboard Machoke spread his arms and legs wide to protect the goal.

"Enter the new generation where all of your friends, family and loved ones are cardboard. Got annoying, athletic friends that beat you at sports all the time? Say farewell to defeat with cardboard friends." Skarmory promoted before moving out of the way.

Tyrunt kicked the ball lazily into the goal. "Yay, my first goal ever!" He celebrated.

The screen transitioned to the beach, showing Dedenne having a romantic date with cardboard Grovyle. They sat under a giant beach umbrella. There was a bowl of Sitrus Berries between them.

"Got a dirty, backstabbing and untrustworthy lover? Don't worry with a carboard lover." Skarmory continued to advertise.

"I love my Triple C. He is the caring, considerate cardboard!" Dedenne shouted lovingly before feeding him Sitrus Berries.

The screen transitioned to the dining table. Bisharp stood between two cardboard Bisharp.

"Got parent issues? Forget about that when you have cardboard parents!" Skarmory yelled to attract attention.

"Cardboard father and cardboard mother, can Jumpluff be my girlfriend? If you don't say anything, that means yes." Bisharp asked for permission from his cardboard parents.

Cricket noises were edited into the advertisement.

"You did it, dude!" Houndour congratulated off-camera. Jumpluff suddenly rushed over to hug him. Bisharp had a shocked and worried expression.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! I thought that we will never get to be together… I thought that you will leave me…" Jumpluff broke down into tears of joy.

"Be careful of the blades. You might get hurt." Bisharp warned, pushing her back a little.

"I'm just glad that we can be an item now. Jumpsharp for life!" Jumpluff whooped.

"Uh, we are just shooting an adverstisement. You know that, right? We aren't official until I ask my _real_ parents." Bisharp corrected the misunderstanding.

"Oh, silly me. Your parents will now think that I'm an idiot." Jumpluff sounded ashamed of herself.

"Don't worry, I will convince them otherwise. I will make them appreciate your lovable zeal just like I do." Bisharp vowed. Jumpluff seemed very touched.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this heart-warming moment. However, can you please explain to the viewers what's happening right now?" Skarmory requested. Bisharp nodded, turning from Jumpluff to face the camera.

"Viewers, all of the ex-contestants from Loser Island have decided to host a little competition of our own. We will compete to see who can sell the most cardboard cut-outs of themselves. The winner will get a cardboard trophy. Credit to Skarmory for the idea." Bisharp explained.

"You are welcomed." Skarmory seemed pleased.

Rudely, Larvitar barged in front of the camera. "I know that people will buy cardboard Larvitar the most because I'm the most awesome and popular contestant. I'm also-"

"Larvitar, it's time for you to do the chores!" Helioptile dragged his tail out of the camera's view.

"No, not the chores!" Larvitar clawed the ground in a futile attempt to escape. Bisharp and Jumpluff stopped hugging each other and cringed awkwardly alongside Skarmory.

"Wow, he just ruined the entire advertisement." Skarmory commented before the screen cut back to the auditorium.

"Viewers, let's get into the important detail. The price. Each cardboard contestant costs 950P. However, you can buy a couple like Bisharp and Jumpluff at a discounted price of 1,500 P. Saving yourself 400 P by doing that." Drifblim enticed.

"Or buy a lonely loser like Larvitar for full price." Rhyhorn suggested an unpopular option. Team Reticence laughed about this foolish idea as the number 98012-376-6432-SK appeared on the screen. (Try calling it, Skarmory might reply. ^-^)

Needless to say, Smeargle gave them the stamp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Skarmory, Skarmory, exploiting your viewers for a profit? That's low of you." Drifblim shook her head in disapproval. "Each cardboard costs like 10P to manufacture. Maybe, even lower than that. Luckily, I'm one critical superfan. I won't fall for your tricks."

* * *

"Nosepass, what's in the mess hall? Give me a detailed report, quickly!" Lucario pressured his partner.

"Be patient! Four tables and… wait a second, let me count the chairs." Nosepass paused.

"Hurry up, my grandma is faster than you!" Lucario pulled the grandma card.

"Four chairs around one table, six around the other, five around another and the last got eight." Nosepass tried his best to please Lucario.

"Took you long enough. There is one table with seven chairs; the one on the top right corner. Three of them are on top, the other three on bottom. One on the left side. I suspect the one missing is on the right side." Lucario speculated.

"Left, right, what? I don't get what you mean." Nosepass wanted clarification.

"*beep* rotate the picture so you view it as if you just enter the mess hall, *beep* idiot!" Lucario swore, running out of patience.

"Sorry." Nosepass meekly apologized. A subtle hint of anger hid in his voice.

"God, I rather work with Feebas than him…" Lucario muttered.

"My bodyguard, how is your day?" Meowth greeted. Team High Expense just arrived at the last station. Lucario lightened up immediately.

"Meowth, let me help you…" Lucario planned on telling Meowth everything. Meowth grinned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Looks like either one of our teams will be first."

 **Aromatisse:** "How did Meowth spot two differences so soon?"

 **Lucario:** "I'm glad that Nosepass is never in my team. I will never accept a loser like him. He is the type that will never improve no matter how hard I try."

 **Nosepass:** "If Lucario shout at me one more time, I might throw the challenge and get both of us eliminated."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk found another difference inside the mess hall. His tingling professional chef senses prove useful in spotting missing chairs for our dinner guests."

 **Heracross:** "Homie boy sucks. He can't find any."

* * *

"From first to last." Shedinja seemed demotivated as he stared at the script in hopelessness.

"There's gotta be a way for you to show your emotions through words." Cryogonal didn't want to give up just yet. She floated back and forth, trying to think of something.

"It is not impossible but very difficult. I remember that I show emotions with my words when I fought Trumbeak." Shedinja indicated.

"Really?" Hope lit itself in Cryogonal's eyes. "Tell me more about it."

"I can't do it naturally or by myself. I need to _feel it_." Shedinja tried to explain.

"Feel? Does that mean… I need to make you really want to say those cheesy lines to me from the bottom of your soul?" Cryogonal asked, flustered a bit.

Shedinja nodded, possibly hiding his _ulterior motive_.

"Come closer." Cryogonal gestured. Shedinja liked where this was going.

"Close your eyes and prepare your lips." Shedinja instructed. Cryogonal obeyed, shutting her eyes tightly and made a kissing face.

She anticipated the kiss, all jittery, curious and excited. She wondered about how it would taste like. To an extent, she lusted for it.

Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for… Her lips touched something and it… tasted like cardboard.

Cryogonal opened her eyes, shocked to realize that she kissed cardboard Shedinja.

"Did you really fall for it? Hahaha…" Shedinja laughed.

"You jerk! You are laughing… You can show emotion all along. You lied, die!" Cryogonal snapped, hitting him with the cardboard.

"Ouch, that really hurts." Shedinja said sarcastically.

"Whatever, can we just do the challenge and get it over with now?" Cryogonal's face heated, embarrassed after she got tricked again.

"Let's do it then." Shedinja said eagerly.

Team Cryoninjas floated up the stage, resolved and serious this time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "I'm not pranking her to be a jerk. I do it because it helps me to show emotions. Her reaction is pretty cute and attractive too. Friends are supposed to help each other, right?"

 **Cryogonal:** "I can't believe that I like this guy. Ugh."

* * *

Back at the prison, Team Reticence joined the race for first. Rhyhorn stayed outside while Drifblim explored inside the prison.

The duo noticed the Monopoly board difference and rose to fourth as Team Chillhorns still got nothing so far.

Team Strong and Weak, Psycho Stalkers and High Expense were tied for first as they all got four differences. They missed one difference in the jail cells area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Homie boy better step up his game. I don't want to get eliminated because of him."

 **Darmanitan:** "As long as we chill, we should be able to do it."

 **Meowth:** "Working together with Lucario makes it easier for the both of us."

 **Drifblim:** "I feel relieved that we are no longer last."

 **Duosion:** "I want to stop Lucario and Meowth from winning."

* * *

The Cryoninjas sat on the dining table, eyeing each other affectionately. Cameras, light, action!

"My sweet honey, your words make me feel full. Not even the most scrumptious Slowpoke tails can hope to compare. I will eat your words rather than food on my plate. I don't care if obesity and heart attack will take my life for I just want to ask for one more lip bite." Shedinja exaggerated his voice.

"Oh, my love. I will feed you with my love everyday. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I don't need you to bring me to fancy restaurants and luxurious cuisine. I desire your devotion to me more than anything." Cryogonal used her snow chains to hold his hand.

"I will devote my entire essence to you, both body and soul. Even if the world ends, I shall reincarnate again and again until you finally become my lover once more." Shedinja tried to keep his act up.

"You don't need to reincarnate to meet me. I will threaten the gods and cheat death itself. I will love you no matter what, even if you become a beast, a monster, I will never leave your side." Cryogonal leaned in for a kiss. Shedinja did the same.

"Both of you pass, you don't need to actually kiss." Smeargle ruined the chance.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Cryogonal:** "I actually wouldn't mind kissing Shedinja but I have a feeling that he doesn't like it."

 **Shedinja:** "Who created the stupid book? It is cheesy and unrealistic, not romantic at all." (Not the author, he created the person who created the book. This doesn't count.)

* * *

Farfetch'd called Duosion to give him very specific details of the jail cells and to keep her volume low.

"All the jail cells have ten bars. Grovyle slept on his pillow. Skrelp-" Duosion got interrupted.

"What is Grovyle's sleeping position?" Farfetch'd questioned. "The Grovyle inside the prison buries his face on the pillow."

"Really? The Grovyle that I see sleeps normally. He stares at the ceiling." Duosion told. "I will check with Alakazam to see if it is right."

Alakazam verified that they spotted all the differences correctly.

"Perfect. Let's get our first victory, Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd walked out of the prison naturally then, ran. Team Psycho Stalkers got their last stamp. Alakazam directed them toward the haunted house to find Skarmory.

Soon enough, Team Strong and Weak got their last difference as well. Lucario threw the booklet at Alakazam.

"Stamp quickly!" Lucario rushed impatiently. Alakazam caught the book with Psychic.

"Patience is a virtue." Alakazam reminded.

"Enough with that stupid platitude! I want to win first place!" Lucario was being impolite so Alakazam intentionally took more time to stamp the booklet. Nosepass glared at the professional athlete.

Lucario jerked the book off Alakazam's hand and picked Nosepass up before rocketing toward the haunted mansion.

"Mr. Stalk, you hear what? The sound of Lucario? We need to hurry up, Duosion!" Farfetch'd alerted urgently.

"I can't go any faster. Look, Skarmory is in front of us!" Duosion saw Skarmory. The host stood in front of the mansion.

"Prepare to get crushed, losers!" Lucario tried to demotivate them. "I will win and win again. Accept your pitiful defeat."

Team Psycho Stalkers started to feel anxious as Lucario got closer and closer. Farfetch'd turned to Duosion and clutched her.

"What are you doing?" Duosion asked, nervous and confused.

"You need to trust me. Think fast!" Farfetch'd didn't wait for Duosion's reply. He hurled her up and batted her toward Skarmory.

Duosion reached Skarmory first, thinking that she will win.

"Both of you need to be here if you want to check in for first." Skarmory didn't validate their placement yet.

"Oh no, it doesn't work." Duosion turned around and saw Lucario surpassing Farfetch'd. Her partner only nodded at her, giving her some sort of message. Suddenly, it clicked.

"Hahaha, another victory for me." Lucario celebrated early, gaping once Farfetch'd got pulled past him with Duosion's Psychic. The professional athlete stopped running as the Psycho Stalkers reached Skarmory first.

"We did it!" Duosion celebrated. Farfetch'd had a triumphant smile on his face.

Nosepass seemed satisfied that Lucario's streak came to an end.

"Congratulations, Team Psycho Stalkers. You two won four VIP movie tickets for the 'Hero of Darkness'. It will be aired a few months later." Skarmory revealed their reward. Lucario only smirked as he heard the title.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "This is a great reward. I will watch it with Houndour. As long as the movie doesn't have a character like Lucario, I will probably enjoy it."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk has a bad feeling about the title. He told me that my girlfriend won't enjoy it, neither will I."

 **Lucario:** "Enjoy seeing me on the big screen for one hour, losers."

* * *

Team High Expense finished third and Team Reticence finished fourth. It was a deathmatch between Team Cryoninjas and Team Chillhorns. Both teams currently spotted zero difference so far.

"Wow, meathead, you should take a brain surgery. You still find nothing after an hour? Haha." Shedinja mocked.

"Shut up, stupid bug, I will beat you and my team will get fifth!" Heracross tried to sound confident. However, she panicked internally.

Shedinja decided to waste no further time with Heracross and ignored her. The street punk got a sneaky idea. She decided to eavesdrop Shedinja's conversation with Cryogonal.

Heracross rested her back on the bean bag and closed her eyes, snoring. Shedinja chuckled, lifting his walkie-talkie up to talk about the Monopoly board. He underestimated Heracross. She heard everything and told Darmanitan.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Hey, I got some street smarts, you know? That's how I survive on the streets. Thinking about it, I should come up with this a long time ago when Farfetch'd arrived. Oh well, it takes time to come up with a smart idea."

 **Shedinja:** "Meathead is a plain imbecile. She can't come up with anything smart."

* * *

Shedinja observed Grovyle's cell while Heracross struck a conversation with cardboard Archeops. Shedinja cringed at this before talking to Cryogonal, unaware that Heracross was listening.

Shedinja went inside the camera room. Heracross positioned her left ear on the door, overhearing everything.

Shedinja glanced around the mess hall. Heracross noticed that he locked his eyes on one of the tables and communicated with Darmanitan properly this time to find another difference.

Shedinja entered the working station and Heracross didn't bother being secretive anymore. She just stood behind him, copying what he said to Darmanitan.

"Cryogonal, is everything correct? I see, we should win then. What? Darmanitan is now checking with Alakazam? How is this possible?" Shedinja realized it then as he turned around and saw Heracross.

"Who's the meathead now?" Heracross said with hubris.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shedinja:** "I will admit, I should never lower my guard." He sounded disappointed in himself.

 **Darmanitan:** "Is Heracross suddenly turning into a genius? She got everything right, how is that possible?"

 **Heracross:** "To everyone who thinks that I'm stupid, take that as a proof of my brilliance."

* * *

Team Cryoninjas and Team Chillhorns raced to Skarmory. At the moment, they were neck and neck.

Team Chillhorns took the lead.

No, it was Team Cryoninjas now.

Once again, Team Chillhorns.

Heracross and Darmanitan were both athletic and Shedinja's speed was insane for his species.

A solid winner couldn't be decided.

Skarmory watched with excitement as they got closer and closer to him.

Team Cryoninjas took the lead.

Team Chillhorns recovered their lead.

Shedinja dragged Cryogonal to the best of his ability. She was the slowest and it might come down to that.

"Shedinja, her booklet. Steal it!" Cryogonal got a dirty trick of her own. Without the booklet, Skarmory couldn't validate their placement.

Shedinja immediately seized Heracross' booklet.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Heracross yelled hypocritically, trying to pull it back.

"You cheated many times yourself." Shedinja countered, yanking the booklet back.

"Well, technically, it's not cheating because it isn't against the rules." Skarmory pointed out.

"Whatever, we will take our victory." Cryogonal helped Shedinja to tug the book.

"Stop standing there like an idiot and help me!" Heracross shouted at Darmanitan.

"Homie, this isn't chill. Can't we play who is the chilliest game or coin toss to decide the winning team?" Darmanitan proposed. Everyone gave him looks and he scratched his head sheepishly, not helping Heracross.

"Cryogonal, find the right opportunity to let go of their book and burst to the finish line." Shedinja instructed and Cryogonal nodded.

Heracross then got another plan. She let go of the booklet and snatched Cryogonal as her hostage.

"No!" Shedinja rushed over to free her.

"Let me go, meathead!" Cryogonal swung her snow chains to slap Heracross' face.

"Feisty, aren't you? This will teach you a lesson." Heracross lifted Cryogonal up with her horn before Shedinja could free her and threw her against a tree.

"Ouch!" Cryogonal yelped in pain.

"Are you okay?" Shedinja checked on her worriedly, leaving himself vulnerable. Heracross utilized this opportunity, taking her book back from him before dragging an idle Darmanitan to Skarmory.

"Wow, so many dirty tricks. Well, none of them are against the rules so Team Chillhorns, you survive for another day. Team Cryoninjas, I'm sorry to tell you that both of you are eliminated from Total Skarmory Island.

Heracross exulted in her victory. In contrast, Darmanitan headed over to check on Cryogonal guiltily.

* * *

 **Confessional and Final Confessionals**

 **Heracross:** "In the end, I come out of this rivalry as the winner. How does it feel, Shedinja?"

 **Darmanitan:** "I don't like Heracross. She better changes her attitude or else both of us are eliminated tomorrow."

 **Shedinja:** "Whatever, meathead will never win this game. I don't plan on winning this anyways. I came, wanting to annoy Ninjask. Now, I go out with something _special_."

 **Cryogonal:** "Oh well, I had a good run. I want to show the world that even orphans can play this game and socialize, striving to make great friends and win challenges. I accomplished a lot. I won an immunity challenge. I got friends. I can't ask for more other than winning the million and see Heracross losing I guess. I hope Duosion or Aromatisse wins. Anyone but Lucario and Heracross, really. Meowth, I think he is alright. Compare to everyone else, he at least got a heart. After this show, I'm probably going to work on my anger issues a bit so my little sister won't freak out. Bye, everyone."

* * *

Aromatisse and Duosion were there to see Shedinja and Cryogonal off.

"Have a fabulous time in Loser Island and avoid the Pyukumuku. Be proud that you make it this far. I mean you two didn't get voted off, just automatically eliminated." Aromatisse tried to make them feel better.

"Thanks for your consoling words, Aromatisse. I will find that Pyukumuku and teach it a lesson. You can count on me." Cryogonal said confidently. Aromatisse chuckled.

"Without you two, nothing will ever be the same." Duosion said unhappily.

"Come on, cheer up. Girl, how I'm supposed to tell Houndour if he asks me about you? You have a decent chance to win, Duosion and you still got Aromatisse." Cryogonal tried to cheer her up.

"I guess you are right." Duosion looked much better.

"Haha, Shedinja, you suck!" Out of no where, Heracross came to insult him before his departure.

"Whatever, meathead. I don't care if you think that you are superior to me just because you last longer. You are just pathetic. You waste your entire time in this island over a pointless, one-sided rivalry. Go and pick fight with other meats in the meat store. I bet you will lose to them." Shedinja's words stung Heracross. The four laughed as she became speechless. Soon enough, the Lapras departed and Heracross clenched her fists.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "He is gone but why am I still frustrated? I don't *beep* understand!"

* * *

Out in the ocean…

"Remember the song that got us together?" Shedinja brought the topic out of nowhere.

"With Spite, from Shedinja? Why bring it up all of a sudden?" Cryogonal asked, a bit confused.

"Well, you see... I change it a little. Let's call it 'With Love, from Shedinja'." Shedinja changed the title.

"It doesn't suit the song at all. You know that, right?" Cryogonal doubted that he was being serious.

"Of course, that is why I change the lyrics. Let me sing for you." Shedinja offered, surprising Cryogonal. This time, he sang with emotion.

"The long-forgotten days fading through time. My feelings of nostalgia banished."

"Nothing feels the same. The three of you hope for me to vanish."

"A talented boy once had many friends. He was cherished dearly by those he called 'family'.

"Nobody treated him like a bug. They surrounded and gave him a hug."

"The long-forgotten days fading through time. My feelings of nostalgia banished."

"Suddenly, everything changed. The boy evolved, shedding his broken shell."

"His parents adored him even more. The shell was ignored, living through hell."

"My feelings of nostalgia lingered. My soul chained it up, waiting for someone to break the apathy." Cryogonal never heard this line.

"Without telepathy, I can tell you three wanted me to cease into oblivion. No need to act oblivious, I suffered enough."

"The long-forgotten feelings fading through time. I banished them like my friends vanished."

"How convenient, the sentient shell ended up in a convenience store. He worked overtime to be nourished."

"You three celebrated with presents. I wished to send a gift card without resentment."

"With love, from Shedinja, your abandoned son. Here's a discount coupon, usable only in my convenience store."

"My feelings of love never existed. All the girls only wanted Ninjask. Even with Wonder Guard, I'm nothing to them."

"Only if I get to meet someone special in my life. I will treasure her more than cardboard."

"Revenge hoped for me to annoy. I did it and suddenly got bored."

"Skarmory watched my audition tape. He thought I'm a special bug but I will never get a hug."

Cryogonal suddenly hugged Shedinja and sang a line of her own.

Cryogonal: "The special snowflake sympathized and empathized with him."

Shedinja: "The talented boy was lost and confused. What does he actually want in this world, if anything at all?"

Cryogonal: "My feelings of nostalgia reawakened because of an edgy, emo kid."

Shedinja: "The long-forgotten swordsmanship reinvigorated with the help of a pirate. Everything feels better."

Cryogonal: "You never cared about me. I wished to send my love to you."

Shedinja: "My feelings came back along with love. Even with Wonder Guard, this special snowflake pierced through my barrier."

Cryogonal: "With love, from Cryogonal, the special snowflake. Here's someone that will care about you forever."

Shedinja: "With love, from Shedinja, the emo kid. Here's someone that will care about you forever."

The song ended and the Lapras clapped. The two eyed each other with affection once more before they kissed for real this time.

* * *

Instead of a closing segment, we got more footage this time as well. Two meetings took place…

Drifblim brought Nosepass out in the middle of the night. Nosepass rubbed his eyes groggily.

"It won't take long. You can go back to sleep soon. Nosepass, you enter this game because you want to prove your strength and get away from those bullies, right?" Drifblim asked. Nosepass nodded.

Lucario brought Rhyhorn out in the middle of the night. Rhyhorn only glared at him.

"Rhyhorn, I know how much you care about Nosepass. Therefore, you shall follow my orders from now on or else Nosepass will get hurt." Lucario tried to threaten him. Rhyhorn's eyes were unbreakably solid.

"Nosepass, you got your chance tomorrow! Just throw the challenge and get yourself eliminated alongside him! All the bullies will cower in fear once they heard you beat Lucario, don't you agree?" Drifblim persuaded. Nosepass looked a bit deep in thought.

"My first order is to keep me safe. If my team happens to be in last place tomorrow, throw the challenge to save me." Lucario tried to sound intimidating. Rhyhorn started laughing crazily.

"What the hell are you laughing at?!" Lucario lifted Rhyhorn up by his horn.

"Yeah. I will show that jerk to never mess with me. Tomorrow, I will throw the challenge." Nosepass agreed.

"You are nothing compare to someone I know, Lucario. You can't threaten me." Rhyhorn used the four of his feet to push against Lucario and free himself. The beast was astonished that his fear tactics didn't work on him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "That guy isn't normal. Who the hell is he?!"

 **Drifblim:** "If my plan works, the viewers will be so delightful. History is in the making. I want to be the best Total Drama player of all time."

* * *

Rhyhorn and Nosepass were surprised to meet each other in front of their cabin.

"Big brother, why are you up so late in the night?" Nosepass yawned.

"The restroom. What about you?" Rhyhorn lied.

"Drifblim wanted to talk to me about something. I will go to sleep now." Nosepass didn't have any energy left to talk.

Rhyhorn nodded to himself. He entered the Crawdaunt boys' cabin as well, watching Nosepass slept. The little brother shivered, as he didn't cover his entire body with the blanket. Rhyhorn used his horn to push the blanket up before smiling.

"Drifblim, you think you can mess with my little brother and get away with it? Wrong, you just made the biggest mistake of your life by pairing him with Lucario. Tomorrow, I will throw the challenge and get both of us eliminated. Lucario isn't the one you should fear. _It's me_!" Rhyhorn started laughing like a madman in the middle of the night with bloodthirsty eyes.

* * *

 **Placements**

1st Team Psycho Stalkers

2nd Team Strong and Weak

3rd Team High Expense

4th Team Reticence

5th Team Chillhorns

Eliminated Team Cryoninjas

* * *

Rhyhorn has been awakened! He will be the main star of the next episode. Rhyhorn fans, get excited and be scared!

Next time, three Pokemon find their teammates throwing the challenges as two teams compete for first place. Expect frustration, teamwork and drama! I know I spoil the four that will be safe but it's a no-brainer at this point.

In the second season, Archeops is confirmed to return. Archeops fans, be pleased as she will be given a new start.

In the second season, Lucario is de-confirmed to return regardless of his placement. He is literally the poster child of the first season. The most influential and developed character. He is indirectly the driving force behind all of the drama. Skrelp, Bisharp and Drifblim plan strategies with him in mind. Grovyle fears him. Meowth employs him to get further. I know that some of my viewers don't really know what to think of him. That's because he is never really a protagonist or the antagonist.

Lucario is pretty much the Hero of Darkness. He did many good things and bad things all together. If you are still mixed about him, gravitate to hate him but appreciate all the things he had done for my story. Total Skarmory Island without Lucario is like Total Drama Island without Heather.

You might wonder what's up with 'The Night Falls and the Darkness Rises'. Well, originally, it is planned to be a story of its own. Skrelp is supposed to talk about it once in every while to build up the interest. However, I cancel it due to struggling to fit it in my schedule and loss of interest. I don't show the ending with Meowth and Aromatisse because it wouldn't do the real ending justice. I will give it a proper funeral someday.

Shedinja and Cryogonal fans, I hope you are happy with their ending. They are confirmed for the mythical season 3. In that season, Ninjask will also compete. Don't get excited because that's like seven years from now. I don't know if I will even write that long. What if I quit as an author someday or meet with a tragic accident? Hopefully, none of these things happen.

Final announcement, check my Deviantart account with the same name to see the development process and planning stage of TSI. There's nothing right now but wait until tomorrow and you might see a few posts. Don't worry, there will be no spoilers.


	24. Chapter 24

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Parousia45**

About the songs, I actually have a bunch in mind for season 2. I already created one for Triple G. Don't worry about the running gags, I don't want to overuse them or else they won't be funny anymore. You are a good author yourself. No need to compare since you work on a different type of story than mine.

 **Dark Arcanine 33**

About Season 3, it might come sooner than expected. Stay tuned until the end for more on that. Yeah, it's kind of awkward sometimes when you already plan out the entire elimination list and people's favorite go out a bit early.

 **Fallenstreet01**

Are you sure that Drifblim won't win? No, I actually plan extremely far ahead until Season 3. I had like ten stories in my mind that I'm itching to write. This is what happens when you plan too much ahead.

 **Worma-Sir**

I'm a planner by nature. I don't like to leave gaps because it makes it difficult to write. Shedinja changed because I don't want his character to stagnate. That's why I feel rather pressured writing Shedinja at first, knowing that he will change.

 **InfernoMaster64**

Nosepass is the second character I created, remember? I got big plans for him. The homie boy can win. His weakness is his lack of competitive drive. Drifblim might be screwed by Rhyhorn. That's true. Lucario, the best bully? I'm flattered. I'm pretty sure you are excited to read now so I will end it here.

* * *

 **Episode 24: Crippled Competition**

Skarmory spun Furret around before catching her, pulling off a stunt to wow over the viewers.

"Welcome back, viewers. Last time, an impactful twist was revealed." Skarmory started.

"Twelve contestants formed six pairs and competed together in many challenges requiring teamwork." Furret continued.

"The winning team won movie tickets. The losing team…" Skarmory suspended.

"…got eliminated. The twist remained in effect until tomorrow. What will happen this time? Find out in another exciting episode of…" Furret handed the closing line to him this time.

"Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory shouted, throwing Furret into the air and caught her successfully with his wings. She looked very calm and composed throughout. They must have planned this beforehand. The two kept their eyes peeled on the camera and smiled until the screen transitioned to something else.

* * *

Meowth & Co. went to their usual spot in the early morning. The two sat on the sand and turned to each other.

"I still can't believe that I got stuck with that loser, Nosepass! I swear if he makes us lose…" Lucario took deep breaths to calm down.

"You are in the top of the charts, Lucario. Your team got second place yesterday, remember?" Meowth reminded.

"Yes, but I rather work with you or any of the Aura Beast members than that _feckless weakling_." Lucario abhorred.

"Speaking of the Aura Beast members. How are they?" Meowth asked casually.

"They are doing fine. I trust them to continue training incessantly while I'm here. The pay from Pokeathlon should provide them all the necessities." Lucario answered.

"You can contact me whenever you or your team meet any financial difficulties, Lucario. I hope you know that." Meowth had good intentions. However, this only hurt Lucario's feelings.

"No, Meowth. I have too much pride for that. I can survive on my own. I'm the last Pokemon in this world that needs any sympathy. The pay from Pokeathlon is more than the million here." Lucario assured, shaking his head. He sounded amused by the suggestion but a hint of perturbation burrowed itself underneath his stoic expression.

"Interesting… Money can't buy everything it seems, like good health and emotional well-being." Meowth acknowledged.

"I have saved enough to fund my little brother's tuition in the most prestigious school of my country. We can now afford extra comfort. I'm far from poor despite the shabby look of my apartment. I just don't like to spend on unnecessary things." Lucario told.

"Very wise. Your little brother should be proud to have such a beast of a brother on his side." Meowth complimented.

"Yes, but I prefer my brother to not follow my path. He should live a better life." Lucario's downcast eyes reflected upon the soft, retreating wave.

"I can understand. Being a professional athlete doesn't have any job security plus, injuries can put a damper on your career." Meowth assumed and Lucario nodded.

"There is another reason. Living like me is living like a monster. You either crush your opponents or be crushed! Not everyone can be a winner. I share no sentiments with those pathetic losers that grovel beneath me. Whether they starve or not isn't my problem. I shall plunge their heads under the mud while my team stand on the victory podium!" Lucario spoke like a sociopath. Meowth agreed with everything he said.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Nosepass, a pathetic loser like you stand no chance against me. Honestly, you don't deserve me as a partner. Neither do you have the right to remain in this competition. You are just lucky that Archeops is an equally pathetic leader that doesn't get rid of her weakest link. What an unworthy disgrace to the spirit of competitiveness."

 **Meowth:** "Lucario gets along with me very well. We share the same ideals and principles. However, I can't win this game alone with him by my side. I need more allies to fight against that _traitorous employee_."

* * *

Meowth invited Aromatisse over to his table inside the mess hall.

"What do you need, Meowth?" Aromatisse asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Just a small conversation. We are teammates, after all." Meowth replied, gesturing for her to sit.

Aromatisse sat, staring at him with distrust.

"How is your face?" Meowth asked, starting off slow and indirect.

"Getting better. If that is all, I will leave." Aromatisse was about to get off her chair.

"Wait! I know that I sabotaged our relations quite a bit." Meowth held his hands together on the table. "However, I believe it is in the best of our interests to merge our businesses together so that we can compete against a much more dangerous threat." He persuaded, smiling persuasively.

"Not just a bit, Meowth. You tore Houndour and Duosion apart as well as Ledyba and Scolipede. Yet, you want an alliance with me? Fat chance." Aromatisse glared at him before leaving.

"The meeting isn't over yet. Come back! Please." Meowth pleaded to no avail as Aromatisse left. He tumbled down from his chair.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "There must be a way to win her over." Meowth tapped his chin. "Otherwise, I need to make a deal with Rhyhorn. I don't think I'm that desperate yet."

 **Aromatisse:** "The nerve of that guy. Just because we are teammates doesn't mean I will join his evil business."

* * *

Duosion saw Farfetch'd talking with Mr. Stalk in the forest area. She decided to stop by since he was her teammate after all.

"Farfetch'd, what are you doing?" Duosion asked bafflingly. She didn't get why he was talking to a 'non-living' object.

"Mr. Stalk feels guilty about sneaking into the cinema without paying for a ticket multiple times. The guards were so incompetent that they never saw him. Since the second ticket is for my girlfriend, I will buy the third one for him." Farfetch'd told, sounding quite serious.

"Farfetch'd, Mr. Stalk is a non-living object. You know that, right?" Duosion couldn't comprehend him. She sounded a bit condescending unintentionally.

"Rude! Mr. Stalk is very much a breathing, living creature." Farfetch'd sounded offended. "Mrs. Gren can vouch for that."

"Who is this 'Mrs. Gren'? I doubt that she is a trustworthy source." Duosion doubted.

"I'm disappointed, Duosion. Mr. Stalk can't believe that you never learn biology. Mrs. Gren is my teacher. She told me that Mr. Stalk is alive because he can move swiftly like the wind…" Farfetch'd said dramatically as he slashed thin air.

"Mr. Stalk can respire…" Farfetch'd inhaled and exhaled.

"Mr. Stalk is sensitive to your insensitive words…" Farfetch'd glared at Duosion while pointing Mr. Stalk at her. Duosion looked uncomfortable.

"Mr. Stalk grows stronger and taller every year. He has a son and he also consumes nutrients. We thought that you are smarter. It is now clearly evident that you can't get along with us." Farfetch'd shook his head alongside Mr. Stalk before leaving. Duosion was at a loss for words.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "We realize it now that we can't judge a book by its cover. Duosion is not so smart after all. Mr. Stalk is disappointed to have such an ignorant partner."

 **Duosion:** "Regardless of what he says, Mr. Stalk is a non-living object. It has no conscience or any intelligence. Farfetch'd is a delusional anti-social freak with an imaginary friend."

* * *

In the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin…

Privately, Drifblim was writing something down on her diary. It was an analysis of Cryogonal, whom elimination took place yesterday.

After she finished and was about to write Shedinja's, Heracross entered without knocking. Drifblim lifted her gaze, annoyed at the sudden appearance of the beetle.

"Girl, I'm happy. Shedinja's gone! Woo-hoo! Hell yeah!" Heracross celebrated loudly, grinning. "What are you writing about? Give me a peek."

Heracross threw herself on the bed Drifblim sat on. The superfan faked a small smile, trying to not look suspicious.

"Oh, nothing special. Just recording some stuff about the contestants to put on my blog later on." Drifblim allowed Heracross to read.

"Great, girl." Heracross commented as she glanced over the content. "Although, make sure to write good stuff about me like Heracross is the mightiest, the strongest, the most awesome. She is the badass that destroys that loser, Shedinja. He sucks. He is stupid. He is the meathead. Do it for your friend, alright?"

"Sure, girl. Heracross got the street smarts. She is the boss around here. She leads a powerful alliance of powerhouses like Archeops, Miltank and myself." Drifblim went along with it until Heracross left, rolling her eyes at the end.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I know that I can count on her. Drifblim never let me down once. Now, I feel much better. Shedinja is going to get humiliated while I will look cool."

 **Drifblim:** "Heracross, sorry but I don't lie to fellow game show fanatics. Even though Shedinja disappointed me, he is still a lot better than you. Even if you are my 'friend', I still believe that you don't deserve to win this game."

* * *

Nosepass forced the sludge down sluggishly in the mess hall, sighing. Every day was the same, surrounded by crappy food and crazy contestants. Sometimes, Nosepass felt like the sanest among the group filled with quirky and extreme personalities. He was just a coward, plain and simple. What if he was scared of a detective show? At least he wasn't hyperventilating at the sight of a purple cape.

Maybe there was more to him than that. However, Nosepass couldn't be confident in the slightest.

Speaking of the devil, his big brother suddenly nudged him from behind.

"Ah!" Nosepass screamed in fear, trembling. "Who or what are you?" He covered his eyes.

"Big brother." Rhyhorn answered, clear and simple.

Nosepass turned to face him, his face glowing pinkish red. Rhyhorn gave him a consoling look.

"It's okay… After you are done with your food, find me at the peak of the mountain area. I will tell you everything then." Rhyhorn appointed the summit as the place of revelation.

"Really? You will tell me, everything?" Nosepass wanted reconfirmation. Rhyhorn nodded with a weak smile. The coward now had a reason to finish his special delicacy faster.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Finally, after him staying silent and secretive for so long… I will get to understand my big brother."

* * *

Rhyhorn waited patiently at the summit as Nosepass crawled his way up slowly. The big brother gave an encouraging smile to the panting little brother as he ascended.

Rhyhorn rejoiced to see Nosepass improving. Unlike the other times, Nosepass didn't complain. Perhaps, he wanted to please his big brother in this special occasion.

Nosepass gave it his all, eager to hear the truth. Eventually, he reached the top.

"Good job." Rhyhorn said proudly as Nosepass collapsed next to him.

Nosepass smiled, relishing the moment. "Can you please tell me everything now?" He asked impatiently, getting up in a sitting position.

"Before that, do you know why I chose this place?" Rhyhorn asked.

"Err, you want me to… exercise?" Nosepass guessed. Rhyhorn chuckled.

"Partially." Rhyhorn had another reason. "I just want you to look at things from a high vantage point and compare it to when you are down in the dirt. Don't you feel powerful?"

"Yeah, I feel… great." Nosepass couldn't express the rare feeling inside him accurately.

"Don't you also feel like everything beneath you is rather insignificant and inferior compare to yourself?" Rhyhorn queried.

"I guess. Why do you ask me these deep questions? If they are too deep, I will drown and I can't swim!" Nosepass uttered a joking metaphor. Was he trying to be funny? Neither himself or Rhyhorn seemed amused.

"I figure that you never know what it feels like to have power like those powers-that-be like Lucario. Little brother, some view themselves too highly and some view themselves too lowly. You are among the latter. I want you to experience power for once. It will serve you well in the future." Rhyhorn tried to convey a message that Nosepass struggled to understand. The observant guy obviously noticed how Nosepass cocked his head in confusion.

"I'm sure you will understand sooner or later. I won't delay it any further now. This is what happened to me five years ago…" Rhyhorn lowered his head down the mountain as he spoke.

(Here is the thing, Rhyhorn's explanation clearly isn't detailed enough to create a vivid imagery in your mind. Of course, Skarmory got no footage of Rhyhorn's past. Therefore, let the author uses his divine authority to warp all of us back through time. Note: All real names will be hidden.)

* * *

Young Rhyhorn (age 13) resided in a lousy dwelling he called home with his parents. It was a warm, cozy little place with a chimney. The fire underneath it was the only light source in this masonry house. The walls and floor were all made out of stone. There was no bed, no extra floors. Just one moderate size room with a few pillows on the ground and basic furniture like chairs, wooden chests and a table.

On the table were books of various sorts, ranging from topics like law to food, science to sports.

Rhyhorn's Mom hummed to herself as she heated frozen package meat with the fireplace. It was unorthodox but passable.

For a female Rhyperior, her figure was thin. This was due to lack of proper nutrition. However, she seemed pleasantly happy with her every-day life. Perhaps, she didn't mind to live poorly. After all, she couldn't ask for anything more than her hardworking husband and ingenious son.

Young Rhyhorn knocked on the door. "Mom, I'm back." He called affectionately before entering. The boy carried a tattered backpack on his back.

"Oh, come here, Rhyhorn! Have a meat snack." Mrs. Rhyperior gestured, glad to see her lovable son once again. Rhyhorn rushed over to her arms immediately.

"How's your day?" Mrs. Rhyperior asked, caressing his horn.

"Top of the class like always. Everyone is nice to me. Although, it's a bit unfortunate that my teacher couldn't answer my questions." Rhyhorn sounded disappointed. Mrs. Rhyperior sighed.

"I-no, we are sorry, Rhyhorn. We are so sorry for not being about to send you to a better school. Government-funded schools aren't the best, are they?" Mrs. Rhyperior said guiltily. Rhyhorn widened his eyes. He didn't mean to guilt-trip her.

"No, mom! It's okay. I understand. Look, I borrowed books from the library." Rhyhorn dumped the content of his backpack, revealing a library card and several books about advanced subjects.

"That's my son. You have always been able to find a different way to do things." Mrs. Rhyperior felt proud. "Let's eat now before it gets cold." She suggested.

"This is a bit too early. What about dad, shouldn't we wait for him?" Rhyhorn asked worriedly.

"Dad will come home very late. The boss wants him to work overtime today. I will cook something for him at night. Besides, your dad probably wants his son to eat on time." Mrs. Rhyperior reasoned.

"Dad's boss again?! I'm tired of that greedy, corporate monster exploiting his workers like slaves!" Rhyhorn yelled out in rage.

"Watch your language, Rhyhorn!" Mrs. Rhyperior scolded.

"Sorry, mom. I'm just worried about dad." Rhyhorn apologized.

"My poor son… I'm sorry as well." Mrs. Rhyperior consoled her son for a few moments. Afterwards, the two ate their meat economically, not wasting even a tiny bit of it.

Rhyhorn studied late in the night, anticipating his dad's arrival. Just before his bedtime, Mr. Rhyperior entered their inadequate but strangely warm house.

Mr. Rhyperior was drenched in sweat. His face was covered in dirt and dust. He looked very worn-out and exhausted. Even worse, there was a bruise on his head. All because of his _occupation_ …

He worked as a construction worker, doing all sort of dangerous manual labor to earn income for his family of three. Even though he was a man in his forties, his bulky muscles were still noticeable and nothing to scoff at. Yet, the drudgery took a toll on his health. He must hate his job, right? Well…

"Son, honey, I'm back!" Mr. Rhyperior announced, smiling.

"Dad!" Rhyhorn stopped his revision and leaped into Mr. Rhyperior's arms. "Why are you back so late?"

"Easy there, son." Mr. Rhyperior rubbed his son's head, moving his eyes over to his wife. She was holding a plate of spicy, meaty drumsticks.

"Rhyhorn, take it easy on your dad. Let him eat first. We can talk later." Mrs. Rhyperior suggested, placing the plate down on the table.

"Let's eat." Rhyhorn nudged Mr. Rhyperior, leading him to the table.

Despite poverty, the man couldn't ask for anything else other than his family. The family that would always care for him. Mr. Rhyperior widened his smile as he followed his son to the table.

Mr. Rhyperior bit the drumstick and pulled the meat out, munching the tasty dinner. The spicy flavor fueled him with energy once more.

"Ah, delicious as always." Mr. Rhyperior commented. Mrs. Rhyperior seemed happy to hear that.

"Dad, how is work?" Rhyhorn asked with concern. "It is bad, isn't it? You got a bruise on your head."

"Not that bad at all, son. Mr. Jolteon is a nice boss. I got this injury because I wasn't careful. I got hit by a metal pole thingy in construction sites." Mr. Rhyperior wasn't a man of many words. Neither was his wife. That was why Rhyhorn kept his vocabulary rather simple in front of them.

"You mean a girder?" Rhyhorn guessed.

"Probably, son. Anyways, have a drumstick, son." Mr. Rhyperior offered.

"Dad, you should eat. You work really hard." Rhyhorn rejected.

"Son, you should eat. You are still growing and you study really hard." Mr. Rhyperior insisted and Rhyhorn accepted hesitantly. "I'm sure that you will have a successful future ahead. We are saving money to get you into a better school right now. I'm sure you will be in one soon. Mr. Jolteon gives me 300 P per day. What a nice guy."

"Dad, the minimum wage law states that each Pokemon should earn at least 400 P minimum per day if they work over six hours. You work over ten! In addition, Mr. Jolteon violates the law by not providing you with proper safety equipment. You should sue him!" Rhyhorn indicated.

"Son, let's not talk about this… I'm sure he means no harm." Mr. Rhyperior averted his eyes. As an uneducated man, he was rather gullible. If someone told him to do something, he would do it without asking any questions. Mrs. Rhyperior was no different.

Rhyhorn didn't know how to get his message across without hurting their feelings. The young genius didn't want to patronize or act condescending in front of his parents.

"Son, you should sleep now. You need to wake up early for school tomorrow." Mrs. Rhyperior advised.

Rhyhorn sighed. "Fine, mom. Dad, just be careful, alright?"

"Of course, I will be. Don't worry, son." Mr. Rhyperior assured.

The three soon slept. However, Rhyhorn shivered in the middle of the night. He got roused up by a mysterious force. The boy glanced around, having a feeling that someone or something was watching them. However, he found nothing and decided to head back to sleep.

* * *

The very next day…

Rhyhorn just finished school. Classes were easy like always. While the other kids panicked and scratched their heads, Rhyhorn easily dominated all of the questions alongside two other kids: Bronzor and Baltoy.

"Rhyhorn, let's do our homework together. Get it done and over with." Bronzor invited the rocky genius to their table. However, Rhyhorn was so focused on something that he totally ignored them.

"Sheesh, cold. Just because you are the smartest kid in school doesn't mean you can treat us like we are nobodies. I'm only the second smartest kid in the school by a small margin, remember that!" Bronzor shouted before turning to his buddy, Baltoy. "How can he ignore us like that?"

"Who cares anyways? The homework literally is a piece of cake. We don't need him." Baltoy didn't get it.

"This is why you are only the third smartest kid in the school." Baltoy took offense to Bronzor's words. "The homework isn't the point, I'm just trying to use that as an excuse. It's all about the collectivism. Us three are the only guys that visit the library. We should stick together against those muscle-brain bullies like Ninetales. Can you believe that she called me a stupid plate and threatened to throw me down Mt. Magmorlava, a dormant volcano that last erupted 800 years ago? What an insolent imbecile. Wait until I learn Rain Dance…"

"Oh, I get it now. You want Rhyhorn to protect you since he is possibly the strongest kid in the school. Where's your pride, man?" Baltoy accused.

"No, what makes you think that? I'm just trying to… form an alliance. Remember those old history books that we read? The ones about countries forming coalitions and alliances against one and another. This is no different than that. Let's call our alliance the Library Club." Bronzor created a name for their 'alliance'.

"A better name would be the Library Late Fee Club. You always turn in those books late, man. I know that you have a crush on the librarian and all but you don't need to try to impress her that way. It's not romantic." Baltoy shook his head in disapproval.

"Someone like you doesn't understand love, you have no right to criticize me." Bronzor looked a bit flustered.

"I actually have a crush on… someone." Baltoy blushed.

"Who is it?" Bronzor asked curiously.

"Come closer." Baltoy beckoned. Once his friend did, Baltoy started whispering. "There is this Archeops girl. Not only she is thirteen years old like me, she has a long list of accomplishments. She is a valedictorian for her primary school, the leader of many school clubs. Basically, she is the perfect role model student. Her father is a politician and her mother is a university teacher with a doctor's degree. Best of all, she is about to visit our school to donate some basic school supplies. I want to take a picture with her and ask for her autograph." Baltoy fanboyed.

"You poor kid…" Bronzor shook his head.

"Poor kid?" Baltoy said in a confused tone.

"I hate to burst your bubble but I don't think she will ever go out with you. Be realistic here, you are just one nerdy, geeky kid. This Archeops girl will probably go out with the jocks and those cool kids like that Lucario guy that battled our school's battle team last semester. That beast obliterated ten members of our team all at once by himself. The best part is obviously when he punched Ninetales' face. I bet they will be a match made in heaven." Bronzor believed. (Err…)

"Hey, I know I'm her type. She prefers guys that can empathize with her stress. Someone around her level. Someone that isn't a burden to her (Tyrunt) and not too overbearing (Lucario). I fit the description perfectly." Baltoy told.

"How did you know these things?" Bronzor raised his left eye.

"You know me well, man. I got a wide variety of skills. I can hack, I can blackmail and my ultimate technique…" Baltoy paused to build suspense. Bronzor rolled his eyes.

"Begging." Baltoy revealed anti-climatically. "I basically use my hacking skills to find one of her friends and blackmail her into revealing everything. Sadly, that girl is a hard shell to crack and in the end, I resort to begging."

"Awesome, man. I'm sure you will be useful in the alliance. With your hacking, blackmailing, begging skills, Rhyhorn's intelligence and my charisma, the Library Late Fee Club will destroy those jerks like Ninetales. Put your skills into good work for me and blackmail her." Bronzor ordered.

"Sure, man." Baltoy nodded. "Although, I don't think charisma suits you and Rhyhorn overshadows your intelligence."

"Really? I'm pretty sure that charisma is my second-best attribute. The _lovely librarian_ said so. But I digress, Rhyhorn really is one special dude. Who the hell knows the cement manufacturing process from inside out at the age of thirteen? I want to make an excuse but perhaps, I'm well off admitting that he is smarter than me." Bronzor acknowledged.

"Yeah, he is on a completely different level than us. I can understand his drive and motivation though. His family is the poorest around these parts of Lesteel. His father is a construction worker and his mother is a mere housewife." Baltoy expanded the conversation.

"I think we waste enough time chittering-chattering. Let's be responsible and do our homework." Bronzor suggested.

* * *

Rhyhorn had a mission of his own today. He wasn't a passive, bystander guy. He would spring into action if anyone dares to harm his family. Mr. Jolteon better be thinking twice before messing with him.

The observant genius secretly analyzed his father's working environment. Rhyhorn tried to avoid his father's sight, wanting to ease him of his worries. Currently, Mr. Rhyperior was building a patio for someone's house, carrying a bag of cement.

He wasn't equipped with safety equipment like dust mask, goggle, gloves, safety helmet and etc. Furthermore, there was no proper break, no standard sanitation, lack of supervision and more and more. Rhyhorn jotted everything down, compiling a huge list of violations.

Still, Rhyhorn couldn't help but to smile as his father still managed to keep a genuinely happy face. Someone was about to pay, big time.

* * *

Mr. Jolteon drank a cup of cappuccino in his luxurious, king-sized office, decorated with rare paintings (original versions) bought from various famous art museums. There was no shortage of jewelry around his room either. He was born in a wealthy family of landowners, easily one of the richest Pokemon in the world.

Since Mr. Jolteon got overabundance of land, why not build stuff for fun and create a construction company? His construction company was called Eonstructions, one of his many investment projects.

Suddenly, someone contacted him on the phone.

"Ha, laughable. A filthy clodhopper threatening to sue me? Kick him out of the building. I got millions of lawyers anyways. He can try but it won't work with my unlimited wealth. Bribery is rich men's best friend, they say." Mr. Jolteon found it amusing, hanging up.

* * *

"I won't let you get away with this!" Rhyhorn shouted before getting kicked out of the building. He couldn't even get past the first floor. The security was extremely tight.

Rhyhorn muttered a few unpleasant words under his breath as he walked away. Suddenly, his mind was overwhelmed by psychic energy and he fainted. He didn't see the pain coming or even react to it. It was done in an instant.

The young genius woke up to see himself chained in a cement factory. Looking around, he found cement mills and piles of clinker. Unsurprisingly, he found the Eonstructions logo.

"Jolteon, how dare you?! Exploiting my dad isn't enough, huh? Do you need to commit more crimes for me to add to the list? Do you want to set a world record or something? Just *beep* reveal yourself!" Rhyhorn rampaged against the chains to no avail.

Suddenly, an empty purple cape with no wearer teleported itself in front of him. Inside, was a voice transmitter.

"Nice technology. I'm sure you use the money you robbed from my dad all these years to build it." Rhyhorn still assumed that Jolteon was the culprit, while being sarcastic at the same time.

"You are dearly mistaken. I have no connection with him." A voice of a middle age man was heard.

"Liar." Rhyhorn refused to believe.

The mysterious being chuckled. "I will be straight with you. I'm here to offer you an invitation to a game of life and death because I have grown interested in you. You will compete with the other contestants. If you lose, you die. If you win, you live. How does that sound?"

"Jolteon, you psychopath. Wait until my parents call the police and come here to save me!" Rhyhorn shouted stubbornly.

The mysterious being chuckled again. "I will take that as a 'no'. Normally, I kill anyone that refuses the offer. However, you are _special_. I never see someone like you before. Therefore, I will make this one a special exception. To be honest, we are both pretty similar. You love your parents. I love my father. We are also both intelligent. However, you aren't similar enough to me…"

"Moneybags, you only love your father because of his money. I won't believe your words, Jolteon!" Rhyhorn sounded confident.

The mysterious being laughed out loud. "Fine, fine, suppose I'm Jolteon. Can he do this though?" Immediately, the cape dropped down to the ground and the mysterious being communicated with Rhyhorn through telepathy.

"So, you are a psychic, an extremely strong one that is capable of telepathy. What's the point then? You are probably hired by Jolteon. Are you trying to cause confusion and cover up for your master?" Rhyhorn didn't buy it.

"Rhyhorn, I swear in the name of my father's mutilated corpse that I'm in fact something else. An artificially created Pokemon. My father died one thousand years ago. Some said he got obliterated by the royal army, some said the legendary hero finished him, some even dared to disgrace my father, saying that a pathetic shell creature outsmarted him." The voice grew vengeful.

"I got no time to hear your sappy story. Since you considered me an exception, release me." Rhyhorn demanded.

"What an entitled audience you are. Aren't you fearless…? Nobody ridicules and degrades me the way you do and I… like it. I feel rather lonely, sleeping inside a cloning chamber for a millennium. I want entertainment. I want to watch Pokemon kill each other to survive. Hunt each other like feral creatures. I also want to see a _clone_ of myself." The mysterious being stated its intentions.

"Find someone else! I'm done hearing your sick story." Rhyhorn ran out of patience.

"The audacity of you. The _nerve_ … To be degraded by a mere mortal like this… I will let you know that I also have feelings. I can feel anger and sadness like any other Pokemon. It won't be my sick story any further. _It's your sick story now_." The voice turned devilish, sending the chills down Rhyhorn.

Out of nowhere, Mr. and Mrs. Rhyperior appeared. They both had shocked expressions on their faces as they were held in the air by psychokinesis control.

"Son, what's going-Ah!" Mr. Rhyperior screamed in agony as his arms got ripped off cruelly.

"Honey-Ah!" Mrs. Rhyperior screamed as the same thing happened to her.

Rhyhorn was petrified, hyperventilating badly. "Stop! P-please stop!" He closed his eyes, only for the psychic to force them open.

"You will watch and grow to love blood like me!" The mysterious being shouted psychopathically.

Their legs got ripped off by the mysterious being next. They were like cheap figurines being dismembered by a naughty child. Blood splattered on Rhyhorn's face. He was too young to witness such… gore and brutality.

"You will drink alcohol every night and mourn over the loss of your parents like I do for my father!" The mysterious being continued the torture.

The two Rhyperior grimaced and screamed in endless agony as the psychic tore their body parts off one by one in front of their son.

"Finally, you will never see your parents again…" The psychic decapitated them for good, putting them out of their miseries. The cut was extremely precise.

The psychic left. Rhyhorn was freed at the price of his parents.

"M-mom…d-dad…" Rhyhorn stuttered, staggering over to their severed heads before collapsing unconsciously on the bloody mess.

* * *

The following day…

Mr. Jolteon exited his gigantic building, heading to his private limousine. Along the way, he got a call from his Sylveon wife.

"Honey, I know that today is Eevee's birthday. You don't need to remind me. I will buy a seven-layer cake for her because she is seven-years old now. Isn't it gr-Argh!" Mr. Jolteon screamed in pain as Rhyhorn stabbed his side with his horn.

"Die! You want me to love blood so, I will love to bath in your blood. Hahaha…" Rhyhorn entered a state of insanity. Rhyhorn stabbed him again and again until he bled severely.

"Security! Help!" Mr. Jolteon called desperately.

In the end, Mr. Jolteon got hospitalized just in time before his death. As a result, Rhyhorn only got charged with attempt murder. The young genius got imprisoned for four years. Actually, more than that but he got out on parole.

Inside the prison, Rhyhorn learned how to make traps, determined to capture the psychic someday.

As a drawback, he lost his title as the observant genius. Many others soon surpassed him in terms of intelligence.

Rhyhorn researched gameshows after he left the prison, trying to find this game of life and death. However, none of the results matched his specifications. When he glanced over to a page showcasing the casting call for Total Skarmory Island, Rhyhorn decided to compete to fund his research with the prize money.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "I really do wonder if everything could be prevented if I talked a little less. That is why I prefer to be silent. Still, this doesn't mean that I'm a passive bystander. I might be traumatized from the incident and I might be mentally deranged. But no matter what, I will end the game of life and death." He looked very determined and resolved.

 **Nosepass:** He looked terrified. "Death? I understand now why he wants me to distance myself from him and I will… gladly do so." He averted his eyes, ashamed with himself. "I don't want to d-die. The most I can do for him is to take Lucario down with me to improve his odds of winning this game. He deserves the prize money more than anyone."

* * *

Skarmory instructed all the contestants to gather inside Chef Drapion Grill for the continuation of the challenge. As a reminder, five teams of two must race through six different stations before heading toward Skarmory. The last team to arrive in front of him would be automatically eliminated.

This time, the restaurant received a complete overhaul. Bonsai trees gave the place ornamental and traditional feels. Chairs got replaced with wooden stools. Spoons, forks and knives changed into chopsticks. Say good bye to fresh water, say hello to bitter tea (Skarmory's favorite).

Most importantly, multiple tables got replaced with one gigantic table in the middle. On it was an oval shaped sushi conveyor belt. The sushi plates that revolved around included many special delicacies on the menu like Magikarp Sushi, Feebas Sushi, Octillery Sushi, Crawdaunt Arms and Flygon Sashimi.

While there were limited quantities of these delicacies, Chef Drapion got more in store for them. There was another separate, one-way, straight line conveyor belt connecting the kitchen hatch to the oval sushi conveyor belt. Chef Drapion could refill for the challenge if necessary. However, this wasn't the layout of modern conveyor belt sushi restaurants. In the end, Chef Drapion Grill resembled a pathetic try-hard sushi restaurant knock-off.

Chef Drapion's station tested if the teams could stick together. Each member must hold a single chopstick and cooperate with their teammate to collect one of every item on the menu. The belt moved pretty fast so chop-chop, get to work!

Team Psycho Stalkers got off to a pretty good start. They didn't communicate much but they were skilled at handling the chopsticks. They got two out of the five items already.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk persuades the chopsticks to cooperate with us. However, Duosion never thanks him for it."

 **Duosion:** "I don't even want to talk with Farfetch'd anymore. He is crazy. We agree to shut up and just do the challenge to the best of our ability."

* * *

Drifblim nudged Rhyhorn, whose chopstick was inside his mouth.

"Let us try our best today. I know that you are strong and capable. Nosepass wants to see you pass through this round, am I right?" Drifblim said with her persuasive voice.

Rhyhorn returned silence. Drifblim frowned a little.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Basically, I need to do everything by myself. Thanks, Rhyhorn." She said sarcastically. "Ugh, I don't get him."

* * *

Heracross used her chopstick like a spear. She stabbed the sushi before pulling it back. It didn't work as she intended. The sushi nearly collapsed instead. It was opened to nabbing from the other teams.

"My chopstick is broken!" Heracross whined, frustrated that her technique failed.

"Homie, you should-" Darmanitan tried to offer advice.

"Shut up, homie boy! Those two losers stole our sushi. Hey, give it back!" Heracross demanded from Team High Expense.

"Fellow customer, we didn't mean to-" Meowth flinched as Heracross threw her chopstick at him. Luckily, she missed his head narrowly. The chopstick broke as it collided against the bonsai tree.

"It's mine! Give it back!" Heracross asserted her 'ownership'.

"Homie, stop! If you miss it, someone else should get it. That's how sushi belt works. The food goes in circles or ovals and whatever. Zen teaches us that opportunity will come by again if we are patient." Darmanitan held her left shoulder with his right arm only for Heracross to slap it away.

"Homie boy, I don't want to hear your stupid life lessons. I want my sushi. I only get to eat crap on the streets!" Heracross yelled.

"Instead of sushi, you *beep* will get to eat my penalty potatoes! This is what happens when you break my chopstick. It is coming out of my check!" Chef Drapion penalized Team Chillhorns, forcing them to eat a bowl of distasteful potatoes. Heracross looked even more frustrated while Darmanitan hung his head low.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "It's homie boy's fault! He should have helped me. God, he is *beep* useless."

 **Darmanitan:** "Chill, not grill. Chill, not grill…" Darmanitan took deep breaths.

 **Aromatisse:** "She deserves that. Even if I don't like Meowth, he is still my teammate after all. We need to work together so that both of us will be safe."

 **Meowth:** "Heracross, do you want me to call my bodyguard?" He clenched his fists.

* * *

Speaking of the bodyguard, Lucario ran around the conveyor belt furiously. The professional athlete dragged Nosepass around like a ragged doll with his left hand, holding a plate and chopstick with his right.

"Because you are useless, I will do everything by myself." Lucario tightened his grip on Nosepass' right hand and coordinated the movements of the two chopsticks by himself. The coward gave a quiet yelp as Lucario was being rough. Since the beast was also holding a plate and couldn't properly place the item, he hurled it up into the air, releasing Nosepass and finally using his free hand to raise the plate up to obtain the item. He repeated the steps five times and finished first.

The other teams dropped their jaws as Lucario basically crushed the station all by himself. Rhyhorn feigned astonishment only to be secretly happy for Nosepass.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "How am I supposed to throw the challenge when he can just do something like that?!"

 **Lucario:** "Nosepass is basically a handicap. I have no teammate. This is a one-man team and I will just hustle twice as hard to win."

* * *

Chef Drapion gave Team Strong and Weak the stamp and directed them to exit the desert area. The Lucario Express carried Nosepass without his consent, locking his legs to secure him. Along the way, Lucario decided to belittle Nosepass some more.

"How does it feel to be babied throughout the entire challenge? You should thank me for carrying you to the next round, weakling." Lucario said with spite.

Nosepass didn't reply, showing no reaction.

"You only made it this far because Archeops is a pathetic, selfish leader. She wants to keep you until the finale so that she can easily win this game. In my team, there are no alliances and I always get the final call. I want Feebas out, she is out. The same applies for Magikarp, Oddish, Meowstic, Aromatisse and Houndour. Machoke is the only exception." Lucario said rather arrogantly.

"I don't care about what you are trying to say. I prefer Archeops as my leader over you any day." Nosepass responded. Lucario found that laughable.

"How fitting, a weak member in a team with a weak leader. No wonder why the leadership got passed down to that pathetic betrayer Grovyle. Leaders that betray their team disgust me even more than selfish, incompetent leaders." Lucario spat.

Nosepass got nothing to say in defense of his leaders. Not like he cared about them anyways. He feared for his safety the most.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "None of the Crazy Crawdaunt members deserve to be called a leader. Everyone except Meowth in the Feckless Flygon also doesn't deserve me as their leader. How could they leave my side? I did so much for them every single challenge. I care for them like I care for the Aura Beasts. I can't resonate with those fools." His good intentions were blinded by his pride and arrogance.

* * *

Team Psycho Stalkers soon finished in second, alongside Team High Expense. Team Chillhorns were finally done with their penalty.

"I'm full, homie boy." Heracross burped.

"Me too, homie." Darmanitan rubbed his belly.

Drifblim was forced to use the push method. Sometimes, this worked. Sometimes, the sushi toppled over. At the very least, they eventually finished as Drifblim pushed the Crawdaunt Arm onto her plate with a single chopstick.

Drifblim gave the plate to Chef Drapion before handing him the booklet.

"Chef, why is your restaurant so behind the times? Sushi restaurants nowadays use those fancy sushi boats-" Drifblim sassed.

"Stop complaining! It costs money. I will stuff your cheeky smartass on that stupid sushi boat and light it on fire!" Chef Drapion angrily threw the booklet at Drifblim, who caught it and quickly left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Worth it."

 **Chef Drapion:** He fumed. "This is my restaurant. Those goddamn contestants have no rights to criticize my property!"

* * *

Palossand opened his arms, waiting for the embrace from the contestants at the exit of the desert area. Next to him were five empty water buckets with multiple holes on the bottom. Ten per bucket.

In addition, there was a big measuring cylinder with a red line on top.

"Want a hug or an explanation?" Palossand asked.

"Explanation, hurry up!" Lucario scowled, tapping his feet impatiently.

Palossand sniffled. "Meanie, I just want a hug. Fine, just fill up the bucket with the water from the oasis over there." He pointed to a far, far away oasis. "Make sure to block the holes and fill up this measuring cylinder. If the water reaches the red line, you pass. If not, start again." The sandcastle finished his explanation.

The Lucario Express wasted no time, departing with its passenger to the oasis in a span of seconds.

The professional athlete filled up the bucket and used Nosepass' body to block the holes forcefully.

"Hey! I don't agree to this." Nosepass objected.

"You have no right." Lucario ignored him completely and walked with fast, long steps back to Palossand. The water leaked out a bit as Nosepass squirmed in the grasp of the athlete.

"I hate you." Nosepass muttered, before smirking. He used his nose to enlarge a hole and water dribbled down Lucario's left palm.

The professional athlete glared inside the bucket, surprised to see a nose piercing through the bucket.

"What the hell?!" Lucario threw Nosepass away and kicked the bucket back to the oasis.

"Ouch." Nosepass yelped as he collided with the ground.

"Are you trying to sabotage?!" Lucario accused.

"No, you are just making me uncomfortable." Nosepass defended.

"Gah!" Lucario pulled his ears.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Yes, I finally did something to slow Lucario down."

 **Lucario:** "I will keep my eyes on him." He looked serious.

* * *

Team Chillhorns still struggled as Heracross never listened to Darmanitan.

"Why is my technique not working?" Heracross continued to spear-fishing the sushi.

"Homie, if you want to do it by yourself. At least, use Drifblim-" Darmanitan got interrupted, dropping Magikarp Sushi down their plate.

"I will *beep* do it the way I *beep* want!" Heracross swore.

"Enough! Homie, I'm done! Do it yourself." Darmanitan snapped, folding his arms.

"Fine, I don't need you anyways. Aha! I did it!" Heracross shouted jubilantly as her spear-fishing method worked miraculously. However, she got another Magikarp Sushi so it didn't count.

"*beep*!" Heracross stomped on the ground in rage.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "Homie boy sucks. He isn't competitive enough."

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm done with her. Good luck doing all the challenges by yourself when you aren't Lucario."

* * *

Team Psycho Stalkers recently got their bucket and made their way to the oasis, glancing at Nosepass sympathetically as he dealt with Lucario's tantrums.

The journey was extremely quiet as the two barely spoke a word to each other until they reached the oasis.

"Mr. Stalk got an idea he wants to share with you." Farfetch'd told.

"Stop toying around, Farfetch'd. Mr. Stalk got no intelligence." Duosion seemed annoyed.

"Mr. Stalk said that you are the one with no intelligence." Farfetch'd retorted. Duosion now looked infuriated.

"Please just help me with the challenge. Should I go under the bucket to block the holes like Nosepass?" Duosion tried to discuss with him pleasantly.

"That is the dumb method. Mr. Stalk said that you should use Psychic to block the holes with sand. It's not against the rules." Farfetch'd and Mr. Stalk came up with a better idea.

Duosion looked dumbfounded.

Farfetch'd poked her with Mr. Stalk. "Are you alright?"

"Please don't do that again." Duosion sighed in defeat and used Mr. Stalk's method. This gave them the lead.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Great, now I look dumber than a non-living object." She rolled her eyes.

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk wants Duosion gone now. She is just so insensitive toward his feelings."

* * *

Team High Expense grabbed their bucket and headed out to the oasis when Team Strong and Weak made their second returning trip. This time, Lucario kept his eyes on Nosepass and made sure he didn't sabotage.

Team Strong and Weak got their second stamp and blazed to the mountain area for their next station.

Team Reticence was currently making their way to Palossand.

* * *

 **Current Standings**

Team Psycho Stalkers: 2 stamps

Team Strong and Weak: 2 stamps

Team High Expense: 1 stamp

Team Reticence: 1 stamp

Team Chillhorns: Dead Last

* * *

Darmanitan meditated next to the bonsai tree as Heracross struggled all by herself.

"Stupid seafood…" Heracross grumbled to herself. As each second passed by, she grew more desperate. The million would change her life. She needed to do everything for it. Therefore, she decided to gulp down her pride and apologize to Darmanitan.

"Homie boy, I'm sorry. Can you help me?" Heracross didn't sound sincere.

"Zen…" Darmanitan continued his chant. Heracross took a deep breath.

"I'm very sorry, Darmanitan. I should respect your opinion more and listen to you." Heracross sounded a bit sincerer.

Darmanitan opened his eyes. "For eel, homie?" He made a pun.

"Yeah, nice pun by the way." Heracross faked a laugh. She actually thought that it was horrible.

"I got these lines from cartoons and stuff. Glad that you like it." Darmanitan scratched his head sheepishly.

The two soon worked together like a functional team and earned their first stamp.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm glad that the homie got a change of attitude. The principle of zen states that anyone can change."

 **Heracross:** "Homie boy and his stupid cartoons. All I get to watch are streets shows. It's not like I'm jealous of him or anything."

* * *

Team Psycho Stalkers reached the summit of Skarmory Mountain. Looking down, they saw Shiinotic sitting in a dunk tank, fully clothed in her casino uniform.

The Psycho Stalkers descended down the mountain a bit until they reached a red line with a basket of balls.

"Nothing to see here. Just ignore me and find Lurantis. She is in front of the gym area." Shiinotic diverted.

"Mr. Stalk wants that stamp first." Farfetch'd picked the ball up and batted it at the target. Ding!

Shiinotic got soaked, spitting out water. Duosion floated over to her and handed her the booklet.

"Can you please wait?" Shiinotic sounded annoyed as she climbed back up to her seat.

Suddenly, the Lucario Express stormed over and blasted the ball like a meteor at the target, sending Shiinotic down into the water again.

"Bah! God, be patient." Shiinotic coughed out water, climbing back up again.

"That's what you interns get for ganging up against me ten episodes ago." Lucario smirked, satisfied.

"Tch." Shiinotic felt irritated as she stamped Duosion's booklet and then Lucario's with an unhappy expression.

The Psycho Stalkers quickly left before Team Strong and Weak, trying to maintain their negligible lead.

Before Lucario left, he ran up to grab another ball and threw it at the target again, laughing mockingly at Shiinotic as he left.

"*beep* jerk." Shiinotic cursed under her breath.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Sweet, sweet revenge. This is what I do to my competitors all the time."

 **Nosepass:** "I hate Lucario. That jerk always disrespect our team whenever we lost. Does he want to rub it in our faces that much?"

* * *

Team High Expense covered the holes with their bare hands and got just enough water to move on to the other station.

On the other hand, Team Reticence or more accurately, Drifblim struggled to keep water inside the bucket. Apparently, Rhyhorn refused to help her.

"What's wrong with you? Do you want to be eliminated that much? If that is truly the case, I can organize your elimination in the final eight. No need to take me down with you. I really want to win, Rhyhorn. It will make my dream come true." Drifblim eyed him pleadingly.

"Do you think you will get away easily after throwing my little brother into a cave full of beasts?" Rhyhorn questioned with big, penetrating eyes. They didn't even blink for a second. Drifblim looked anxious.

"What are you talking about? The candy wrapper thing? This is a misunderstand-" Drifblim got interrupted.

"Misunderstanding? You think you can trick me? You think that I don't know that you worked with Archeops and Skrelp? You think I don't hear your conversation with Druddigon yesterday? You think that I never see you feeding Nosepass with bullcrap sandwiches? You think I won't be able to connect the dots? You overestimate yourself and underestimate me. You work under the shadows but I work under the deep abyss of hell! We are on a different level." Rhyhorn revealed his knowledge.

Drifblim immediately panicked. "I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry! I just want to eliminate Lucario. I thought that since-"

"Enough with your excuses! Tell you what…" Rhyhorn stepped closer to her intimidatingly. "I have two options for you. One, kiss this island goodbye."

"What is my other choice?" Drifblim trembled as she went through her limited amount of options and scenarios in her head.

"Apologize for your actions publicly and shed tears of penitence and remorse as you do so. Lastly, beg for forgiveness. Only then, I will help us to beat the Chillhorns. Do it now!" Rhyhorn basically forced her.

Drifblim bowed down to the ground. "Dear fellow contestants and especially Nosepass, I apologize sincerely from the bottom of my heart for all the atrocities I committed. I manipulated, lied and backstabbed many of you for my own selfish benefit." Fear was prevalent all over her face.

"Aw, ah!" Drifblim yelled out in pain as Rhyhorn compressed her head with his right, front foot.

"Continue!" Rhyhorn compelled oppressively.

Drifblim shed genuine tears. Not out of penitence but extreme terror. The show meant everything to her. It was a surrealistic dream that turned into reality. How many Pokemon in this world could say that they get to compete in their favorite gameshow? Barely any. To have her life-long dream being stripped away by a madman like Rhyhorn would be outright cruel.

"Everyone, I wish to make amends with you all. From now on, I will have a change of heart. Please just let me stay in this show! It means a lot to me. Wah!" Drifblim cried loudly. Rhyhorn released his foot once he thought it was enough.

Team Reticence finished the second station before Team Chillhorns arrived.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** Her tears dried. "Rhyhorn, do you think that you will get away after humiliating me in this utmost degrading manner?!" Her face reddened with rage and all of her four arms curled into fists.

* * *

Team Strong and Weak recovered their lead with the help of the Lucario Express. They soon found Lurantis in front of the gym area. Around her were papers with giant drawings of a sun, scissors and color pencils.

"You just need to color one drawing and cut it out beautifully so I can take a picture. Nice and easy!" Lurantis explained, readying her camera eagerly.

"Won't you celebrate, weakling? You always complain about the challenges. Isn't this your type of challenge?" Lucario questioned with a mocking smile.

"But I suck at coloring." Nosepass tried to come up with an excuse so that Lucario must work all by himself.

"Pathetic, I guess I need to do everything by myself again." Lucario hurriedly colored the sun with the yellow color.

Team Psycho Stalkers arrived and they helped each other to color despite their differences. Regardless, Lucario was still faster.

Nosepass felt the need to do something. He couldn't let Lucario win. He needed to eliminate both of them for the sake of his big brother.

Nosepass grabbed a scissor and headed over to the drawing.

"Let me help." Nosepass tried to look innocent as Lucario turned to face him.

"Don't mess up or else…" Lucario pressured. Nosepass gulped.

Nosepass cut slowly but carefully at first before 'accidentally' cutting one of the sun's 'spike' out.

"What the *beep*?! I shouldn't have trusted you." Lucario raised his right fist and Nosepass winced. The timid coward dreaded the worst, regretting his action.

"You shouldn't have pressured Nosepass, you jerk! If it's anyone's fault, it's yours!" Duosion suddenly came to his rescue. Nosepass opened his eyes and smiled a little as Lucario lowered his fist.

"Mind your own business." Lucario addressed Duosion as he started all over again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Wow, I got lucky." He sighed in relief.

 **Lucario:** "Nosepass never wins his own battles. What a feckless, spineless, anemic complete of a failure."

 **Duosion:** "I pity poor Nosepass for having to work with a totalitarian troglodyte like Lucario."

* * *

Team High Expense got to Shiinotic's station and the intern immediately appealed for mercy.

"Aromatisse, as a fellow girl, you know how it feels to wear a soaking wet dress right? Please, spare me just this once." Shiinotic pleaded.

"Yeah, I totally get you. Now, I feel guilty." Aromatisse hesitated. Shiinotic thought that she was safe until…

"Aromatisse, you remember that she dumped Decidueye right?" Meowth reminded.

Aromatisse's eyes immediately lit itself on fire. She clutched the ball before spinning to build up energy and power.

"I can explain. Wait!" Shiinotic shook her head and hands rapidly. Sadly, it was too late and the ball struck the target. Loud splashing was heard.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Heh-heh, business skills 101."

 **Aromatisse:** "Decidueye is mine!"

 **Shiinotic:** A towel wrapped around her body. "Achoo!" She sneezed. "What have I done wrong to deserve this?" She wondered.

* * *

At last, Team Chillhorns reached the second station. Heracross held the bucket as the two speeded to the oasis.

"Homie, I can use my big hands to block the holes." Darmanitan volunteered.

"Great, homie boy. You will do it even though you are a fire type?" Heracross pointed out.

"Homie, I can swim and dive. A bit of water won't do me any harm." Darmanitan assured.

"I believe you. I have faith." Heracross decided to trust him. The two now functioned like a real team. However, was it simply too late?

Heracross drank the water from the oasis as Darmanitan scooped the water.

"Homie, are you done yet?" Darmanitan tapped her back.

"Go right ahead, I'm enjoying the water. I will be right behind you in a sec, okay?" Heracross slacked off. Darmanitan nodded a bit, seemingly confused.

"I thought that she is the competitive one…" Darmanitan mumbled as he carried the bucket over to Palossand.

The fire type tilted it carefully, filling the cylinder up. As a casual Pokeathlon competitor, he could deal with water… to some degree. Along the way, water leaked out a fair amount.

Darmanitan anticipated the results nervously as the constant flow of water stopped mere inches away from the red line. The final few droplets of water couldn't save them from imminent failure.

Palossand squinted his eyes at the cylinder. It was so, so close. The intern was ready to deliver the bad news.

"Did we win?" Heracross suddenly appeared, walking over to the cylinder. Her face was entirely wet with water. Before she looked down…

By pure chance, a few water droplets from her chin went inside the measuring cylinder just enough for them to get the stamp. This was technically allowed as the water was from the oasis. What a shocking miracle.

"Heracross, you are a genius!" Darmanitan praised, thinking that it was intentional on her part.

"I don't understand what you are talking about but I will take it." Heracross looked confused.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "I'm just thirsty. Did I win this for us somehow?" She asked obliviously.

 **Darmanitan:** "Wow, I can't believe that Heracross could come up with that plan!"

* * *

Team Psycho Stalkers cut out the sun and brought it over to Lurantis for her to check. She approved of it and took a picture of them holding the sun.

The camera showed Farfetch'd and Duosion holding each side of the sun unwillingly. They didn't smile or get close to each other. It was a rather awkward, forced photoshoot.

"Come on, smile, be happy!" Lurantis encouraged but neither of them was in the mood.

Lurantis frowned and pressed the button, capturing the uneasy moment. They got the stamp and quickly left to the boxing gym to find Ursaring.

Lucario handed the sun over to Lurantis next. He dragged Nosepass over to take the picture. Lucario held the sun with a solemn expression while Nosepass distanced himself from Lucario.

"Come closer, Nosepass." Lurantis directed. Nosepass shifted slightly, refusing to get any closer to the beast.

Lurantis looked frustrated but she decided to take the picture nonetheless. Once the picture was taken, Lucario slammed the sun down Nosepass' head.

"This is what you get for sabotaging! You want me to lose that much?" Lucario stated his reason for the punishment.

"It was an accident." Nosepass lied, annoyed that the sun got stuck on his body.

"Nosepass, are you a sun ballet dancer? Because you sure do look like one." Lurantis interrupted, changing the subject to something irrelevant.

Nosepass looked down at his body, the sun actually fitted his body like a dress.

"Hahaha…" Lucario rolled on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. Nosepass felt embarrassed, trying to remove the sun only to trip over the paper and fell flat on his face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "That's what you get for sabotaging! You think I'm stupid? You need to go out of your way to make that kind of mistake."

 **Nosepass:** "Karma, I guess." He looked down on the ground, face turning pink.

* * *

Team High Expense arrived at Lurantis' station. Due to art being Aromatisse's forte, they completed it rather quickly.

Drifblim threw the ball at the target in Shiinotic's station. The superfan was unusually quiet. Rhyhorn continued to observe silently.

Team Chillhorns eventually caught up and received their stamp shortly after Team Reticence.

* * *

 **Current Standings**

Team Psycho Stalkers: 4 stamps

Team Strong and Weak: 4 stamps

Team High Expense: 4 stamps

Team Reticence: 3 stamps

Team Chillhorns: 3 stamps

* * *

The Psycho Stalkers reached Ursaring's Station first. Inside the boxing gym, it wasn't what everyone expected. No sandbags, no boxing ring. The floor was made out of maple wood planks. The walls were pretty plain with the white color.

What made it special? It was a room filled with wooden Lucario dummies with wheels on his feet. The dummies had these words written on their chests: "I'm ugly."

Seemingly, Ursaring pummeled the hell out of a dummy before he smashed its head into pieces with Hammer Arm.

"Welcome, contestants. This is my station called Ursaring Boxing Barrage. You just need to take turns punching an ugly Lucario dummy until it breaks. However, there are a few rules to keep in mind. First, you two will be at opposite ends of the room. This is what the wheels are for. Second, you will be penalized if you fail to send it across. Third, you will be penalized if you don't take turns to punch. For example, Farfetch'd can't punch it twice. Duosion will need to punch it back to Farfetch'd for him to punch again. Fourth, you will be penalized if you use moves on the dummy. Feel free to bombard me with questions." Ursaring explained.

"I can't properly hit it. Is there any alternative option for me?" Duosion asked.

"Use Psychic on these boxing gloves and beat the hell out of him!" Ursaring showed her a box filled with boxing gloves.

Farfetch'd raised Mr. Stalk up for a question. "Can Mr. Stalk hit Lucario?"

"Of course, I want to see all of you beat the hell out of Lucario!" Ursaring allowed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "This will be fun…" She slammed the two boxing gloves together with Psychic.

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk will avenge our fallen soufflés." He sliced thin air.

* * *

Lucario heard the explanation and wasn't pleased in the slightest. He thought that Ursaring was incredibly pathetic. A dishonorable coward that fled to fight dummies instead of the real, legendary Lucario. Even when he explained the rules, he tried to avert from Lucario's deadly glare.

The explanation was done and Lucario had a cocky grin on his face. The objective was breaking the dummy, right? There was no need for Nosepass in this case.

"Just go and stand still at the opposite end. I have no need for your incompetence." Lucario ordered.

"You say so, yourself." Nosepass obeyed. He concealed a knowing smirk. Lucario forgot one of the rules.

The professional athlete punched the head off the dummy in one try, smiling victoriously until…

"Sit out for ten minutes! You got penalized for never giving Nosepass an opportunity to hit the dummy." Ursaring adjudicated and Lucario gaped. Team Psycho Stalkers were overjoyed to hear this.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "How could I be so careless?! Did I get distracted by Ursaring's cowering demeanor? Rah!" He roared in rage.

 **Nosepass:** "That's why he is the weak member of this team." He crossed his arms smugly.

 **Duosion:** "Even though I got outsmarted by that stupid leek stalk, at least I won't be alone anymore. Welcome to the zero-intelligence club, Lucario."

* * *

Lucario sat in a corner all by himself while Nosepass sat in a different corner. Ursaring placed a clock down to time their penalty as they waited and waited.

Each passing second was a sorrow to the professional athlete, who watched the Psycho Stalkers battered the dummy back and forth.

Each passing second was a joy to the cowardly saboteur, who anticipated Rhyhorn's arrival excitedly.

Team High Expense arrived and Meowth glanced at Lucario sympathetically.

Soon, Farfetch'd struck the dummy into pieces.

Lucario lost his hope for first place.

Later, Team High Expense broke their dummy.

Lucario felt worried as he stared at the clock. Still one more minute left to go. What a nightmare. Lucario rarely ever got penalized. He read the rules carefully most of the time. Sure, he got penalized from beating Grovyle up but at least that was worth it. This… was a disgrace to his name.

"Penalty's over." Ursaring finally ended this torture. Lucario was ready to destroy the competition.

"Punch as hard as you can!" Lucario shouted at Nosepass in an extremely serious tone. Nosepass nodded apprehensively. In reality, he prepared to sabotage.

Lucario limited his own strength so that the dummy wouldn't break down in one hit. Nosepass only need to send the dummy back to him and everything would be over.

Unfortunately, there was no need for sabotage. Nosepass didn't have enough strength to hit back anyways.

"Take this." Nosepass tackled the dummy feebly, watching it traveling barely any distance.

"*beep*" Lucario threw a fit of anger as they got another penalty.

The two sat on opposite corners once again. Lucario stared daggers into Nosepass' fearful eyes.

Team Reticence soon arrived. The big brother was glad to see the little brother, vice versa. However, they both wanted each other to stay in this game.

"Rhyhorn, please break the dummy, I'm sure Team Strong and Weak can beat the Chillhorns." Drifblim begged before hitting the dummy to him. Rhyhorn didn't seem convinced.

As expected, Rhyhorn just pushed the dummy lazily away from him. This earned Team Reticence their ten minutes penalty. Drifblim's face drowned in despair.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "Great, now I get what's going on. Nosepass wants Rhyhorn to stay and Rhyhorn wants Nosepass to stay. Either I or Drifblim will be *beep*!"

* * *

Ursaring instructed Team High Expense and Team Psycho Stalkers to head to the berry garden for Wimpod's station.

The wimpy coward waited for them there. Next to him was a berry juice stand. Once Team Psycho Stalkers arrived, Wimpod gave them the instructions.

Basically, each of them must find at least one bottle of pills buried in the garden. They could find more if they wanted. Next, they must add the pills to the berry juice and give it to their partner for them to drink.

The pills could either increase or decrease one of their stats extremely drastically. Wimpod advised them to find speed increasing pills as they must race to check in with Skarmory at the beach area.

There were also a few forbidden actions, they couldn't drink the berry juice they made themselves or exchange the pills beforehand. Any violation resulted in a ten-minute penalty.

It was a game of strategy and luck. Would you waste more time to find the rare speed increasing pills or risk it with useless pills?

"Mr. Stalk, do you find anything?" Farfetch'd asked his partner as Duosion rolled her eyes. She quickly removed some dirt with Psychic, finding Sp. Atk increasing pills.

"Just pick the first one you see, Farfetch'd. We are in the lead." Duosion suggested, tired of his Mr. Stalk antics.

Farfetch'd tried to detect the rare pills but soon gave up after only finding speed decreasing pills. The duck decided to pick up a bottle of defense increasing pills.

The Psycho Stalkers finished making their drinks and gave it to each other. After drinking them, Wimpod stamped their booklet and they hurried over to Skarmory.

Team High Expense crossed paths with Team Psycho Stalkers on their way in the garden. They learned the rules of the station and scavenged for the speed increasing pills.

"Let's admit it, we can't beat our competitors without high quality products." Meowth said realistically.

"Yeah, we need those speed pills to beat them in a footrace." Aromatisse agreed.

Meowth had the serendipity to find the speed increasing pills first try.

"I struck gold! I struck gold!" Meowth couldn't control his excitement, jumping up and down.

"Now, I just need to find one." Aromatisse continued her search. After twenty or so attempts, she found a bottle with six blue pills. This meant that it either contained speed increasing or speed decreasing pills.

Aromatisse read the label and sighed. The bottle contained speed decreasing pills again…

As she was about to give up, she tried one more time…

The fairy type widened her eyes.

"Meowth, I found them!" Aromatisse shouted in joy. The two celebrated as they quickly added the pills, exchange the juices and finally enjoyed the invigorating berry beverages.

After receiving their last stamp, they boosted with an insane speed to the beach area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I don't mind if Duosion wins but there is nothing wrong with friendly competition. She already got her reward anyways."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk believes that not going for the speed pills could cause us the reward."

* * *

The four in the boxing gym sat in four different corners of the room. Lucario glared furiously at Nosepass. Drifblim grew more and more anxious as her eyes fixed on the clock. The time passed by too slowly.

Nosepass and Rhyhorn faced each other. The brothers communicated through telepathy. (Just kidding, eye contact.) They both conveyed their own messages stubbornly, insisting that the other stay in the game.

"Homie boy, I can't believe that you color the sun light blue!" Suddenly, the four heard a voice. It appeared to be Heracross'.

"Sorry, homie." Darmanitan apologized as the two entered, relieved to see other competitors.

Heracross grinned as they quickly listened to the rules. Darmanitan went over the rules with Heracross again to make sure she understood everything. The beetle nodded and they got the challenge rolling.

"Get wrecked, Lucario!" Heracross punched his ugly face mightily.

"Homie, learn to chill." Darmanitan punched the dummy Lucario back to Heracross.

"My ultimate, super awesome, finishing blow! Hyak!" Heracross announced dramatically as she performed a roundhouse kick and finished the ugly dummy off.

"Awesome, that's what I want to see! Give me your book." Ursaring was having a great time watching the destruction of Lucario dummies.

"Let's go, homie boy!" Heracross dragged Darmanitan out quickly. The homie boy turned to see Lucario one last time with an apologetic smile. Lucario chuckled at such foolishness.

A few moments later, the penalties were over for both teams.

"Don't fail me this time or else you shall incur my wrath." Lucario threatened. The cowardly saboteur gulped, knowing very well that he would fail.

"Rhyhorn, you still got the chance to stay in this game with Nosepass. The last challenge might be something mental, which Heracross struggles at. Please cooperate!" Drifblim clasped her hands together, begging desperately. Rhyhorn's face was indifferent.

Lucario punched the dummy over to Nosepass. The coward tackled full force, knowing that it wasn't enough anyways.

The dummy only traveled halfway.

"*beep*!" Lucario threw an Aura Sphere at the dummy, obliterating it into smithereens.

"Twenty minutes penalty!" Ursaring doubled since Lucario broke two rules. Lucario threw tantrums as he realized his mistake.

Rhyhorn pushed the dummy slightly before crashing into it with Drill Run. He incurred a twenty-minutes penalty for his team as well.

Drifblim was speechless, slumping in her little corner of depression.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** Tears flowed down her eyes rapidly. "It's over. It's *beep* over! I made the biggest mistake of my life. I shouldn't have provoked Rhyhorn. Idiotic me." She slapped herself out of self-hatred.

 **Lucario:** "Those rock-head brothers are no different from each other. Pathetic saboteurs that betrayed their team like that trash leader Grovyle. Although, I must applaud Rhyhorn for trying to save his little brother. Without him, I would be eliminated by now." A hint of empathy hidden deep in his voice.

 **Nosepass:** "Big brother should win, I can't complete Ursaring's station anyways."

 **Rhyhorn:** "Why can't Nosepass just understand that the longer I stay here, the more my mentality deteriorate?"

* * *

Team Psycho Stalkers reached the bonfire. The beach area wasn't far away. They could already taste their victory until they heard thundering footsteps from behind.

"Aromatisse and Meowth are behind us." Duosion turned back swiftly, telling Farfetch'd.

"Let's use the same technique. Mr. Stalk wants a homerun." Farfetch'd grabbed Duosion and batted her immediately without asking her first.

"Ah!" Duosion screamed as her face planted under the sand.

Team High Expense overtook Farfetch'd.

Duosion recovered and pulled her partner with Psychic.

Things were neck and neck. It was too close for a call.

…

…

…

…

"Congratulations, Meowth and Aromatisse, you two won yourself a cardboard crown each! Isn't it rewarding?" Skarmory revealed the prizes. Neither of them looked satisfied.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Wow, the prize is worse than ours."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk has a hunch that our prize is worse. The Hero of Darkness is going to be the worst film of the year."

 **Meowth:** "I wish I can offer loyalty prizes like Skarmory and still have one customer left."

 **Aromatisse:** "Cardboard crown is bottom tier. I'm not happy, Skarmory." She looked displeased.

 **Skarmory:** "Do you all seriously expect me to give expensive prizes like free trips to these kids? Ridiculous. It will distract them from the million." He made a poor excuse.

* * *

Ursaring received a call from Skarmory and exited the boxing gym temporarily. Apparently, Skarmory told him to put the two teams on deathmatch since Team Chillhorns already checked in for third place.

Ursaring clapped to get all of their attention. "Both teams, come and get a stamp. You four will duel it out in Wimpod's station over at the berry garden. Same rule still applies, the first team to reach Skarmory will be safe."

"Yes! Prepare to get decimated, losers!" Lucario celebrated while Drifblim cried a river of agony.

"I'm finished." Drifblim said hopelessly, sniffling. She knew that Rhyhorn would throw the challenge to keep Nosepass safe.

"Cry and cry some more! This is what you *beep* get for pairing me with Nosepass!" Lucario worsened the situation for Drifblim.

Rhyhorn started feeling a bit sorry for her. He was shocked that she cried so much over a gameshow. Those tears were genuine as well. No one broke down this much emotionally when they were about to be eliminated like Drifblim.

"Who cares? I volunteer myself to eliminate you. Drifblim just help me to get that chance!" Nosepass told.

Drifblim was honestly surprised to see Nosepass softening the blow for her like that. She thought that it was foolish of him.

"So, you are the mastermind? A pitiful little coward like you? Someone that is weaker than a Magikarp? Don't make me laugh. Even if you somehow manage to find that reckless impulse to challenge me, I will crush you like I crush everyone else." Lucario scoffed.

"Big brother, you need to take us down. Please, can't I ask this simple favor of you?" Nosepass requested.

"…Nosepass…" Rhyhorn seemed indecisive.

"Gang up on me if you all want, I can still mop the floor with all of you. Especially you, Nosepass." Lucario had a grin of overconfidence.

Nosepass looked terrified.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Rhyhorn:** "If you insist… Nosepass, I will take Lucario down. Mark my words."

* * *

The Lucario Express transported Nosepass over to the berry garden in a flash. Rhyhorn ran as fast as he could. Upon seeing Rhyhorn's change of heart, Drifblim wiped her tears away.

Wimpod explained the challenge to Team Strong and Weak. Lucario nodded while Nosepass took the opportunity to sneak away quietly.

"Easy as hell." Lucario burned through the challenge quickly. He didn't bother finding the speed pills since Nosepass' speed wouldn't matter. He put Sp. Def decreasing pills in the berry juice.

However, he met with one single problem… Nosepass disappeared.

"Where the hell is he?!" Lucario boiled. The beast stomped intimidatingly over to Wimpod. The intern quivered.

"Did you see him? Answer quickly!" Lucario demanded.

"I d-don't k-know." Wimpod stuttered.

"Useless!" Lucario yelled at him, wasting his time to search for Nosepass. The professional athlete really regretted not taking aura reading classes now.

Team Reticence arrived and hope lit itself in Drifblim's eyes again once she witnessed the situation.

"Rhyhorn, hurry!" Drifblim scrambled around to find the pills.

"Aha, there you are!" Lucario found Nosepass hiding under the berry juice stand.

Rhyhorn used his horn to dig underground.

Lucario squeezed Nosepass' hands tightly. "Don't make me beat you up!" Lucario shouted threateningly. Nosepass submitted to his cowardice and reluctantly searched for the pills.

Drifblim found a bottle of attack increasing pills.

Nosepass found a bottle of speed decreasing pills.

Rhyhorn found a bottle of Sp. Atk decreasing pills.

Drifblim gave her berry juice to Rhyhorn, who exchanged his with hers.

Nosepass found another bottle. This time, it contained defense decreasing pills. The cowardly saboteur added both inside the berry juice before handing it to Lucario.

"You don't want to sabotage me one more time, Nosepass…" Lucario warned, his red devilish eyes consumed Nosepass like a blackhole. The cowardly saboteur regretted living that moment. He was an impulsive, reckless idiot to sabotage Lucario. Just because Lucario didn't beat him up badly didn't mean that he wouldn't soon.

The professional athlete drank the entire cup and felt weakened severely. Nosepass had done it now. He crossed the _line_.

"*beep*, *beep*, beep*! I warn you how many *beep* times?! You deserve to be punished harshly for your treacherous disobedience!" Lucario punched Nosepass' nose hard. There was even a cracking sound. His nose bled. Wimpod quickly called Skarmory for the tranquilizers. Drifblim felt exhilarated and petrified at the same time.

"Eek! Blood! Wah!" Nosepass screeched in agony, crying from the pain.

Lucario had done it now.

"Die!" Rhyhorn charged at Lucario with his full speed, hyperventilating. Nosepass' blood gave him flashbacks of the death of his parents. It haunted him; It traumatized him. Worst of all, it drove him insane.

The chains that locked his psychopathy broke under the red light of his bloody iris. His eyes were like blood moons. Black and red aura surrounded him. Suddenly, a mysterious light enveloped his entire body.

Rhyhorn evolved into Rhydon. He still charged with four of his legs, however. Soon, his body transformed into a drill. Rhydon used Drill Run to strike Lucario by surprise.

"Grah." Lucario groaned as he took the blunt force of the attack. The professional athlete quickly recovered and jumped up, believing that Rhydon got no range attacks.

Lucario was wrong. Rhydon used Smack Down, throwing a rock at him. Since Lucario's mobility got severely reduced by the pills, he couldn't dodge. The professional athlete fell down to the ground. How the mighty have fallen…

"Suffer in hell!" Rhydon charged up Hammer Arm and started pulverizing Lucario. The professional athlete tried to block to no avail.

"Ah!" Lucario yelled in pain as Rhydon dealt blow after blow. The strongest contestant turned into a bloody mess thanks to the defense decreasing pills.

Ironically, Rhydon turned into the mysterious being in front of Nosepass' fragile eyes. The little brother was too innocent to witness such sickening gore. He hated Lucario, true. However, he didn't want the professional athlete to die. Nosepass felt like he owed Rhydon for protecting him. However, that was all he felt. The impulsive need to repay Rhydon. Their brotherly love… got reduced into gratitude. The big brother he knew… wasn't there anymore.

"Stop!" Nosepass tried to cease the fight. Rhydon slowed down his hyperventilation and stared at his bloody hands. Lucario's body got censored out.

Skarmory flew in urgently to check the situation. He was horrified at the sight of Lucario's body. If it was someone else, Rhydon would commit an actual murder. He was lucky that it was the beast he crippled.

Skarmory clicked his tongue and shook his head in despise at Rhydon. "Rhydon, you are disqualified for severely injuring a contestant. Lucario has the right to press charges against you. You take tenth place. Lucario, you will be medically evacuated. It is for your own safety. You take ninth place." Skarmory soon broadcasted the announcement all over the island. He even called a boat instead of a Lapras for this emergency occasion.

* * *

 **Final Confessional & Confessional**

 **Lucario:** "To go out because of medical reasons… This is the most humiliating moment in my entire life." He got a full body cast.

 **Rhydon:** "Nosepass, viewers, everyone, forget about me. This is why you should never associate yourself with a psychopath. I should have eliminated myself sooner to prevent something _sick_ like this. Someone like me belongs in a mental asylum."

 **Nosepass:** A piece of tissue got inserted inside his nose. "Compare to Lucario, I will be alright. Big brother, sometimes I really do wonder if I'm stupid for being with you. I got my answer now. No. Even if you are insane, I wish to be by your side. You p-protect me after all." His words felt… forced.

 **Drifblim:** "I wonder if the viewers will be pleased to watch such an unexpected, twisted ending. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish any harm upon Lucario. I actually wish for less blood and gore. These injuries are too real. I feel like the viewers won't understand unless they actually experience it themselves." She sounded a bit guilty. Deep inside, she liked the seldom ending.

* * *

Lucario got lifted up into the boat with the help of Chef Drapion and Abomasnow. He was placed gently on a hospital bed. The injured beast gazed into the sky. The sun slowly set.

"Homie, are you alright?! Please be safe! Don't leave me…" Darmanitan shouted out in anxiety, his eyes were watery.

"Haha, you think I will die? Don't degrade me. I will live, Darmanitan. I guess I will just chill for a while. It will be like a vacation." Lucario assured.

"Sorry, homie." Darmanitan eyed him apologetically. Lucario chuckled. Same, old Darmanitan.

"My bodyguard! I hereby grant you sick leave. You will still receive your pay. Fear not, I contacted many world-class doctors from all over the main lands to tend to your wounds. I can guarantee that you will recover before the next Pokeathlon event." Meowth appeared, easing his worries.

"Thank you, Meowth. I'm sorry for not being able to protect you anymore." Lucario apologized.

"No, Lucario, I'm the one that should apologize. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't push yourself so hard." Meowth averted his eyes, feeling guilty.

"I guess only the two of you will be here to see me off. Everyone else hates me, don't they?" Lucario questioned.

Meowth shook his head. Lucario looked confused. One after another…

"Lucario, take care of your body." Aromatisse advised. "You don't want to actually look like that dummy, do you?"

"Troglodyte, no matter how much I hate you, medical reasons are serious and I sympathize with your situation." Duosion cared for Lucario's health.

"Lucario, you are the man. The strongest. I'm kind of jealous of your strength. I know that you will beat that stupid injury up just fine." Heracross had faith, admiration and confidence in him.

"Mr. Stalk respects your strength. He wants you to get well soon. Me too." Farfetch'd delivered their messages.

"Lucario, you are one of the most dominant, overbearing and complex personality I have ever witnessed in this game. While I'm glad that you are gone, I wish for you to go out in better shape." Drifblim came as well.

"Why are you all here, especially the Crazy Crawdaunt members? I thought you all hate me. I thought a farewell like this is reserved for someone like Houndour." Lucario questioned in astonishment.

"Not at all homie! You are our leader! You mean a lot to us. Without you, the Flygon will never have this day." Darmanitan told.

"Even if I hate your dictatorship, you possess a few good leadership qualities." Duosion admitted.

"Mr. Stalk wants to tell you that you should respect your competitors. They are there to help you become stronger. We should uphold a fair and respectful spirit of competition. You are indeed a worthy opponent that we will miss the opportunity to challenge." Farfetch'd spoke in Mr. Stalk's stead.

"Lucario, you always have the best intention for our team. It's my fault. I misguided you. I'm the one who convinced you to eliminate Houndour. I cause all of this mess. Without me, you would still have all of your teammates." Meowth confessed guiltily. He didn't care that everyone was listening.

"Meowth, nothing would change. I would still go for Houndour any day. Don't blame yourself. It was my fault. I was blinded for so long. I only care for my team but I never see the miserable faces of my teammates. I realize it now." Lucario sobbed, touched that everyone came to see him off like this. Touched that everyone gave him nice farewell messages. Touched that the Crazy Crawdaunt members cared about him even though he was such a huge jerk to them.

"Homie, before you leave… I want to ask you something. It bugs me for a while now. Why did you cast me aside for a single vote? It's very unlike you." Darmanitan asked, getting it off his chest. Meowth was about to put the blame on himself until…

Lucario pushed himself in an upright position. Even in this pitiful state, the beast still had enough in him to move. Lucario placed his right arm on Darmanitan's cheek. The homie boy held the arm to support him.

"Because I don't want you to suffer, Darmanitan. Every day, all I see was others distancing themselves from you, even being rude to you because of me. You are too soft-hearted. It is just not suitable for someone like you to be with a beast like me. I don't want to change you into a beast either. It is for the best if you move on." Lucario answered. Darmanitan wept.

"Darmanitan, don't cry." Lucario used his injured right arm to wipe the fanboy's tears away. "I believe that you can win this game. You are only limiting your own chances by being with me. Win for me and for the glory of the Feckless Flygon. You too, Meowth."

"Homie, I'm sorry that it ends like this. I'm sorry…" Darmanitan tried to hold his tears in.

Skarmory landed on the dock. "Everyone, I believe it is for the best if you all leave now. Give Lucario his well-deserved rest." He suggested.

Everyone soon left, Meowth and Darmanitan turned back one last time to see Lucario staring at the orange glow of the sun, smiling. The two smiled as well as they left.

"Lucario, do you want to press charges against Rhydon?" Skarmory asked the important question. Lucario pondered for quite some time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Drifblim, I will force you out of business for hurting my bodyguard. All of this happened because of you."

 **Darmanitan:** "I need to focus and try to be a bit more serious. I need to win this game for the homie. Not only will it show the world that the homie is a good leader, I want him to see that you don't need to be that competitive to win this game."

 **Drifblim:** "Meowth came clean I see… He isn't trying to save face anymore. When businesses come clean, it means that they are desperate."

* * *

Rhydon boarded the boat. Nosepass came to see him off.

"Big brother I…" Nosepass tried to find the courage inside him to just say 'You won't be alone anymore. I will be there by your side even if you are insane. I will still be your little brother. I will be strong for you.'

However, Nosepass couldn't. Deep inside, he was still scared of Rhydon. He feared for his safety the most. He hated himself.

"Nosepass, I want you to win this game. In my secret base, I left something there. Use it. Forget about me, alright?" Rhydon kept their parting ceremony very short. He didn't want to make it too emotional.

"Alright." Nosepass obeyed with his head down. Rhydon rubbed Nosepass' head a little, it reminded him of what his father used to do. A melancholic, nostalgic tear fell down from his left eye.

Nosepass saw it but didn't make a comment. The boat departed and it was too late to say anything else.

"Stupid impulse, you aren't there to help me…" Nosepass muttered and left the dock.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I head down to check the giant paper he left for me. Sadly, the handwriting was so bad that I couldn't read it."

* * *

Out in the ocean…

"So, you didn't press the charges against me, why?" Rhydon asked, baffled.

"Because you did what you did to protect a little brother. I got one as well. I know how it feels. Other than that, you are brave enough to rise up against me. Not many can do that. This won't affect my career much since Meowth already contacted the doctors. You are lucky, Rhydon." Lucario explained.

Rhydon nodded, turning to face the retreating sun. Lucario did the same.

"Do you think I'm a good leader?" Lucario asked out of the blue.

"You? A good leader but a bad Pokemon." Rhydon gave his opinion.

"I will take that as a compliment. You sure calm down quickly." Lucario remarked.

"Takes a lot of effort to regulate my sanity." Rhydon replied.

"Try not to suddenly murder me. I'm sure Nosepass doesn't want that." Lucario said jokingly.

"Still got time to joke when you are crippled? You really are something, Lucario." Rhydon was amused.

"Everyone lightened my mood before I departed. That's all." Lucario ended the conversation as the sun soon left them.

Many memories flashed through his mind. Bad times and good times.

He remembered the time he started the first party and how much fun everyone had. The countless times he shouted and yelled at his teammates. The times they discussed their team strategy cohesively. The time he refused to take the advantage without his teammates. The team he was willing to sacrifice his exemption in the fear challenge. The time he saved Aromatisse from the torrential stream. The time he eliminated Houndour and turned everyone against him.

Most importantly, the time he got to share with Darmanitan and Meowth. His fanboy and friend respectively. Lucario smiled throughout as the boat disappeared in the distance. The dark blue water resonated with his aura.

* * *

After dinner, Skarmory had a sudden announcement.

"Contestants, tomorrow is the loved ones visit day! Isn't that great? You will get to compete with your loved one. No more automatic elimination as well. Please come to Skarmory Shop and tell me who you want to contact.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Finally, I will get to see my boyfriend Houndour again! One hundred percent chance."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Finally, I will get to see Swanna again! Mr. Stalk, are you happy?" He shook Mr. Stalk a little. "He is happy."

 **Nosepass:** "Does Hickery-o still like me? What if she finds out that I'm a total loser?"

 **Darmanitan:** "My boy Machoke is back in the island, homies."

 **Heracross:** "Miltank, let's crush those losers with our might!"

 **Aromatisse:** "Florges compete with me in beauty contests and pageants for a long time together."

 **Meowth:** "My assistant Nidoking will prove to be a huge asset in securing my victory and steamroll over Drifblim's business."

 **Drifblim:** "I will keep mine a surprise for now. I got something else to do…"

* * *

Nosepass fretted on the bench about the loved ones visit. He didn't know how he should act around her. Should he try to look cool? Should he try to look strong? Should he just be himself?

Drifblim saw that Nosepass was visibly anxious and approached him with a rolled-up newspaper.

"Nervous?" Drifblim sat next to him.

"Yeah, why do you have a newspaper with you?" Nosepass asked back.

"I will tell you soon enough. Tell me why you are nervous first." Drifblim wanted to get a better idea of his trouble.

"Well, I want to impress this Hakamo-o girl that I will call over for tomorrow. I don't want to mess up. I even practice confessing for ages but it didn't help." Nosepass told.

"I can offer you some advice. She is from a pseudo-legendary line. I expect her to like someone who is powerful, strong and confident." Drifblim started planting her seed.

"Yeah, but I'm none of those things." Nosepass sounded disappointed in himself.

"You can start now. It's not too late. You just need to win tomorrow's challenge. However, I doubt that you can do it with Farfetch'd around. Let's admit it. After Lucario, Farfetch'd is the biggest physical threat. Darmanitan and Heracross might be stronger but they got less brains. Besides, they are a team of two. How unfair." Drifblim used her persuasive voice.

"Yeah, I wish that I can knock him down a peg." Nosepass agreed.

"I got an easy solution for you, Nosepass. We are kind of like partners in crime after the whole Lucario thing. Let's help each other to get to the final two, shall we?" Drifblim handed the rolled-up newspaper to him.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Nosepass looked confused, staring at the newspaper.

"I want you to take Mr. Stalk away from Farfetch'd. Unfortunately, he probably will be able to detect you stealing his trusty partner. Therefore, we need to use some psychology. Remember his drama from yesterday? Did you watch it?" Drifblim asked.

"Of course, he had a… newspaper." Nosepass had a moment of sudden realization. He smirked with Drifblim.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Wow, Drifblim is a genius. She wants me to switch the newspaper with Mr. Stalk. Since Farfetch'd has felt it before, it will feel familiar like Mr. Stalk."

 **Drifblim:** "Rhydon, this is revenge for the humiliation you made me suffer through today. I will turn Nosepass into a monster. Just you watch. That gullible coward is extremely easy to manipulate."

* * *

In the dark, lightless night, a shadowy figure sneaked up to Farfetch'd. It was Nosepass, who allowed the darkness to seep through his fragile heart.

Farfetch'd held Mr. Stalk with his left wing, twisting and turning a little.

Nosepass tried to insert the newspaper through his left wing. However, Farfetch'd twisted away. Nosepass quickly retreated.

"Swanna, I miss you…" Farfetch'd sleep-talked. Nosepass' heart skipped a beat but he continued nonetheless.

The shadowy saboteur inserted the newspaper through his left wing and pulled Mr. Stalk out little by little. It budged more and more until Nosepass got hold of it.

The shadowy saboteur quickly fled the Crazy Crawdaunt boys' cabin and traveled quickly to his big brother's secret base.

Nosepass threw Mr. Stalk down the secret base and covered the entrance with a rock before he left. The coward accepted his pitiful hatred. He no longer wanted to be weak, scared and pathetic. This was the proof of his 'bravery'.

The timid coward now turned into the shadowy saboteur.

Before he was about to enter the Crazy Crawdaunt boys' cabin to sleep, he bumped into Duosion along the way.

"Why are you up late at night?" Duosion asked, feeling suspicious.

"Nothing, what about you?" Nosepass parried the question.

"Oh, I just have trouble sleeping. I wonder whether or not Houndour will still be happy with me after he learns about my actions in this game. After contemplating about it, I got my answer." Duosion told.

"What is your answer?" Nosepass asked curiously.

"Of course, he will be happy. I know that he will accept me just the way I'm." Duosion's words guilt-tripped Nosepass. The 'shadowy saboteur' lowered his head.

"Nosepass, are you okay?" Duosion asked in concern.

"I just need some sleep." Nosepass kept his reply short and entered his cabin. Duosion shrugged before leaving to sleep as well.

Nosepass had nasty nightmares that night.

* * *

 **Placements**

1st Team High Expense

2nd Team Psycho Stalkers

3rd Team Chillhorns

Safe: Drifblim, Nosepass

Eliminated: Lucario, Rhydon

* * *

This chapter has ton of foreshadowing. Try to find them all.

Two male and female Crazy Crawdaunt members left. Two male and female Feckless Flygon members left. Coincidence? Maybe.

Anyways, I got something I want to get off my chest for quite a while now. I'm thinking about focusing mainly on writing Total Pokemon Island content for all of you.

The thing is my other series are rather unpopular and I start to doubt my ability to write them. At first, I thought about writing multiple stories all at once but I will just be overworking myself. What I want to know is what do you all want?

Are you desperate or feel impatient for season 2 of TSI? I already created the entire cast and plot points for the main characters. It is looking really good so far.

Or do you want me to focus on other series like Desire or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon? I beg all of you to voice your opinion in the review. I thought about creating a poll but I want to hear all of your actual thoughts on the matter instead.


	25. Chapter 25

I have made my decision. I'll finish the Desire series before working on Season 2. I want to give that series some love. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon will be delayed though. Check my profile to see the change in scheduling.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Parousia45**

Your analysis of Rhyhorn is spot on. I want to defy the stereotypes of the Rhyhorn line. Hence, why I make him smart. What you said about his friends is also correct.

I agree with you. I'll reboot Desire Tunnel immediately after this is done. My third story will be pushed. I plan to overhaul certain things about DT to make it look less contrived. The ending now will be slightly different. Don't have too much hope for our protagonist though.

 **Fallenstreet01**

I'm not a fan of gore. Rather, I'm a fan of tragedy. Gore or not doesn't matter. I'll show the identity of the psychic in Desire Land. Read it to find out.

 **Worma-Sir**

Rhyhorn is a character that I don't expect most to like. Honestly, I don't expect him to get any love at all. The purpose of his character is to be a big mystery. Actually, you got three correct. Lucario got ninth place. Your predictions are decent.

 **Octoriter**

You can root for the interns. There might be more cases where they get chances to earn bonuses by making things more difficult for the contestants. The trick to being a good planner is to keep thinking, keep visioning. I think about my stories every night before I sleep.

 **Dark Arcanine 33**

I'm glad that you like Rhydon. It's such a relief. He's such a risky character to write. I want my show to be fair when it should be fair. No rigging votes for the elimination. Still, I like the unfair element sometimes. The Skarmory Shop for example is extremely unfair. Meowth gets all the discounts.

 **InfernoMaster64**

Do I really need to PM you? I'm pretty sure that Wave can just read chapter 24. I'm pretty sure I can contact Ursaring to give you one of the dummies. Told you I have many curveballs planned. Lucario got his comeuppance in the end. Everyone seems happy. That's good. I like the fact that all of you manage to look past that and show some sympathy. The ride toward the finale can be shaky. Who knows? Drifblim might suddenly be eliminated this episode and the finale might be between Heracross and Darmanitan.

 **SunBurst429**

Thanks for your support. I really appreciate it. Yeah, it's fitting and ironic for the professional athlete to get medically evacuated.

* * *

 **Episode 25: Valentia Visitation**

Skarmory dawdled over his coffee lonelily before lifting his eyes at the camera.

Skarmory sighed. "Well, today is the loved ones visit day, viewers. All eight contestants will get to see their very own 'loved one' after squabbling over trivial matters in the previous two episodes due to our coupling twist. Oh, if you haven't watched, spoiler alert by the way." He threw the redundant warning out of nowhere before sipping his coffee.

"Last time, a few contestants sabotaged their teammates. Mainly, Rhyhorn and Nosepass. Drifblim broke down into tears while Lucario punched Nosepass in the nose. Two polar opposite reactions. In the end, Rhyhorn evolved into Rhydon and severely injured Lucario. No one could see the professional athlete getting medically evacuated coming. More so than that, Rhydon got disqualified from the entire competition. On a brighter note, Team High Expense got their new makeover with cardboard crowns. I bet they're jumping in joy right now. Go, generous me." Skarmory said sarcastically before eyeing the cameraman (Raticate) glumly.

"She probably won't come. Wrap it up." Skarmory ended hopelessly.

Raticate was about to stop the recording until…

Furret suddenly appeared behind Skarmory, emerging out of a mysterious beam of light. She sneaked behind him with a box of chocolate.

"What the *beep*?! I need a raise after this heart attack." Raticate exaggerated, startled. The unprofessional intern nearly knocked the camera down. The host gave him a puzzled look.

"Why do you-ow." Skarmory winced as the box of chocolate smacked his head.

"Surprise!" Furret shouted, jumping in front of him before handing the box over.

Skarmory rubbed his head before widening his eyes, rubbed his eyes and rubbed them again. He had a stupid smile on his face.

"You're here!" Skarmory exclaimed. "Where have you been? I thought that I'll never see you." His eyes showed a mix of relief and joy.

"Silly, did you think that I'll really leave you all alone for the loved ones visit day? I went to Toucannon Island to buy this special treat, just for you. Alakazam helped me with the surprise." Furret explained with an endearing, exquisite expression.

"I don't know what to say… I'm so thankful. I love you." Skarmory pulled her in for a hug.

"I love you too." Furret reciprocated the loving gesture.

Raticate recovered and closed the camera before things got too heartfelt and lovey-dovey.

* * *

Farfetch'd opened his eyes and closed them before opening them again, regaining his consciousness slowly.

Farfetch'd yawned, pushing his blankets away. "Mr. Stalk, excited to meet Swanna?" He soon felt his skin crawling from the newspaper in his left wing. "Mr. Stalk? Where are you and why am I holding a newspaper?"

At first, only slight unease presented in his mind as Farfetch'd believed that he probably accidentally dropped Mr. Stalk down. No big deal, he could pick him right back up.

Farfetch'd got off his bed and looked around on the ground. He found nothing. Now, his heart raced with anxiety a little.

"Mr. Stalk, call out to me so I can find you. You must be nearby somewhere. Did Mr. Newspaper kidnap you?" Farfetch'd glared at the newspaper accusingly before continuing his search.

Farfetch'd raked underneath his bed, sweeping the dust out with the newspaper in hopes of rescuing his precious partner.

"This isn't funny anymore, Mr. Newspaper! Tell me where you keep Mr. Stalk or else I'll force you to eat more dust." Farfetch'd threatened, panic settling in.

Mr. Newspaper kept his lips sealed. Farfetch'd sweated.

The desperate duck rummaged through his bed, throwing pillows away and messing the bed sheets up. He scrambled around the room, searching endlessly and tirelessly.

"I lost Mr. Stalk? B-but how?!" Farfetch'd shook his head in denial and regret. He blamed himself for this foolish, unforgivable mistake. How could someone abduct Mr. Stalk right under his nose? It shouldn't be possible considering their life-long familiarity with each other. Mr. Stalk was a part of Farfetch'd. Stealing him is like taking his wing off.

Farfetch'd crumbled the newspaper, slowly twisting it until it ripped in half.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** He cried in the confessional. "Boohoo, I'm sorry father…" What had his father involved with any of this?

* * *

Farfetch'd looked all over the camp, running from place to place.

In the mess hall…

"Chef Drapion, did you cook Mr. Stalk for food?!" Farfetch'd accused.

"Are you trying to frame me? Get out!" Chef Drapion demanded.

"Not until you release Mr. Stalk!" Farfetch'd refused.

The camera transitioned to the outside of the mess hall. A few seconds later, Farfetch'd got kicked out and the door slammed closed.

Up on top of a tree…

Farfetch'd balanced himself on a shaky branch, looking around for Mr. Stalk.

"Mr. Stalk, where are you? Left, right, down, up, east, west, south, north. Give me a clue." Farfetch'd looked around, shading his eyes from the eye-burning sunlight. Unfortunately, the branch snapped and Farfetch'd fell down.

"Ouch, ow, argh, ugh, ah…" Farfetch'd made a wide variety of noises as he hit branch after branch on his way down. It was one rough landing at the end.

In the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin…

Farfetch'd ransacked for Mr. Stalk relentlessly. He threw all the pillows outside, removing all the bed sheets and basically caused a gigantic, disorganized mess.

It wasn't long before Darmanitan passed by his own cabin and saw the searching storm. He widened his eyes, flustered at the appearance of his bed.

"Homie, what the hell are you doing?" Darmanitan questioned with consternation. "You're frightening me."

"Did Mr. Stalk come here for a sleepover with your guys? Why didn't you guys send him back after the night's over? Did you drug and lock him up in a basement somewhere?!" Farfetch'd shook Darmanitan's shoulders infuriatingly.

"Calm down, homie. I don't even understand what the hell you're talking about. Please, speak slowly so your boy can understand. Like did you lost Mr. Stalk or something?" Darmanitan removed Farfetch'd's wings from his shoulders and asked nicely.

"Yeah… Sorry for causing the mess by the way. I need to find Mr. Stalk. Please tell me anything you know about his whereabouts. I'll do anything if you manage to find him for me. Please, I beg you!" Farfetch'd implored desperately, clasping onto his arms.

"Homie, no need to do this. If I would know, I would've told you. However, I don't know where it's right now. Maybe, check the confessional?" Darmanitan suggested randomly, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Confessional? I'll go and check." Farfetch'd left in a hurry.

Darmanitan looked with concern at Farfetch'd as he nearly tripped himself on the way to the confessional, sighing. The guy picked up his pillow and was about to enter his cabin until he heard a voice.

"My, my, what kind of ravenous thief would raid our humble housing?" Meowth gawked at the mess.

"Farfetch'd lost Mr. Stalk, homie. He got a bit… crazy." Darmanitan explained.

"Oh, I see… I entrust that you clean this mess up. I'll go and organize our breakfast. How does that sound?" Meowth managed their housework roles.

"Sounds good, homie." Darmanitan gave a thumb up before cleaning up the entire cabin all by himself.

Meowth smirked as he left for the confessional.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** He opened the door, scanning the entire stall. "Mr. Stalk isn't here." He sounded disappointed as he closed the door.

 **Meowth:** "I need to find his valuable, priceless leek stalk. This might be my rare opportunity to strike a deal with Farfetch'd since Aromatisse is isn't so keen on working with me at the moment. Who knows? This might clean my image and put me back on the good graces of many contestants."

* * *

After a long, hopeless search…

Farfetch'd stared long and hard at the door leading to the girls' restroom, females' most private and sacred sanctuary. Would he dare to profane it with his male presence?

Farfetch'd took a deep breath. "Anything for Mr. Stalk." He resolved and entered recklessly, opening the door slowly and closing it quietly.

The camera didn't invade inside, filming only the exterior of the restroom. A sound of showering was heard from one of the stalls.

"Mr. Stalk, why are you showering inside the girls' restroom? Quickly get out!" Farfetch'd acted impetuously without thinking clearly.

A bashing sound was heard. Most likely, Farfetch'd… went inside the shower stall.

"What the *beep* hell are you doing here?! Get the *beep* out, Farfetch'd!" Heracross swore, sounding extremely pissed off. Judging by her voice alone, it seemed like she wanted to murder Farfetch'd.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Farfetch'd tried to defend himself.

"*beep* die!" Heracross yelled, cutting him off. Sounds of beatings and agonizing cries were heard immediately after.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "*beep* pervert. Back where I live, he would already be lynched. He got lucky that it's against the rules to severely injure a contestant."

 **Farfetch'd:** He made a series of noises indicating pain. They were mostly incomprehensible whimpers. He got bruises and bandages all over his body. "It still hurts, even though I took bitter medicinal herbs. Huarghh." He clutched his searing injuries.

* * *

Farfetch'd rested on the infirmary bed. The physical pain might make him moaned and groaned. However, it was the mental agony from the loss of Mr. Stalk that made him cry.

"Mr. Stalk, Mr. Stalk…" Farfetch'd repeated in a weak voice.

Eventually, there was a knock on the door. Farfetch'd hid under the blanket, fearing that Heracross would infiltrate his safe and sacred sanctuary in revenge for more payback.

"It's me, Aromatisse. Can I come in? I'm not here to beat you up. I just want to talk about Mr. Stalk. Maybe I can help." Aromatisse stated her good intention.

"Come in." Farfetch'd permitted entry, relieved that it was someone else. Still, he pulled his blanket up a little nervously as the door creaked opened. Upon seeing the worried look on her face, he lowered the blanket down to his neck.

"Your face doesn't look good. It must hurt, doesn't it?" Aromatisse asked in concern. Farfetch'd nodded in reply, seemingly uncomfortable.

Aromatisse noticed his uneasy expression and frowned a little. "Farfetch'd, I'm not mad at what you did. 'll probably be mad if I'm on the receiving end. But that's not the point. I just want to help you find Mr. Stalk in return for saving me at the conveyor belt station."

"Err…" Farfetch'd was still processing everything. He was honestly surprised that Aromatisse would help him, let alone forgiving him.

While Aromatisse awaited his reply, an unexpected guest arrived.

"Aromatisse, why are you helping this perverse idiot? He deserves what's coming for him." Duosion glared at Farfetch'd coldly. Farfetch'd returned the glare.

"Come on, go easy on him. He just wants to find Mr. Stalk. He already got punished by Heracross. Not need to rub salt on his face." Aromatisse appeased.

"Go easy? Why should I? To me, it all seems suspicious. If he truly and only wants to search for his 'long-lost' partner, then he should ask any of the girls for help if he truly believes that a brainless leek stalk has somehow magically hid itself in the girls' restroom. Either he has an ulterior motive or he's a completely crazy and delusional idiot." Duosion degraded harshly.

"Don't call Mr. Stalk brainless!" Farfetch'd seemed very offended. "You can insult me however you want but not him. He's smarter than you after all."

"Fine, I guess you need a non-living object to look smarter than me after all, huh? Mr. Stalk is a genius and you're a brainless idiot that lacks any circumspection or common sense. Happy now?" Duosion sneered, sounding a bit personal.

"Stop, both of you!" Aromatisse intervened. "Duosion, why are you even here? To make things worse? Playing with him mentally? This is unlike you, girl. You aren't Skrelp. Houndour is about to return today. I thought that you'll be in a jolly and forgiving mood." She said in a disappointed tone, shaking her head in disapproval.

Aromatisse's words struck Duosion's where it really hurts. She turned silent, averting her eyes and quickly left.

"Don't mind her." Aromatisse turned to Farfetch'd. "Although, she has a point. You're smart, Farfetch'd. It's unlike you to make that kind of mistake. Why don't you ask me for help if you want to search inside the girls' restroom?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm just used to doing things alone, excluding Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd answered, refusing to look at her eye to eye.

"Farfetch'd, it's not a crime to ask for help. I'm willing to help you!" Aromatisse didn't understand his reasoning.

Farfetch'd looked uncomfortable with this conversation. He felt like he was being incriminated. The flying type stretched his wings out and slid his legs down the infirmary bed only for Aromatisse to hold him back.

"Where are you going?" Aromatisse asked worriedly, seeing the rush in his eyes.

"Finding Mr. Stalk." Farfetch'd replied simply, jerking himself away from her only to collapse on the ground.

"Argh." Farfetch'd groaned in pain.

"Farfetch'd, are you alright?!" Aromatisse pulled him back up, returning his body to the infirmary bed.

"I need to rescue Mr. Stalk…" Farfetch'd persisted stubbornly to get off his bed, only for Aromatisse to stop him.

"For beauty's sake, listen! You aren't in the condition to find Mr. Stalk. If you continue to push yourself at this rate, you won't be able to compete in the challenge. You might even miss the chance to see your loved one." Aromatisse alerted, trying to knock some sense into him.

Farfetch'd lay down onto the bed limply, staring sorrowfully at the ceiling.

"Farfetch'd, I'll go and try to find him. Just take a beauty sleep and I'll come back to bring you the good news." Aromatisse smiled consolingly before she left.

Truth be told, Farfetch'd had a reason as to why he was always hesitant to make friends or ask for help that he preferred to not disclose.

It wasn't pride, arrogance or pure stubbornness. Rather, it was because of Mr. Stalk…

To Farfetch'd, asking for help was no different than diminishing the importance and value of Mr. Stalk. His trusty partner would always come through for him. Only if he got Mr. Stalk by his side, he wouldn't make such asinine mistakes like entering the girls' bathroom. He grew reliant on the leek stalk to function physically, mentally and emotionally.

Therefore, how could he make Mr. Stalk jealous by requesting unnecessary external help? Mr. Stalk was all he needed. Mr. Stalk was his perfect friend. No one would understand. The others would only see him as a delusional anti-social freak with an imaginary friend. As a result, he couldn't say everything outright, could he?

However, this time was a special exception. Farfetch'd didn't have Mr. Stalk by his side. Anxiety overwhelmed his mind, forcing his body to retreat deeper into the blanket. Now, all he could only do was praying and hoping that Mr. Stalk would return to him safely. 'How' didn't matter to him. The 'when' was all he could think of.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I don't get Farfetch'd sometimes. I know very well that his strategy is to work alone since we talked to each other during the returning trip. Still, he should learn to socialize with the others a bit more."

 **Farfetch'd:** "What will Swanna think of me when she sees me in this pathetic shape? Even worse, what will she say when she finds out that I lost Mr. Stalk? _All of this is Mr. Newspaper's fault_!" He blamed furiously, the tone of his voice shifted significantly at the end.

* * *

In the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin…

"Oh, I get everything now, girl. If you plan on turning Farfetch'd into a perverted idiot, it sure works." Heracross nodded.

"Not the perverted part but I have intended to weaken him." Drifblim clarified, hiding her amusement behind her cool and composed face.

"What's next? Eliminate him? I'll gladly rally up our numbers because I'm still *beep* pissed!" Heracross asked eagerly, volunteering for the job with a reddened face.

"No, he's weak. No point getting rid of him now. Meowth is the real threat that we need to deal with immediately." Drifblim told. Although, she didn't sound urgent at all. It was as if she didn't actually consider him as a threat.

"Everything is good and all girl but what are we going to do if Nosepass betrays us? He's just like that new kid on the block a couple streets away, you know? New to this stealing business. No telling if he'll snitch. Just putting in my two cents, girl. No offense to your plan." Heracross cautioned wisely.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm keeping my eyes on him. I never let my guard down." Drifblim assured. "Heracross, I expect you to worry about yourself more than me. Many of the others don't like you and I can't carry you all the way to the finale either. Keep that in mind." She returned a warning of her own.

"I'm sure you won't keep me in the finale, girl." Heracross laughed with a snort. "I mean I got my awesome might. No one want to face me at the end. I suppose you want to keep Nosepass and take the million like taking a candy from a baby."

Drifblim chuckled at her attempt to look smart. "You're wrong about that, Heracross. The thing with Nosepass is that everyone wants to keep him until the finale. They all see him as a goat (a contestant that you want to bring to the end), this makes him dangerous in his own way. If I lose immunity in the final three and Nosepass is next to me at the elimination ceremony, I can kiss my butt goodbye."

"No matter who you're bringing to the end, I wish you luck. I appreciate the fact that you're real with me, girl. Your knowledge is also rubbing off on me. I'm absorbing it like a sponge. If I'm gone, you're my pick for the million. Remember to give your poor friend one percent of it, eh? An early birthday present to Heracross." Heracross nudged half-jokingly, half-seriously.

" _Sure_." Drifblim rolled her eyes before contorting her face in a comedic manner, saying it with the fakest voice ever. Both of them broke out in laughter.

Suddenly, an unwelcomed guest interrupted, pushing the door open forcefully.

"Celebrating your successful careers as thieves, I surmise. Just like evil businesses will be punished by law, it'll soon be your turn to pay the fine." Meowth proclaimed, upholding the justified look in his eyes despite the slight hypocrisy.

"Get out, Meowth! You're no longer our boss. After Lucario's gone, you're nothing." Heracross tried to shoo him away.

"Get lost, Meowth. I find it hypocritical of you to suddenly play as police." Drifblim stared sternly.

"You two will regret embezzling the advantage from Meowth & Co. as well as committing other crimes." Meowth gave them an intimidating look of confidence before he left.

"Empty threats they're." Heracross scoffed.

"Still, we can't lower our guard. Meowth is a dangerous opponent, only a few levels below me. While I'm confident that we can beat him, I don't want to underestimate him like I did to Rhydon." Drifblim said warily. The humiliation from yesterday resurfaced on her face vividly. However, she quickly shook it off.

"Are you okay, girl?" Heracross eyed her face worriedly.

"I'm okay. Go and make sure everything goes according to plan." Drifblim ordered, looking increasingly worried.

"Alright." Heracross obeyed, stretching her muscles as she exited the cabin. "Take care, girl." She said before she really left. Drifblim lightened up with a smile.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Heracross really brought up a good point about the finale. Who should I bring to the end? Honestly, I'm still contemplating it to this very day. I want to compete against someone that can put up a fight and be fairly challenging to beat. I want it to be exciting, nail-biting and down to the last play kind of thing. Obviously, I still want to win. That's why I eliminated threats like Lucario. Threats that I barely have any chance to defeat." She suddenly shook her head.

"I think I'm getting ahead of myself here. This is only the final eight. It'll be quite a long while before the finale. I should keep my head in the present. Otherwise, I might make another _mistake_. Yesterday could have turned out differently. I should feel fortunate to still even last in this game."

 **Heracross:** "I gotta show Drifblim that I can pull my own weight. She doesn't need to carry me to the finale. I can make my way there myself."

 **Meowth:** "In case I incur any losses trying to recruit Farfetch'd, I have a back-up plan to keep Meowth  & Co. afloat." He smirked.

* * *

Nosepass hummed to himself as he took a stroll around the forest area. He tried to free himself from his guilt and nervousness as he breathed in the fresh scenery.

However, his turbulent thoughts didn't cease to rampage inside his puny mind, forcing him to constantly reassure himself over and over again. He entered a paranoia state and soon broke down.

"Since when I turned into this kind of horrible Pokemon? The nightmares started haunting me again… Will everyone hate me? Will Rhydon be disappointed in me? Will Hickery-o stop liking me? What should I do now?!" Nosepass cried.

He went over the few options he had. First, confess everything so that everyone can hate him and vote him off. Second, keep it a secret and live pitifully for the rest of his life. Actually, the second option wouldn't work as everything will be aired sooner or later. Still, Nosepass didn't have any courage to confess his wrongdoings. Perhaps, he rather waited for everyone else to find it out by themselves like the coward he was.

"Nosepass, why are you crying?" Aromatisse asked, crouching down to check on him.

"I miss Rhydon." Nosepass covered it up.

"Oh, everything will be okay. You'll see your big brother again. I mean you invited him over, didn't you?" Aromatisse asked, thinking that the answer was pretty obvious.

Nosepass immediately turned away, avoiding eye contact and the fairy type altogether.

Aromatisse got the message and stopped bothering him with the question, standing up properly.

"I'm sure you got your reasons, Nosepass. I won't pry too much into it. Anyways, if you find Mr. Stalk, please return it to Farfetch'd. He's really, really… _desperate_. Desperate enough to enter the girls' restroom and get himself hurt. It'll mean the world to him if he reunites with Mr. Stalk once again." Aromatisse emphasized.

Nosepass looked down on the ground guiltily, covering his face in shame. Luckily for him, Aromatisse didn't have any suspicions. She soon left, continuing her search.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Why must she butt in someone else' business? I'm already suffering enough. Does she want to guilt trip me, making me feel even more worthless?"

 **Aromatisse:** "Did I say something I shouldn't? Maybe, the Rhydon thing? He might still be traumatized from yesterday. I shouldn't have brought it back up."

 **Meowth:** "As the CEO of Meowth  & Co., I must apologize for our guests' dissatisfaction regarding lost personal belongings. Two of our employees misappropriate them without us knowing. We'll deal with the issue with utmost haste. We implore our dear guests to give us more time as there are certain… technical difficulties." He acted as if he was a hotel manager.

* * *

"Contestants, please make your way to the dock. You're about to see your loved one. Isn't it exciting?!" Skarmory made an announcement.

Nosepass was a bundle of nerves, trembling.

Duosion looked overwhelmed with excitement and joy. She couldn't keep still, floating back and forth. Yet, a feeling of perturbing uncertainty lingered inside her mind.

Aromatisse looked mildly excited but nothing out of extraordinarily.

Meowth rubbed his hands together dexterously with a slick smile.

Drifblim glanced at the other contestants' reactions before facing the approaching boat.

Farfetch'd didn't arrive yet.

Darmanitan looked the calmest and chilliest. Of course, he missed Machoke. However, there was no need for him to fret fidgetily or run around wildly like a fool when the special visitors were literally in their sight.

Miltank jumped off the boat and landed on the dock first with a grin on her face. Heracross ran over to her, giving her friend a hi-five before pulling each other for a hug.

"Miss you, girl. Time to destroy these losers!" Miltank shouted inconsiderately.

"Yeah, let's destroy them with our might!" Heracross agreed.

Many Pokemon gave them dirty looks, especially Swanna. She soon ignored them, darting her eyes around for Farfetch'd.

Houndour ran energetically toward Duosion, maneuvering his way through the crowd of Pokemon on the dock. Nearing her, he leaped up for a hug. The two dropped down to the sand.

"Duosion, it feels like a century waiting to see you again!" Houndour nuzzled.

"Easy there." Duosion pushed him back a bit. "It should be me saying that."

As the two cuddled for a while, the camera cut to the boat.

The Nidoking was dressed neatly in a black suit with a yellow checkered necktie, carrying a black suitcase. He offered a hand to Florges, helping her landing safely on the dock.

"Thanks, hunky." Florges blew him a kiss. Nidoking blushed.

Meowth frowned at the scene, staring at his assistant critically. Nidoking noticed and immediately hastened over to his boss.

"Sorry, boss. Err, I got a bit… distracted." Nidoking bowed down in apology.

Meowth was about to scold Nidoking until he saw the fairy types direct disgusted looks toward him.

Meowth faked a forgiving smile. "No, you did the right thing, assistant. Helping our lovely lady guest. Anyways, did you bring what I asked for?"

"Of course, boss. I don't disappoint." Nidoking lifted the suitcase up. Meowth had a mysterious grin, glancing at Aromatisse for some unknown reason.

"Wow, so many contestants from different walks of life. Can't believe that I get to see them in person." Ariados (Drifblim's loved one.) eyed everything enthusiastically. He approached Heracross with a flare of interest in his eyes.

"You fit into the physically strong but dumb contestant category really well. I bet you got casted as fodder to create hilarious failing moments for the viewers to enjoy." Ariados analyzed from her mannerism.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?!" Heracross shook the dock with her mighty stomp, raising her right fist.

"Hey, calm down! My opinion is purely subjective. No need to be angry. The dock is pretty delicate, alright? I bet the host won't like it if you destroy his property." Ariados placated.

"Ariados, what are you doing?!" Drifblim rushed over in a hurry with a worried expression. The two diverted to her.

"This loser is your _loved one_? Seriously? Girl, did all of your friends decline and he's your last pick?" Heracross questioned mockingly.

"Hey-" Before Ariados got a chance to say anything else, Drifblim covered his mouth.

"Ha-Ha, yeah." Drifblim forced a laugh before dragging Ariados away. He made muffled sounds, resisting feebly.

Nosepass took a deep breath, gathering his confidence. His face melted in sweat as Hickery-o smiled at him.

"Hello, Hickery-o." Nosepass tried to sound natural, waving gawkily.

"The same to you, Nosepass. Why the sweating face? Am I so hot that you're about to Nosepass-out?" Hickery-o joked.

"Yeah." Nosepass went with it.

"Look at that, girl. The coward got a girlfriend. I bet he has paid her to act as one. Hahaha…" Miltank mocked and Heracross joined.

"No, he isn't a coward! He once saved me from two bullies like both of you. He deserves your respect!" Hickery-o shouted assertively for Nosepass, who seemed touched. However, it only spiraled down into guilt at the end.

"Whatever, girl. We'll see who's the coward in the challenge." Miltank got up on her face before leaving with Heracross.

"That's not chill of them. Are you alright?" Darmanitan came to check.

"I'm perfectly fine. What about you, Nosepass?" Hickery-o turned the attention to him.

"Fine." Nosepass lifted his face up and replied simply before looking down once again. Hickery-o looked a bit concerned. However, she shrugged it off for now.

"Nice to meet you. Are you Nosepass' friend?" Hickery-o started a conversation with Darmanitan.

"Err… no. Here is the thing. I got a very, very scary friend. Well, he used to be my friend and role model. No one wants to be friends with me because of him. He's gone now though." Darmanitan explained. "Still, nice to meet you."

"Oh, I see. Sorry to bring it up." Hickery-o looked apologetic.

"No need to be sorry, homie." Darmanitan assured.

"Darmanitan, I'm back with more techniques to show than ever!" Machoke landed last, running straight to Darmanitan.

"Homie, great to see you again. Like whoa, you gain more muscles." Darmanitan commented, touching them out.

"Yeah, a really nice Passimian made me some muscle food. I think that's what they're called." Machoke told, unsure. "Hopefully, I can be useful now."

"Contestants, the challenge won't start for a while. Enjoy your time with your loved one for now." Skarmory publicized after everyone but Swanna got to see their loved one.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Just perfect! Time for us to catch up on the details. I want to know what is going on in Loser Island lately. I'm sure that Houndour will be interested to know what's going on around here as well. Right, Meowth?" Duosion asked rhetorically.

 **Swanna:** "Where are they? Something bad must have happened to them." She seemed anxious.

 **Florges:** "Honestly, I don't care about Total Drama-rama whatever. I only grace this dirty island with my beautiful presence to see some top tier guys. Why else would I risk my fabulous face? Did you see Aromatisse's face? Like, ew. If I'm her, I would put a paper bag over my face."

 **Duo Confessional of Drifblim and Ariados** (for this special occasion only)

 **Ariados:** "Why did you lie? I'm the first one you called." He looked upset.

 **Drifblim:** "If you want me to say the truth then, stop embarrassing me." She looked upset as well.

 **Ariados:** "Come on, relax. I know you'll win after looking at all of your competitors. You come here to have fun, not to work, my fiancée. Remember?"

 **Drifblim:** "Why did you tell them that I'm your fiancée?! I lied that I'm single." She looked even more upset.

 **Ariados:** "What? Why?!" He had a shocked expression.

 **Drifblim:** "Because I don't want to hurt my chances of being accepted into this show. They usually cast single girls and boys."

 **Ariados:** "Seriously? You lied about your own fiancé just to improve your chances? I know how important this is to you but come on, this isn't all you have in life. You shouldn't feel the need to roleplay someone you obviously aren't."

 **Drifblim:** "Haha, sure." She laughed sarcastically. "Let the viewers see a weird, boring crazed superfan that gets eliminated extremely early on. I'm pretty sure they will love that." She rolled her eyes.

 **Ariados:** "I'm engaged with Drifblim early at the age of 18. How? During that time, a show called The Mole got canceled. I consoled her and proposed to her shortly after and it worked! Our relationship has been smooth for well over a year now. We plan to marry next year when we both reach our twenties." He informed happily.

 **Drifblim:** "Why did you tell them that?!" She questioned angrily. "It's personal."

 **Ariados:** "So that the viewers will get to know you more as a Pokemon. So that they will see you more than just a villain. My fiancée, I don't want you to get hate for any of this. I personally know you the best. I know what fuels you with motivation. I know what drives you to tears. I know what propels you to happiness. However, the viewers don't know any of that."

 **Drifblim:** "So what if I get hate? I'll gladly accept it. Compare to certain contestants, I'm sure that I'll get more fans and less haters than them."

 **Ariados:** He sighed. "Hope you're happy with it."

* * *

Aromatisse and Florges approached Swanna, who darted around randomly to find Farfetch'd.

"Swanna, looking for Farfetch'd? We can help." Aromatisse offered.

"Thank you, kind fairies. I'm wondering why he disappeared in the first place." Swanna stared at her inquisitively, seeing the knowing look in her eyes. "Do you know by any chance?"

"I guess." Aromatisse sounded unconfident. Florges fiddled with her nails to pass some time.

"Please tell. Any help is appreciated." Swanna requested in a polite tone.

"Well, my best guess is that he's scared of seeing you because he has lost Mr. Stalk." Aromatisse informed.

Swanna widened her eyes, gawking in a trance.

"Swanna?" Aromatisse waved her left hand in front of her, snapping her back into reality.

"Oh, sorry. It's just that this is really serious. We need to find Mr. Stalk _immediately_." Swanna spoke in an urgent tone.

"Is it really that serious? Like more serious than a facial injury?" Aromatisse asked.

"Ridiculous, Aromatisse. Nothing is more important than the face. It gives you money, it gives you fame and it gives you boys." Florges listed with her three fingers. Basically, her entire hand.

"I beg to differ. To Farfetch'd, Mr. Stalk is the most important. More than money, more than his professional titles and more than myself even." Swanna stated.

"Duh, that's because he's a boy. I'm talking about girls; I stand correct. Listen." Florges focused on such small technicalities. Swanna scowled at her in annoyance.

"Florges, I think that's enough. We are here to help. It's not fabulous to argue over something this insignificant." Aromatisse said in disapproval.

"Fine, whatever." Florges rolled her eyes, going back to fiddling with her nails.

"Here is the thing." Swanna continued, addressing Aromatisse only. "Mr. Stalk might seem like an object to you. Farfetch'd might seem like a weirdo for talking to him. However, he has a good reason for it. The truth is that Mr. Stalk is the name of his father." She revealed.

"What are you trying to say? Is Mr. Stalk Farfetch'd's father? That's impossible." Aromatisse looked baffled.

"Biologically, no. Technically, yes. Mr. Stalk is the last thing his father left before disappearing since his birth. Farfetch'd only lives with his mother alone. He never sees his father with his own eyes. Mr. Stalk is like a father to him at first. Eventually, he turns to something much more. Mr. Stalk is now an inseparable part of him. You could say that _Mr. Stalk is Farfetch'd_." Swanna clarified. Aromatisse looked stupefied.

"Please believe me. I swear that everything I said is the truth." Swanna said with sheer sincerity.

"I think I believe you. Where is his biological father though? Is he dead?" Aromatisse assumed rather inconsiderately.

"No, what makes you think that?" Swanna shook her head, frowning.

"Sorry, I don't know." Aromatisse apologized.

"It's okay. This is just a rumor so, take it lightly. I don't believe this and Farfetch'd certainly doesn't believe this either. It's possible that his father might… find a new woman." Swanna rumored. Aromatisse gasped.

"Are we done yet? Ugh, let's do something already." Florges complained.

"Florges, please-" Aromatisse was about to rebuke her friend until Swanna stepped in.

"Your friend is right. You two are on the giving end. I shouldn't make it difficult for you two to help. Let's search for Mr. Stalk and Farfetch'd now." Swanna suggested.

"Excuse me ladies, my boss has a word for one of you." Nidoking interrupted, retreating back and let Meowth step forward.

"What is it, Meowth?" Aromatisse said in an unfriendly tone. "Can't you see that we are busy?"

"Of course. However, I believe my matter is of equal importance. Aromatisse, what would you say if my assistant offers to fix your face for free?" Meowth offered with a smile, snapping his fingers. Nidoking opened the suitcase to show a special, hi-class cosmetic kit.

"You aren't offering it for free, Meowth. You can't trick me." Aromatisse didn't buy it. "Besides, I'm currently helping Farfetch'd and Swanna."

"About that, I prefer if you accept the treatment. I don't accept help if it's unbeneficial to the helping party. It isn't fair to you girls that way." Swanna encouraged.

"Are you sure? I don't think I'll accept the treatment regardless." Aromatisse seemed reluctant.

"Come on, why are you hesitating? Accept it, Aromatisse. Just think about it, money, fame and boys!" Florges tried to persuade her.

"Yeah, boys." Nidoking chuckled. Meowth gave him a critical look. The assistant turned silent immediately.

Aromatisse sighed. Thinking about it, she wanted to fix her face. After all, it would impress Decidueye…

"Fine, Meowth. However, if I catch you performing any dirty tricks, I swear I'll…" Aromatisse said threateningly.

"No need to threaten me, Aromatisse. The whole world is watching. I can't afford anymore negative publicity." Meowth assured.

Aromatisse eventually accepted the treatment after Machoke and Darmanitan came and offered to help Swanna instead.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "With my Secret Stalking Mr. Stalk Searching Technique, I can find him for sure. I mean I got pretty lucky, right? My Pyukumuku Pursuit Technique works so this should work as well. Frankly, I'm not good at finding things. I remember that I lost my pencil one time, only to find out that it was right in front of my face the whole time. Hopefully, my technique can pull through for me."

 **Aromatisse:** "The treatment actually went smoothly. I'm impressed." She pushed the fur around her face back, framing her face for the camera. "Still, this doesn't mean that I'll suddenly ally myself with Meowth. I appreciate what he did but I won't return the kindness until he can prove it to me that he changes for the better."

 **Nidoking:** "One of the many benefits I get from working for Meowrendezvous is that I get to test out new product samples like beauty cream and stuff. I sure attract the ladies. I advise everyone to work there. You get good insurance, sick leave and many other fringe benefits. I'm not forced to say this by the way." He sounded nervous at the end.

 **Swanna:** "Besides those two hooligans, I find everyone in this island to be very kind and helpful."

 **Houndour:** He sighed. "I heard everything from Duosion. I'm not going to blame what happened to Lucario on her, Rhydon, Meowth or Lucario himself. Although, I really do wish that we can avoid the incident. I left thinking that everything will change for the better. I guess it might be my fault after all."

 **Duosion:** "Whenever I study history, my teacher reiterates time and time again that we study past events to learn from them and avoid making the same mistakes our ancestors made. I really hope I learn from those mistakes."

* * *

The three searchers split out. Swanna chose the forest area. Darmanitan took the gym area and Machoke went with the mountain area. The challenge was about to start soon. They unfortunately didn't have time to search any further from the areas around the first intersection.

"Secret Stalking Mr. Stalk Searching Technique, activate!" Machoke announced dramatically. He lifted a rubble up, spreading his legs, twisting his waist and threw it. The rubble collided with the rock that blocked the entrance to Rhydon's secret base.

Machoke jogged over to check, glancing around the rock.

"Dang it, I found nothing. Just this stupid and dumb rock." Captain Oblivious strikes again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "Well, my technique didn't work. I guess I'm unlucky. Well, I can't really say that. I'm pretty lucky. I mean my Pyukumuku Pursuit technique works for real. Although, I can't tell if getting my butt poked by spikes counts as being lucky."

* * *

Nosepass guided Hickery-o around the camp, showing her various places.

"This is the mess hall." Nosepass pointed. "Chef Drapion's food is so horrible that I would Nosepass-out because of it."

Hickery-o giggled. Nosepass smiled, proud of his own famous pun.

"Anyways, are there actual interesting places beside the camp facilities?" Hickery-o asked curiously.

"Of course, there is the secr-" Nosepass halted, realizing that he wasn't supposed to say it.

"What is it, Nosepass? Is there something that you can't tell me?" Hickery-o questioned.

The guilt pulled Nosepass back into the shadowy abyss once again. He eyed Hickery-o with pain and conflict, pondering intensely. On one hand, he wanted to come clean. On the other, he feared her reaction.

"Nosepass, are you okay?" Hickery-o asked with concern, touching his heated face.

"Hickery-o, what I said is due to my impulse. My impulse is my worst enemy. It forces me to do many things that I regret like joining a camp that pushes me out of my comfort zone or to a serious extent, hurt someone." Nosepass told the truth while being indirect and vague.

"I see… Nosepass, I can totally relate to that. I paid someone to act as my boyfriend because of impulse as well. During that time, I couldn't think properly because I was peer pressured. Everyone around my age already hooked up with someone except for me. Here is the thing, Nosepass. I don't regret it at all. Because if I regret it, I'll never get a chance to love you." Hickery-o empathized, caressing his face. Nosepass was speechless, he didn't expect her to reply like this…

"I know that you regret many things. You suffered a lot in the past, didn't you? You feel like everything you did are all mistakes that turned out badly one way or another. However, you shouldn't be. Remember when I give you the push you need to take the escalators?" Hickery-o evoked.

"Yeah." Nosepass answered, wondering what that had to do with any of this.

"Does it feel great at the end? To overcome your fear and step out of your comfort zone." Hickery-o asked. Nosepass nodded. It was one of his proudest moments.

"Do you regret going on a fake date with me? Do you regret standing up for me? Even if all of them are impulses." Hickery-o asked more questions.

"No." Nosepass answered genuinely. During the fake date, he felt like he had an actual place in the society. He felt like Luca and Chamel were his actual friends. He enjoyed the food. He cherished Hickery-o! He felt like a brand new Pokemon, albeit temporary.

"Then, there's nothing to regret! Nosepass, be confident in yourself! You're very brave in my eyes. I don't believe that everything you have done so far are just impulses. You might have done a few bad things. So, what? I lied and hurt others before too. If you don't want to tell me what you did, it's okay. I'll wait. However, the truth always limps behind the lies, Nosepass. If you don't tell now, you might end up like me. I got exposed for faking a date." Hickery-o knocked Nosepass back to his senses.

Hickery's words… They washed all of his guilt away. They shined the light to his newfound path. A path that was neither brave or cowardly.

"Thank you s-so much. I don't know what to say. Your words mean a lot to me." Nosepass' feelings were indescribable. He cried tears of joy.

"It's okay. I'll be there by your side no matter what." Hickery-o patted Nosepass' back.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I have made my decision. I'll return Mr. Stalk to Farfetch'd tonight after he sleeps. I'll place Mr. Stalk in his arms and act innocent. When the show airs and the truth is revealed, he won't be able to hurt me in revenge because I'll disappear from his sight forever. This is the best solution for a coward like me. I'll never come clean completely because that is just impulsive. Hickery-o didn't come clean either, so I won't."

* * *

Swanna flew above the forest area, looking down for any signs of Farfetch'd. She soon found him leaning on a tree, resting after a fruitless search for Mr. Stalk. She covered her mouth, horrified to see him covered in bandages.

"Farfetch'd, are you okay?!" Swanna descended down to check on him in a hurry.

"Swanna, I'm so sorry. I have lost Mr. Stalk and I was also stupid enough to enter the girls' restroom thinking that he was inside there and got beaten up by Heracross." Farfetch'd cried on her chest. Swanna caressed the back of his head consolingly.

To Farfetch'd, his girlfriend was the only one that truly understands him. He was constantly given a lot of flak for talking to a 'non-living' object since his early childhood by his friends, his teacher and even his own mother…

"It's okay. We'll find him together. Don't cry. Ms. Stick comes to visit, see?" Swanna gave a random fallen tree branch on the ground to him.

"Who is Ms. Stick?" Farfetch'd asked, sniffling.

"She's Mr. Stalk's long-lost sister. She comes to visit." Swanna made it up.

"Really? I never know that Mr. Stalk has a sister before." Farfetch'd stared at the stick in amazement. "Ms. Stick, want to find Mr. Stalk together? Aha." He nodded. "She wants to help me find Mr. Stalk!" He sounded really happy, smiling. Swanna shared the smile.

"Contestants and loved ones, the challenge is about to start! Alakazam will teleport you to the location soon enough. Get ready." Skarmory prepared them.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** He rubbed Ms. Stick caringly. "While she might not be a multi-talented professional like Mr. Stalk. I'm pretty sure she'll be a huge help in finding him. Ouch, a splinter." He yelped.

* * *

Alakazam teleported the loved ones to the mess hall, the contestants to the plain white room inside the haunted mansion.

Each Pokemon sat on a chair with a table in front of them. The table included a mini whiteboard, a marker and a whiteboard eraser. Attached to the ceiling of each room was a monitor.

Suddenly, Skarmory's face appeared on the monitor. "Contestants, today's challenge will be split into two parts. In this first part, you'll be competing for an advantage in the second part. The first part will be a game called Telepathy Quiz. Very simple, you just need to give the same answer as your partner to score a point. There will be five rounds. If you get three or more points, you'll get the advantage." Skarmory explained. "Any questions?"

No one asked anything. Therefore, Skarmory's face got replaced with a question right away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ariados:** "I know Drifblim since I was three. Besides, I won quiz shows before. This will be easy."

 **Nosepass:** "I don't know Hickery-o that well. I don't know what kind of answer she will give. This is bad."

* * *

The following question appeared on the monitor screen: "Do you prefer money or happiness?"

This one was a very easy question. Pretty much, a warm-up question. Even Nosepass who didn't know Hickery-o that well answered without any hesitation. The results showed up on the screen.

Nosepass: Happiness Hickery-o: Happiness

Duosion: Happiness Houndour: Happiness

Aromatisse: Happiness Florges: Happiness

Drifblim: Happiness Ariados: Happiness

Farfetch'd: Happiness Swanna: Happiness

Darmanitan: Happiness Machoke: Happiness

Meowth: Money Nidoking: Money

Heracross: Money Miltank: Money

"Heracross and Meowth, you two choose money? That's sad." Aromatisse remarked.

"Hey, I'm poor." Heracross defended.

"Money is happiness to me." Meowth equated.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "It's a fallacy that money doesn't bring happiness. Without money, how can we survive to feel happiness in the first place? As an heir of a corporate giant, I witness the physiological needs of my employees. Money means the world to them."

* * *

The second question was the following: "What do you like more between playing sports and reading books?"

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Personally, I like reading books more but I know that Houndour like playing sports more. Knowing him, he will probably choose what I like."

 **Nidoking:** "The boss likes to count money the most. Unfortunately, that isn't an option. I guess he will choose playing sports because he sees me hit the gym a few times."

 **Nosepass:** "Hickery-o likes playing sports so I should go with that."

 **Ariados:** "My fiancée used to be really athletic because of a gameshow called Wipeout. Ah, I still remember the time she requested me to build an obstacle course for her. However, she now adopted a sedentary lifestyle due to her blog and adult responsibilities. You see… she no longer lives off her parents. She earns money through advertisement on her blog and paid podcast subscriptions." He looked a bit concerned.

"I think it affects her health and mentality a bit. Watching gameshows is now more than just her passionate pastime. It becomes her source of income. It becomes an unremovable part of her life. Obviously, she enjoys it. However, she starts to take things more seriously…"

 **Swanna:** "Even though I like to read books more, I should pick playing sports no matter what. Farfetch'd really values baseball and skateboarding. His father starts out as a street skateboard player. He changes to playing baseball instead because his wife was a fan of it. Unlike some Pokemon, I refuse to believe that a man like him would cheat on his wife and abandon his son. I'll lose all faith in this world if that is the reality."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Ms. Stick suggests that I should pick reading books because Swanna will pick it. I think I can trust her."

* * *

The result was shown. A few looked unsatisfied.

Nosepass: Playing Sports Hickery-o: Playing Sports

Duosion: Reading Books Houndour: Reading Books

Aromatisse: Reading Books Florges: Reading Books

Drifblim: Reading Books Ariados: Reading Books

Farfetch'd: Reading Books Swanna: Playing Sports

Darmanitan: Playing Sports Machoke: Playing Sports

Meowth: Playing Sports Nidoking: Playing Sports

Heracross: Playing Sports Miltank: Playing Sports

Abruptly, the third question popped up in the screen alongside an image of Grovyle. Triple G had waves of electricity surrounding him alongside a pair of angelic wings and a halo. He smiled at the competitors charmingly, lending a supportive hand to them.

The question was the following: "How will you describe him with one word?"

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Well, this one is pretty obvious for the contestants. I'll just write good down."

 **Nosepass:** "Show-off, egotistical, jerk, untrustworthy, sneaky, horrible, bad, selfish, scary. There are just so many words to choose from. Sadly, I can't choose good. Hickery-o won't get it."

 **Ariados:** "Unlike all the other non-contestants, I know some of the big personalities this season really well because Drifblim told me spoilers. I don't mind them. Coming here is already a spoiler anyways."

* * *

The non-contestants struggled a lot more than the contestants to answer. They hesitated, erased their answer and vacillated between multiple options. Soon enough, everyone was done.

Nosepass: Helpful Hickery-o: Kind

Duosion: Good Houndour: Good

Aromatisse: Pretty Florges: Handsome

Drifblim: Good Ariados: Good

Farfetch'd: Good Swanna: Angelic

Darmanitan: Good Machoke: Good

Meowth: Skillful Nidoking: Godly

Heracross: Gecko Miltank: Good

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "What?! Why did Miltank answer good? We usually call him gecko boy. I don't get her."

 **Aromatisse:** "To me, Grovyle is bottom tier. He's right around Bisharp's level. I answered pretty because well Florges likes to judge boys by their appearance alone."

* * *

The fourth question appeared alongside another contestant. This time, Bisharp folded his arms, smiling awkwardly at the competitors. The question asked them to rate his handsomeness out of a maximum score of 10.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "These questions are starting to stray off into irrelevancy. I can understand why Skarmory did it though."

 **Houndour:** "The dude is pretty handsome. He deserves a nine."

 **Aromatisse:** "Ugh, this bottom loser again. Zero."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Swanna looks like a two so I'll go with that I guess. What do you think, Ms. Stick?" He shook her a little and nodded to himself. "A two it is."

 **Nidoking:** "That Bisharp doesn't use Meowrendezvous line of beauty products so I should give him a zero."

 **Hickery-o:** "I don't want Nosepass to feel jealous so I should go with a low score like a three."

* * *

All the contestants had a hard time guessing their partner's answer. Everyone had their own method, logic and reasoning. After everyone locked in their answers, the results appeared. Many didn't look happy.

Nosepass: 3 Hickery-o: 3

Duosion: 9 Houndour: 9

Aromatisse: 0 Florges: 10

Drifblim: 1 Ariados: 2

Farfetch'd: 2 Swanna: 6

Darmanitan: 7 Machoke: 8

Meowth: 4 Nidoking: 0

Heracross: 5 Miltank: 4

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I know that my boyfriend is nice. He will probably give Bisharp a high score."

 **Nosepass:** "Bisharp isn't handsome. I mean just look at him. He has blades everywhere!"

 **Aromatisse:** "I know that Bisharp probably looks handsome to Florges but I can't delude myself into giving that bottom tier guy a fabulous ten. It isn't my style at all."

 **Florges:** "Bisharp is my dream man. I hope he isn't taken." She daydreamed.

 **Nidoking:** "What?! Florges likes Bisharp? What does he got that I don't have?" Jealousy flared in his eyes.

* * *

 **Current Scoreboard**

Nosepass & Hickery-o: 3 (advantage guaranteed)

Duosion & Houndour: 4 (advantage guaranteed)

Aromatisse & Florges: 2

Drifblim & Ariados: 3 (advantage guaranteed)

Farfetch'd & Swanna: 1 (can no longer get the advantage)

Darmanitan & Machoke: 3 (advantage guaranteed)

Meowth & Nidoking: 2

Heracross & Miltank: 2

* * *

The last question surprised everyone. A video was played on the monitor for the competitors to view. They watched… Larvitar's audition tape.

Seemingly, he was inside his bedroom. All the stuff got cleared out, leaving a giant dumbbell plush on the ground and a poorly stuck together picture of a muscular Machamp's body with Larvitar's head on the blue wallpaper.

"You should accept me into your show because I'm the best, I'm the strongest, I'm the smartest, I'm invincible, I'm the supreme overlord and I got many minions. My minions are just losers that I beat up all the time. A loser is here in this room right now." Larvitar addressed the cameraman 'minion'.

Suddenly, a giant red arrow with the word loser pointed at Larvitar got edited in.

Heracross cackled while Miltank snorted. Aromatisse giggled, Nosepass broke into laughter. Drifblim snickered, pointing at Larvitar mockingly. Ariados chortled. Machoke chuckled.

"I'll show you how strong I can be." Larvitar lifted the dumbbell plush up and started doing his work-out.

"One, two, three…" Larvitar sweated.

Nidoking laughed, looking at his muscles proudly.

"Five, six, seven…" Larvitar started grunting and struggling.

Meowth chuckled in light amusement.

"…Ten!" Larvitar sighed, wiping the sweat off his face. His poor arms barely made it out alive.

Florges tittered at his unmanliness.

"This isn't all. I got more amazing accomplishments. Minion, show them the footage and edit all the bad parts out. That includes what I just said!" Larvitar ordered.

A sick Cubchoo girl sneezed at her sandwich. She opened her mouth widely, about to eat it. In a flash, Larvitar came and snatched it. The Cubchoo girl cried.

"This is mine now, loser." Larvitar took a big bite of the sandwich. He choked afterwards.

Farfetch'd, Swanna and Hickery-o laughed at his comeuppance.

Larvitar glared at a picnic of happy kids with jealousy. He tried to throw a rock at them, only for it to bounce back from a tree and knock him out.

Duosion had a suppressed laugh.

Larvitar dug a pitfall. However, he soon realized that he couldn't get out.

"Minion, help me!" Larvitar called out but the cameraman carried the camera away. The word 'The End' showed on the screen.

Houndour laughed a bit at the end.

Skarmory appeared on the monitor, looking ready to deliver the results. "This round, everyone except Darmanitan and Machoke gets a point. You both just need to laugh."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I guess I'm too chill for my own good." He rubbed his head sheepishly.

 **Nosepass:** "Why am I scared of that loser in the first place?"

 **Heracross:** She rolled on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. "Larvitar sucks. I can watch the audition a million times over. Hahaha…"

 **Drifblim:** "Larvitar should thank his 'minion'. Otherwise, I doubt that he will ever make it into this show."

* * *

Everyone gathered around Skarmory Shop, waiting for him to explain the second part of the challenge.

"The second part is a team battling challenge." Skarmory revealed.

"Yes! Prepare to get crushed!" Heracross shouted, punching thin air. Miltank had roughly the same reaction. The others gave them looks.

Skarmory continued after they stopped making loud noises. "You're allowed to use moves obviously. Here is the catch, if the contestant is knocked out, the loved one is eliminated automatically."

Nosepass quivered until Hickery-o held his right hand firmly.

"I'll protect you." Hickery-o reassured. Nosepass lightened up, feeling secured.

"If your team have a score of three or higher, you get an advantage. This means everyone except Farfetch'd and Swanna, come and get your envelopes." Skarmory instructed.

The teams all rushed to get the envelopes enthusiastically. Each pair opened it and read the content in secret.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. Only the loved ones can use the advantage. If they get eliminated, well too bad." Skarmory added another layer of strategy.

Nosepass and Hickery-o looked stunned to see their advantage. It must be extremely powerful.

Drifblim and Ariados read theirs and observed the other teams' expressions.

Darmanitan nodded, looking chill. Machoke grinned, spreading his arms wide.

Houndour and Duosion looked very pleased to see theirs. They got the maximum score after all.

Florges blushed after she read hers. Aromatisse teased her friend a bit.

Meowth nodded in satisfaction. Nidoking rubbed his hands together.

Heracross ripped the envelope opened. Miltank smirked after she read it.

Farfetch'd looked disappointed. "It's my fault." He blamed himself.

"It's okay, Farfetch'd. We still have a chance. This is a team game. If one of us makes a mistake, we are all responsible for it." Swanna consoled. Farfetch'd felt a bit better.

"Spread out. We'll start shortly." Skarmory initiated after he finished his explanation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "This is our challenge. Without Lucario, the two of us are the strongest."

 **Miltank:** "Time to crush those pipsqueaks." She stomped the ground, twisting her right foot.

 **Florges:** "I never really fight before honestly. I don't want to get dirty or any injuries that make me look ugly."

 **Aromatisse:** "Great, another barbaric challenge. However, I won't give up just because it isn't my forte. The damage that Pyukumuku left on my face taught me to become stronger. We need to play this smart."

 **Nosepass:** "I hope no one go after us first. Hickery-o looks strong but can she take down the likes of Nidoking, Heracross and Miltank?"

 **Duosion:** "I think the common strategy that everyone will use is to target the contestant, not the loved one. That means I need to play it safe and let Houndour approach our opponents. He can play risky, especially with our advantage."

 **Darmanitan:** "A battle, homie? This gives me the flashback of yesterday…" He looked extremely miserable for a second. "Hopefully, everyone can keep it chill and safe."

 **Nidoking:** "The boss picks the right man for this occasion. I believe that I'm the strongest. I used to work in the warehouse, carrying heavy goods. Although, I don't think I can hurt that beautiful Florges. The boss is going to kill me for this…" Nidoking gulped.

 **Machoke:** "Man, the advantage suits me really well. I gotta practice this new technique out." He made an X shape with his arms, fingers curled into fists. Afterwards, Machoke spread his arms wide like a wall.

* * *

The challenge started for real.

Drifblim and Ariados decided to hide inside the haunted mansion, camping out until the competition becomes thinner. Ariados wore a black headset. He tapped his feet and shook his head rhythmically as if he was listening to music.

The camera transitioned back to when they read their advantage.

* * *

 **Spider Sense**

You're gifted with the ability to track the location of your clueless preys and manipulate space.

Level 1 (3): Alakazam will alert you whenever your opponents are nearby (Passive).

 **Level 2 (4):** You're given an additional ability to teleport your team away from danger once. You may choose the place (Active).

Level 3 (5): You're given the ultimate ability to manipulate the location of every Pokemon once (Active).

* * *

Note: Passive skills activate automatically while active skills don't.

"What kind of music are you listening to?" Drifblim asked curiously.

"I told Alakazam to open the Whodunnit theme." Ariados answered.

"Not a bad choice. Whodunnit is a great show. It only lasts for one season, sadly." Drifblim said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, controversy brings it down." Ariados agreed. "Drifblim, I want to tell you that…"

"What is it?" Drifblim raised her right eye.

"Don't blame yourself if Total Skarmory Island gets canceled due to low ratings, alright? It's not your fault. You did everything you could." Ariados expressed his concern.

"Ariados, do I look like I'm worried about the ratings? It'll turn out great. The pre-merge of this season is great while the merge will blow the viewers' expectations away. Even if it gets canceled, there are still other Pokemon that create Total Drama content. I'm fine. You look like Scolipede all of a sudden." Drifblim gave him a reassuring smile. Ariados chuckled, amused by the comparison.

Ariados widened his eyes.

"Drifblim, Houndour and Duosion are nearby." Ariados alerted.

"We need to be careful. They got a level three ability. Hmm…" Drifblim reminded, looking deep in thought.

"Do you have a plan?" Ariados asked after reading her facial expression.

"Remember what we did as little kids in a game of hide and seek?" Drifblim smirked mischievously.

"I never forget it, my fiancée." Ariados returned the look.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ariados:** "Drifblim used to be a very shy Drifloon girl. She didn't talk to others much until she started watching Total Drama. Since then, she made 'alliances' and competed in 'challenges'. They made her braver and more sociable. One of the challenges is hide and seek. She approached me, the Spinarak boy and asked if I could wrap her around with my strings. I was surprised but did so anyways. In the end, she won. It was around that time that we started to hang out with each other. Ah, such fond memories." He recalled.

"Another one of the challenges is an eating con-… She's going to kill me if I tell you viewers this so just ignore it, alright?"

* * *

The hunt began as Heracross and Miltank ran around the forest area like predators. With their might combined, they posed a huge threat to those preys that shall be crushed.

Apparently, they found their first set of victims under the giant tree in a clearing. They belonged to the chill species of herbivores. This consisted of a chilly ape and a hairless technician, both meditating and unaware of their inevitable demise.

Heracross and Miltank glanced at each other, smiling knowingly. These predators communicated through their eye contact. They soon linked their arms before revealing their intimidating presences to those preys.

"Prepare to get crushed, homie boy! Let's go, Miltank!" Heracross charged with her hunting partner.

The preys activated their defense mechanism immediately. Darmanitan took deep breaths, charging energy through the move Focus Energy. Machoke used the move Meditate that Darmanitan tutored to him. They boosted their critical hit rate and Attack respectively.

"Meditation won't save you weaklings from our might! Wake-Up Slap!" Miltank shouted, charging her hands with fighting energy.

"Megahorn!" Heracross rammed at them with her mighty horn.

Machoke opened his eyes first, flexing and beefing up his muscles. "Machoke Bulky Bodyguard Technique!" He called out an unnecessarily long name.

Miltank and Heracross targeted Machoke as he was vulnerable from setting up too much.

"Chill out, homies." Darmanitan stopped meditating and shot a Fire Blast at both of them. Unfortunately, due to his low Sp. Attack, it didn't do much damage to Heracross despite the effectiveness. At the very least, this gave Machoke more time to set up.

"Overworking Machoke Working Hard Technique!" Machoke referred to the move Work Up. He increased his attack again. His body reddened from overflowing amount of energy.

"Are you stupid, beefcake? Why do you have three moves that basically do the same thing?" Miltank questioned after she recovered from the attack.

"You're wrong if you think that they all do the same thing. Other than increasing my attack, one of them increases my concentration, the other increases my Defense and the last makes me all worked up!" Machoke ran toward them, raising his right arm straightforward into the sky.

"Killer Move, Machoke Mad Karate!" Machoke aimed to chop Miltank's head for super-effective damage.

However, Heracross lifted Machoke up with her horn and threw him away before he could hit Miltank.

"Thanks, girl." Miltank seemed grateful.

"No problem, time to crush them with our might!" Heracross clenched both fists in a determined manner. She then sprinted at Darmanitan with Close Combat.

"Zen Headbutt." Darmanitan charged psychic energy on his forehead and tried to combat her ruthless, unrelenting punches.

"Hyayayayah!" Heracross pummeled Darmanitan rapidly, overwhelming the Zen Headbutt.

"Argh!" Darmanitan groaned in pain as the attack pulverized him.

"Body Slam!" Miltank crushed Machoke with her weight.

"So… heavy." Machoke muttered. Luckily, Miltank didn't hear it.

"Homie, I'm here to help!" Darmanitan quickly came to Machoke's aid and knocked Miltank away with Zen Headbutt, lifting the technician up.

Machoke widened his eyes in fear as Heracross rushed toward them with another Close Combat.

"Legendary Guard Wall Technique!" Machoke activated their advantage instantly, performing the action that he practiced multiple times.

* * *

 **Super-Secret Legendary Machoke Guard Wall**

You're the legendary technician with many hidden techniques. Made an X shape with your arms and spread them out like a wall to activate your technique.

 **Level 1:** Your opponents will face disqualification if they try to attack you for five minutes. However, the protection technique will wear off if you attack your opponents (Active).

Level 2: The effect lasts for ten minutes.

Level 3: You may attack your opponents after activating the technique.

* * *

"Attention, Machoke and Darmanitan are protected for five minutes! Don't attack them unless you want to face disqualification!" Skarmory announced and Heracross immediately stopped her move.

"Cowards." Heracross insulted as the two fled in a hurry, spitting on the ground.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Machoke:** "We barely made it out alive there. Those two are scary strong."

 **Miltank:** "We are the strongest. Nobody can beat us. Those lightweights don't hella know what's coming at them."

 **Heracross:** "I beat Darmanitan all the time. The homie boy is weak."

 **Darmanitan:** "If I want to beat those homies, I have no choice but to activate Zen Mode. However, it isn't easy to do so. Only a select few Darmanitan can reach that level of chilliness."

* * *

In the auditorium…

Nosepass looked underneath all the seats, searching for something.

Hickery-o combed the backstage for something as well.

Hickery-o exited the backstage and Nosepass looked up.

"Found anything?" Nosepass asked, hopeful. Hickery-o shook her head.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "We need to find it if we even want to stand a chance of winning."

* * *

Farfetch'd and Swanna wandered around the forest area, trying to find their opponents and Mr. Stalk at the same time. Without an advantage, they needed to proceed more carefully than the others.

"Mr. Stalk, where are you?! Where are you?!" Farfetch'd repeated, focused on finding Mr. Stalk. He pushed a branch of a tree away only for it to come back and hit his eyes.

"Ouch." Farfetch'd fell down to the ground, covering his eyes.

"Are you okay?!" Swanna dropped down to check on him.

"Why didn't Ms. Stick warn me about her friends?" Farfetch'd questioned with sore, watery eyes.

"Sticks don't stick together I suppose. She's probably too busy trying to find Mr. Stalk." Swanna replied.

"Oh, my. My guests, how are you all faring? Interested to hire a few bodyguards?" Meowth suddenly interrupted. Nidoking stood next to him, holding a freezing gun with both hands.

* * *

 **Bodyguard Bullets**

You're the replacement bodyguard of an opulent heir. Use your freezing gun to protect him at all costs (Active).

 **Level 1:** You have one bullet.

Level 2: You have two bullets.

Level 3: You have four bullets.

* * *

"Are you going to attack us?" Farfetch'd growled, holding Ms. Stick in an offensive stance.

"No, Farfetch'd." Swanna held him back before he could make a rash decision. "They said something about hiring bodyguards. May you please clarify."

"Oh, I just want to make a deal. I help you to win the challenge and you give me your vote. Sounds good?" Meowth offered.

"You better accept the deal fast. It's limited, popular and in the trend." Nidoking persuaded.

"No, I won't. I plan on planning this game solo for Mr. Stalk and my girlfriend!" Farfetch'd refused stubbornly. Swanna smiled proudly at him.

"Fine, your loss. Let's leave, Nidoking." Meowth turned back one last time before he left for real. "If you change your mind, feel free to find me anytime."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Swanna:** "I don't like that cat. Good deeds should be done without any incentive for reward."

 **Meowth:** "Tough customers. I need a more powerful bargaining chip. Something that Farfetch'd holds dearer than his life…" Meowth had a sneaky grin on his face. "I need to delegate an order to Nidoking."

* * *

Heracross and Miltank found their next preys: Farfetch'd and Swanna.

"You two don't have an advantage. Just give up now and make it easy for us, will ya?" Miltank said overconfidently.

"Farfetch'd, I'm going to kill you again." Heracross stared daggers into Farfetch'd's eyes. The duck looked really apprehensive, tightening his grip on Ms. Stick.

"Farfetch'd, stay back. I'll deal with those hooligans myself." Swanna resolved, stretching out her wings. Farfetch'd nodded, gazing into her eyes cheeringly.

"Hooligans, huh? Fine, we'll play like hooligans." Heracross cracked her knuckles. "Attack!" She signaled by raising her right fist.

Miltank started off by lifting up and rock and threw it at Swanna, trying to get a cheap super-effective hit. The swan shot it down with Water Gun.

"A weak move." Heracross commented as she charged at her with Close Combat. "Now, this is a real move!"

Farfetch'd lifted a tiny rock up before looking at Ms. Stick. "You ever play baseball before?" He looked disappointed. "No? This is bad. Mr. Stalk is the one who is good at baseball. I'm only his helper."

Swanna charged up Wing Attack, prepared to counter Close Combat. At first glance, it seemed like a foolish move until she struck the ground and propelled herself up into the air instead.

"Mirror Move!" Swanna copied Heracross' Close Combat and targeted Miltank. The cow wasn't prepared and took major damage. Additionally, she got knocked into the tree hard. Miltank groaned in pain.

"Miltank!" Heracross shouted worriedly. "You'll pay for this!" She charged up another Close Combat.

This time, Swanna sidestepped and retaliated with Wing Attack repeatedly. Since it was a weak move with low base power, it could be used with little to no cooldown. Heracross took quadruple effective damage, falling down on the ground.

"Impossible." Heracross said in disbelief.

"Your hooligans should learn to use your brains. A fight isn't all about who got the strongest move or the most strength. It's also about reading your opponent and learning to respect their strength." Swanna lectured.

"Shut the *beep* up!" Heracross swore out of rage. How could she fall so easily in front of a weak, dainty, delicate swan like her? She wouldn't accept this humiliation. She pushed herself off the ground and used another Close Combat.

Swanna flew away and dived down with Wing Attack. Heracross survived the attack with Endure. The repeated uses of Close Combat weakened her severely,

"Watch out, Swanna!" Farfetch'd alerted the incoming rock from Miltank. Swanna couldn't react fast enough. The rock collided with her face.

"It's still a two against one. Don't get so cocky." Miltank cast her a contemptuous look.

"No, it's not a two against one." Farfetch'd batted the rock with Ms. Stick. However, it only reflected against a tree and returned to knock him out.

"Pfft. Pathetic." Miltank dismissed. "Larvitar's bad luck is probably rubbing off on you or I guess you no longer have that dumb leek's luck, huh?"

Miltank walked over to Farfetch'd with a giant rock. "Good night."

"Farfetch'd!" Swanna cried desperately. She tried to help him but Heracross pinned her down. It was too late.

"Farfetch'd out, Swanna out." Skarmory informed everyone.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "I'm nothing without Mr. Stalk." He felt like a failure.

* * *

Houndour gripped the doorknob of the haunted mansion with his left, front paw. He itched to open it.

"Duosion, should I open it now?" Houndour asked, feeling impatient.

"Be careful. I don't know what lurks inside." Duosion warned. Houndour nodded and slowly opened it, peeking through a tiny gap.

Houndour found spider webs that Ariados spun all over the place. The chandelier in particular became a stringy mess.

"It's a trap!" Houndour yelled.

True to his words, Ariados blasted chairs and tables at them with Psychic. Houndour acted on instinct and closed the door, blocking the projectiles. Houndour opened the door again and burned all the webs on the ground with Flamethrower.

"Not bad. I'm impressed. So, you're the Houndour that Drifblim talked about." Ariados praised with acknowledgement.

"You aren't bad either, dude. What is your relationship with her?" Houndour asked casually.

"Talking to your opponent in such a friendly way during the competition? How nice of you. I see why you got selected. Anyways, I'm her fi-friend. Yes, childhood friend." Ariados nearly blurted something he shouldn't out.

"Awesome, dude! Great to see a nice, long and healthy friendship." Houndour said in a friendly tone.

"Err… Houndour, we are competing in a challenge here." Duosion reminded.

"Oh, sorry." Houndour scratched his head sheepishly. "Shall we continue?" He readied himself for the fight.

"Of course." Ariados shot a string from his rear toward the chandelier and swung himself at Houndour, charging Poison Jab.

Houndour jumped back and Ariados missed. The canine breathed Flamethrower at Ariados from close range. Duosion amplified the attack with Shadow Ball. However, the gameshow aficionado was prepared to counter the combination of two powerful attacks. He used Psychic to drop the chandelier down, using it as a shield. The collision created a cloud of smoke. Utilizing this opportunity…

"Shadow Sneak." Ariados extended his shadow and struck Duosion from behind.

"Ah!" Duosion screamed in pain.

"Duosion, I'll help you!" Houndour hurried to her until Drifblim suddenly appeared and used Constrict on him. Constrict—one of the weakest moves in terms of damage—immobilized your opponent extremely well.

"What? Drifblim?! I was wondering where you were." Houndour was shocked to see her.

"Surprise! I hid above the chandelier. You wouldn't see me because of the strings though." Drifblim explained.

"Farfetch'd out, Swanna out." The announcement was heard by the four.

"Sorry, man. Nice talking to you but you're dangerous, especially with a level three advantage. At least you aren't eliminated first. No hard feelings. See you later." Ariados waved.

"I guess this is it…" Houndour's ears drooped down, looking at Duosion apologetically. There was another subtle message through his eyes that only she could understand. She returned him a look of dismay before taking the chance to escape.

Ariados finished Houndour off with countless Poison Jab as Drifblim held him in place with Constrict.

"Houndour, out." He got teleported away.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I'm curious about his advantage. Why didn't he use it? Maybe, he couldn't. Maybe, there are sets of requirements that he need to fulfill. I'll probably know when I watch the show at home."

* * *

Aromatisse picked up two roses from a bush. Upon examining it, she honestly couldn't tell which one was better. They looked identical to her. Drifblim was right. She would pick a bad, ugly rose instead of the pretty ones that Decidueye would love. Thinking about it made her feel pretty guilty. She felt like Ledyba's elimination was her fault.

Yet, Aromatisse imagined that if Ledyba was here, she would disagree. Honestly, if it was anyone's fault, it was Meowth's. Aromatisse couldn't forgive him despite the treatment. She knew how dangerous he can be.

"Aromatisse, why are you staring at the roses in a trance? Girl, got a problem?" Florges asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm just thinking about a boy. We should focus on the challenge now." Aromatisse answered vaguely.

"Oh, that totally hot Decidueye guy? I get you, girl. Anyways, what's our plan again?" Florges asked for a reminder.

"Well, we need to lay low and try to find a team that is willing to work with us. A team like Machoke and Darmanitan." Aromatisse gave an example.

"Girl, look behind you." Florges pointed. Aromatisse turned around to see Darmanitan and Machoke walking over to them. Machoke looked tired, running out of breath while Darmanitan seemed fairly fine.

"Heracross and Miltank did a number on us. We ran away as fast as we could." Machoke told, panting.

"Homies, we are not here to start a fight. Hope you know that." Darmanitan assured.

"You poor boys need a rest. The berry garden is nearby. You should heal up there. We'll lead the way." Aromatisse suggested, willing to help them.

"Thank you." Machoke said gratefully.

Aromatisse led the way to the berry garden. However, upon arrival, they found out that the healing spot had been occupied by Miltank and Heracross.

"I ain't healing with my milk. This is our place. Get out, or else we'll beat you all up!" Miltank tried to shoo them away.

"Yeah, get the *beep* out!" Heracross shouted profanely before taking another big bite of the Sitrus Berry.

"Well, we won't. It's a four against two. Are you sure that you can beat all of us?" Aromatisse asked, feeling quite confident.

"Numbers mean nothing. Only our fists have meaning! Get them, girl!" Heracross declared another battle.

Heracross and Miltank charged recklessly at the four. Darmanitan and Machoke stood in the front while the two fairies provided support from behind.

Aromatisse blasted Fairy Wind at Heracross while Florges shot Magical Leaf at Miltank. The two shrugged both weak attacks off like they were nothing.

"Super Machoke- Argh!" Machoke didn't even get a chance to say the name of his technique as Miltank punched his face hard. Aromatisse and Florges both recoiled at the damage.

"Homie boy, you won't chill anymore when I'm done close combating you." Heracross used the same move once again. Darmanitan ran away, trying to avoid the attack at all costs.

Constantly, Aromatisse and Florges used their long-range attacks. However, they barely dealt any damage to the two mighty Pokemon.

"Take this, puny muscle boy." Miltank used Body Slam on him once again. Machoke struggled desperately as the weight flattened him. Soon enough, he fainted.

"Machoke, out." His pancake body got teleported away.

"Homie, no!" Darmanitan shouted, disheartened.

"Get wrecked, homie boy!" Heracross attacked Darmanitan with Close Combat when he was distracted by the announcement.

"No, Darmanitan!" Aromatisse looked horrified as he yelled out in pain.

Darmanitan lay idly on the ground, battered and tenderized.

"Haha, we are the strongest! Nobody can beat us, especially you, homie boy. You're just Lucario's pet. Always following him blindly. Weak and pathetic." Heracross degraded. Miltank soon joined in.

Darmanitan closed his eyes, blocking all of their gloats and insults out with the power of zen.

"Time to finish you off." Heracross prepared another Close Combat.

Miltank sat on the two fairies, flattening their hopes of escaping. Aromatisse closed her eyes, she couldn't watch as Heracross was about to end Darmanitan.

Darmanitan entered the perfect state of zen. He was calm, collected and chill. A leaf of a berry tree fell on his head. Suddenly, his body changed shape. His red fur turned into the chilly blue color and his eyes were blank. He sat in a meditative, immobile position.

Before Heracross could punch him into oblivion, Darmanitan used Psychic to overwhelm her.

"Ah! What is this pain?! *beep*!" Heracross clutched her head, rolling and kicking on the ground before she fainted.

"Heracross, out." Wait…

* * *

 **Mighty Spirit**

With your formidable might, you shall crush everyone in your path.

 **Level 1:** Link arms with your partner to swap your spirits. Miltank turns into the contestant and Heracross turns into the loved one instead (Active).

Level 2: If the contestant is eliminated, the loved one won't be eliminated (Passive).

Level 3: You gain an additional passive ability. All opposing active skills have no effect on the both of you (Passive).

* * *

Miltank lifted her heavy butt off Aromatisse and Florges, celebrating. "Haha, take that homie boy. Our ability is the best!"

"Is your ability active or passive?" Aromatisse asked.

"Active, of course. Our ability is great, isn't it?" Miltank lifted her head high. Unexpectedly, Florges kissed her forehead.

"Miltank, out." Miltank gaped stupidly before she got teleported away.

* * *

 **Fairy Kiss**

With your charming beauty and soul-sucking lips, you can breeze through the competition with little to no need for dirty, physical fights. Kiss the forehead of your opponent to nullify, remove and obliterate all of their active skills.

 **Level 1:** You can use Fairy Kiss once (Active).

Level 2: You can use Fairy Kiss twice (Active).

Level 3: You gain an extra ability. You'll be given a list of all the abilities at the start of the challenge (Passive).

* * *

The plot twist didn't end here. Two unexpected guests arrived after watching from afar.

"Chill out, Darmanitan." Meowth snapped his fingers and Nidoking froze the Zen Mode Pokemon with the gun.

"Finish him off, assistant." Meowth commanded.

"Nidoking, please don't do it. For me, pretty please." Florges blinked twice flirtatiously. Nidoking hesitated.

"Job or love? Choose one." Meowth sounded deadly serious.

"Job." Nidoking lowered his head as he went to Darmanitan and finished him off with Earthquake.

"Darmanitan, out!" Darmanitan reverted back to his normal form before getting teleported away.

"Meowth, how dirty of you." Aromatisse said with spite, eyeing him with disgust.

"Sorry, my precious customers. However, it's already late at night. My store will close down. Let me show your way out. Assist!" Meowth borrowed Nidoking's Poison Tail and leaped up in the air, swinging his tail to knock Aromatisse out.

"Aromatisse out, Florges out." Florges folded her arms in a huff, refusing to look at Nidoking. The assistant sighed, looking down on the ground.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nidoking:** "The story of my life…so many heartbreaks." He sobbed.

 **Florges:** "Actually, I never really like him in the first place. Bisharp is my man."

* * *

Nosepass and Hickery-o headed deeper into the haunted area after an unsuccessful search in the auditorium. Nosepass clung on Hickery-o all the way to the haunted mansion. Hickery-o thought that Nosepass was cute.

"Ah, skeletons!" Nosepass freaked out because of a Charizard Skeleton.

"Silly Nosepass. It's fake. Touch it." Hickery-o pulled the claw over to Nosepass. The coward trembled all the way through until he reluctantly touched the claw of the skeleton. It was made out of plastic.

"See? Not so scary now, isn't it?" Hickery-o beamed, delighted that Nosepass conquered another fear.

"Y-Yeah." Nosepass felt a teensy bit braver. He couldn't ask for anything more other than spending time with Hickery-o. There was something _special_ about her presence. When Nosepass stayed with Rhyhorn, he felt like he could rely on his big brother. However, every time Hickery-o stayed by his side, he felt like he could rely on himself.

"What's up, lovebirds? Took you two long enough." Ariados emerged out of the fog.

"Indeed, enjoy your spooky date here? Many ghost Pokemon like it." Drifblim floated behind Ariados.

"Yeah. You aren't going to hurt us, right?" Nosepass pleaded with his sympathetic eyes.

"Nosepass, stay behind me." Hickery-o directed and he obviously followed. "How did you know that we are here? With that headset?"

"Yes, our special ability. What's yours?" Ariados asked, not expecting an answer.

"Something extremely powerful. You don't want to mess with us." Hickery-o looked and sounded serious.

"Well, we are the curious type. Too bad. Shadow Ball!" Drifblim blasted Shadow Ball at Hickery-o. She had no option but to block the attack with her arm scales as Nosepass hid behind her. Dodging would result in him getting hurt.

"Shadow Sneak!" Ariados extended his shadow toward Nosepass.

"Run!" Hickery-o shouted urgently and Nosepass ran for his life. The shadow curved around the spooky black trees, racing to catch him.

Hickery-o charged Dragon Claw and aimed it at Drifblim. Ariados stopped the Shadow Sneak attack and tried to parry the claw with Poison Jab. Unfortunately for him, Hickery-o knocked him over successfully. Drifblim rose to the sky and used Fly. She swooped down and traded blows with Hickery-o's Dragon Claw. Both received similar amount of damage despite the type advantage on Drifblim's side.

"You're strong." Drifblim praised.

"I haven't even used my ability yet." Hickery-o smiled confidently. Was it a bluff?

"Drifblim, Duosion is coming." Ariados alerted. "What should we do?"

"I guess it's better to play safe. We don't even know her ability. Teleport us out of here." Drifblim decided.

"Alakazam, teleport us to the desert area." Ariados talked into the microphone of the headset.

A wondrous beam of light warped them away and Hickery-o sighed in relief.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Hickery-o:** "Things might turn out badly if we continue to fight. Luckily, they fall for my bluff. We can't use your ability yet."

* * *

Drifblim and Ariados rested inside Chef Drapion's Grill for a while. Drifblim ordered some sushi for them to eat with her Skarmory tokens.

"Ariados, does anyone accept your gameshow idea yet?" Drifblim asked leisurely.

"Sadly, no. They all got a stick up their butts." Ariados answered, lowering his head a little.

"When will you freaking find a job?! If no one accepts your idea then you better start weaving stuff for sale like all the other Ariados." Drifblim clearly looked upset.

Ariados sighed, dropping the sushi down on his plate. "You know how much I want to be a game show host. If my idea gets accepted, you'll get to be the co-host as well."

"But we can't continue to live like this, you know that. If you truly want that _day_ to ever come, then you need to find a job." Drifblim referred to their marriage. Ariados looked depressed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ariados:** "To all the viewers out there, I hope that you don't misunderstand Drifblim. Even though she lied about being single and can be harsh to me at times, she really loves and cares for me. She feeds and takes care of an unemployed man like me. She never puts any make-up on just because she wants to please me. I hate girls who wear make-up because of The Bachelor. So many *beep* in that show." He teared up a little.

"She works day and night to save up for our marriage. If she wins this show, it'll make her dream comes true and our dream comes true."

* * *

Alakazam told something to Ariados that made him widen his eyes.

"What is it? Duosion, Meowth and Nidoking or Nosepass and Hickery-o. Is it all of them?" Drifblim asked, coming up with multiple scenarios in mind.

"Houndour and Duosion." Ariados revealed.

* * *

 **Angelic Resurrection**

May gods bless a kind-hearted Houndour like you even after the end of your days (Passive).

Level 1: Revive for ten minutes.

Level 2: Revive for twenty minutes.

 **Level 3: Revive permanently.**

* * *

Ariados and Drifblim exited Chef Drapion Grill to meet Houndour and Duosion outside.

"Ready for the rematch, dude?" Houndour addressed Ariados.

"Any day, anytime." Ariados stretched his legs a little.

"Drifblim, you outperformed me last time. This time it'll be different." Duosion talked leisurely before the battle as well.

"Show me, girl. Enough talk. Let's do this!" Drifblim initiated the battle with a Shadow Ball aimed at Duosion. The psychic stopped the attack with a Shadow Ball of her own.

Ariados shot a string out, aiming for Houndour's legs. Houndour leaped into the air and blasted Flamethrower at him.

Ariados shot a string out from his rear this time, connecting to the door of the restaurant. He used it to pull himself away from the vicinity of the attack.

"Great trick, dude." Houndour praised before charging at him with Flame Charge, building his speed up.

"You aren't bad either. I usually compete in 'challenges' back at home, it makes me strong." Ariados maneuvered from building to building in the desert town with his strings as Houndour chased him with Flame Charge, gradually increasing his speed. Seemingly, the canine tried to distance the spider from Duosion.

"Trick Room." Duosion smirked, creating a room that reverses speed. With Houndour gone, this worked in her favor.

"Smart, Duosion. However, I have more than just speed." Drifblim shot another Shadow Ball at her.

Duosion floated away quickly and countered with a Shadow Ball of her own. Drifblim took the full hit. She tried to grab Duosion and used Constrict on her. However, it was a losing battle with Trick Room in play.

Duosion shot another Shadow Ball. Drifblim used Minimize to dodge it. However, they kept coming and coming. The ghost couldn't dodge them all.

"Ariados, help me!" Drifblim saw no other choice than calling for help from her fiancé.

"Ariados, out!" Unfortunately, Houndour boosted his speed so much that Ariados could no longer avoid the inevitable Flame Charge.

Houndour rushed over to help Duosion. He used Bite on Drifblim while his girlfriend blasted another Shadow Ball at her.

"Drifblim, out!" Now, only six remained.

"We did, Duosion!" Houndour celebrated, hugging her.

"Yes, that was a good fight." Duosion embraced his warm body.

A clapping noise was heard from nearby. The two turned to face Meowth and Nidoking.

Meowth stopped clapping. "Houndour, you remember this place, right? The desert town. It was then I decided to abandon you. Precisely, after you refused to make a deal with me."

"Meowth, I still see you as a friend… I don't understand. Why?! Why must you do all those things to Dedenne, Scolipede, Ledyba and the others? I didn't accept that deal because I care about you." Houndour made an emotional appeal.

"Simple, you refuse to work with me. As a business owner, I hire those willing to work for my business, willing to maximize my sales. However, we have conflicts of interests. We are just too different from each other. Someone like Lucario is more suited to be my partner. You aren't." Meowth explained, averting his eyes at end. Houndour looked hurt.

"Don't listen to his words, Houndour. We should just take this corporate monster down. Now!" Duosion urged. Houndour nodded slightly, showing a pained smile to Meowth.

"Listen to her. Let's end this!" Meowth refused to look at him straight on the face, using Pay Day to start the battle. He continuously hurled coins at his opponents.

"Accept my money before it gets confiscated." Meowth grinned as the attacks connected against both of them. The coins soon disappeared.

"Ah, enough of your dirty money!" Duosion used Psychic on Meowth, lifting him into the air.

"Duosion, you're the most productive and valuable employee of our company. You're smart, intelligent, perfect. You're the star. The ladder that we need to rise to success. Without you, Meowth & Co. and Treasure Trio are nothing." Meowth used Flatter to counter Psychic. Duosion became confused and freed Meowth. Although, he raised her Sp. Attack as well.

"Ah, the headache!" Duosion screamed in pain as she started banging her face against a door of Chef Drapion Grill.

While Meowth and Duosion fought, Nidoking battled Houndour.

Even though the speed boosts from the previous battle wore off, Houndour still had the clear speed advantage.

"Catch me if you can." Houndour challenged, running circles around Nidoking.

"Earthquake!" Nidoking didn't even bother catching him. He just created a massive earthquake that knocked Houndour down. The assistant ran over to Duosion during this time and finished her off with Megahorn.

"Duosion out, Houndour out!" Houndour showed another pained expression to Meowth before he left.

The businessman slumped down on the ground, swiping the sand aimlessly.

"Boss, are you… alright?" Nidoking asked with concern.

"I'll be fine. It's just unfortunate that I need to close Treasure Trio down. It's just a small business with three members yet… It means little to nothing to me now. Let's find Nosepass and end this." Meowth lifted himself off the ground and headed out the desert area.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nidoking:** "Boss acted a bit weird honestly. I never really see this side of him before. Maybe He's always like this. I don't know. I'm just his assistant. I doubt that qualifies as his loved one."

 **Houndour:** "I know that Meowth has heart. I heard the things he did for Lucario and for the others as well like sharing food. However, he can also be a cold-hearted business owner at the same time." He acknowledged.

* * *

"Hickery-o, I found it!" Nosepass showed the pocket watch he found inside the garage. Apparently, it was hidden inside the Pikachu driver skeleton's ribcage. Nosepass confronted his fear and pulled it out.

"This is great, Nosepass. We are going to win!" Hickery-o accepted the pocket watch Nosepass handed over to her and raised it upwards.

* * *

 **Countdown to Destruction**

If you manage to find a pocket watch, you can put someone on a five minutes timer of inevitable destruction. Beware, this will reveal your location to everyone. If they can't eliminate you during that time, they will be eliminated (Active).

Level 1: One pocket watch will be hidden.

 **Level 2:** Two pocket watches will be hidden.

Level 3: Three pocket watches will be hidden. The timer has been reduced to four minutes and thirty seconds.

* * *

"Put Meowth on a timer!" Hickery-o activated.

"Nosepass and Hickery-o are inside the haunted mansion. Eliminate them in five minutes!" Meowth and Nidoking heard this. As of right now, they were inside the haunted forest.

Four minutes remaining…

Meowth and Nidoking made their way through the fog. Nosepass and Hickery-o hid in the plain white room on the second floor.

Three minutes remaining…

Meowth and Nidoking reached the mansion. Nosepass' heart pumped with excitement.

Two minutes remaining…

Meowth and Nidoking spread out to search the first floor. Hickery-o held Nosepass' hand.

A minute remaining…

Meowth and Nidoking searched the second floor. Nosepass heard noises and fretted.

Thirty seconds remaining…

"Boss, I found them." Nidoking shouted.

Fifteen seconds remaining…

Hickery-o blocked Nidoking with everything she got. Meowth managed to get pass her.

10…

"Assist!" Meowth borrowed Nidoking's Poison Tail.

9…

"Eat my Tackle!" Nosepass wouldn't go down without a fight.

8…

Nosepass got knocked away. However, he didn't faint yet.

7…

"This time, I want Eartquake. Assist!" Meowth got Earthquake luckily. He jumped up into the sky…

6…

"No! Nosepass, dodge!" Hickery-o shouted worriedly.

5…

"Go, boss!" Nidoking cheered as he held Hickery-o in place.

4…

Nosepass looked terrified as Meowth shook the ground with a massive earthquake.

3…

"Ah!" Nosepass screamed in pain as he absorbed the impact.

2…

Nosepass saw Hickery-o before he was about to lose consciousness.

1…

Nosepass used his last remaining willpower to endure the agony for just a bit longer.

Nosepass fainted around the same time as the timer hit zero. Nobody could tell the result. They waited for Skarmory to declare the winner.

…

…

…

"After re-watching the footage, it was very close. We need to play it on slow motion. Well, I won't delay it any longer. Nosepass wins immunity!" Skarmory ended the suspense.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "What? I… I-I won?! This is the first time in my life that I won something this big. I won individual immunity in a game show with the likes of Lucario. Thank you, Hickery-o."

 **Meowth:** "I lost immunity. This is a huge loss. I might go bankrupt today."

 **Ariados:** "Before I leave, I want to tell you viewers something. Drifblim, she's a girl of very few fears. She fears that her favorite game shows will be canceled. She fears that she will lose the million and get eliminated after making it this far. Last of all, she fears that she won't be accepted by the viewers. Hence, she likes to play a role that isn't really herself. I hope you can understand that and go easy on her if she eliminates your favorites. As her fiancé, this is the very least I can do for her. Fun talking to you all." He waved.

* * *

Houndour shared a kiss with Duosion.

Swanna smooched Farfetch'd.

Heracross and Miltank exchanged a hi-five.

Hickery-o gave Nosepass a kiss on the cheek. He blushed madly.

Drifblim and Ariados just hugged, keeping their relationship a secret.

Meowth told Nidoking that he will give him a raise. The assistant smiled delightfully.

All the eight contestants watched as the loved ones departed.

Darmanitan waved at Machoke before giving a thumb up as the technician showed off many techniques.

Florges gave a flying kiss to Aromatisse before raising her eyebrows twice. It must be something about Decidueye as Aromatisse looked a bit embarrassed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I really miss Houndour…"

 **Farfetch'd:** "Swanna is the only one that can remotely stop me from crying about Mr. Stalk. At the very least, I still have you, right? Ms. Stick." He nodded, shaking her a little. "That's reassuring."

* * *

Drifblim approached Aromatisse and Duosion, convincing them to get rid of Meowth. She didn't need to do much convincing and it was a little bit boring. Therefore, Skarmory skipped that part. He showed a much more interesting conversation between Meowth and the two girls instead.

"My guests, I do believe that Heracross and Drifblim stole Mr. Stalk." Meowth accused.

"You have no evidence, Meowth. Stop throwing the blame on others, I bet it was you." Duosion didn't believe his word one bit.

"Think about it, what do I have to gain from stealing Mr. Stalk? I'm already pushed into a corner after Lucario's gone. Isn't it too risky of a move for me?" Meowth reasoned.

"You have a point but maybe you just want to steal Mr. Stalk and threaten Farfetch'd to vote with you. That's possible." Aromatisse pointed out. Meowth groaned in frustration.

"While I may look like a dirty businessman to you two. I don't violate the law. At most, I exploit them. If I ever say anything that might suggest otherwise, it's purely for comedic purposes. I respect my customers' right." Meowth sounded a bit sincere. However, it was hard to tell whether he was lying or not.

"Meowth, if you stay it's because we think Heracross is worse than you. Just get out, I have heard enough of your empty words." Duosion opened the door with Psychic for him.

"Fine, you'll regret it when Drifblim wins the million…" Meowth muttered under his breath as he left.

After Meowth was gone, the two girls turned to each other.

"Aromatisse, I want you to make the decision this time." Duosion let her decide.

"Why? You always take charge. Why let me decide now?" Aromatisse questioned.

"It's because I realize that I can biased and opinionated. Because of me, Scolipede and Ledyba got eliminated. You on the other hand, seem to be a bit more level-headed. Aromatisse… I'm sorry for this morning about Farfetch'd and all." Duosion apologized.

"You don't need to apologize, Duosion. You have the right to think that way. I understand where you're coming from." Aromatisse assured.

"No, I still need to apologize. I spoke harshly of Farfetch'd because of personal reasons. After Houndour's gone, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I hate Lucario and Meowth. I feel blinded by revenge. After spending time talking with Houndour, I start to see my mistakes and flaws now." Duosion released her feelings. "Enough about me, who do we eliminate?"

Aromatisse looked deep in thought.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Drifblim accused Meowth of stealing Mr. Stalk while Meowth accused Heracross of stealing him. I can't trust any of them. I'll Ms. Stick decide. Aha, I got it. She wants me to eliminate Heracross because she offends my girlfriend."

 **Heracross:** "Bye, Meowth. Before you leave, I'll appreciate it if you give poor me some money as charity."

 **Darmanitan:** "I'll vote for Heracross. She needs to chill out in Loser Island."

 **Nosepass:** "Well, Drifblim is kind of like my ally. I guess I should vote with her. Besides, Meowth can be a jerk to me sometimes."

 **Meowth:** "Before I take down Drifblim, I need to get rid of her employee, Heracross."

 **Drifblim:** "I like it. Meowth is putting up a fight once again. Make this entertaining for the viewers, won't you? I doubt that you'll last beyond three episodes. Prove me wrong."

 **Duosion:** "Personally, I'll vote for Meowth. Not only do I hate him, Drifblim is our ally. We should please her. However, Aromatisse gets to decide this time."

 **Aromatisse:** "I honestly don't know. Meowth and Heracross are equally bad. Just like the roses situation all over again. Heracross is a nasty, mean and rude barbarian that likes to use force and pick fights with others. Meowth is a dirty, backstabbing and sneaky businessman that can lie and manipulate others for profit. Even though he fixed my face, I believe that he only did it for me to vote with him." Aromatisse sighed.

"I know that Duosion and Drifblim want me to vote Meowth out but this is my decision. This is what I think!"

* * *

"Get a Leppa Berry and you stay. Don't get one and you're eliminated. I reiterate this fact a million times already." Skarmory exaggerated.

"Oh, the nightmare of hearing your annoying voice for the millionth time." Drifblim mocked. Skarmory rolled his eyes before giving out the berries.

"Nosepass" He got an extra-large Leppa Berry. It symbolized his huge accomplishment today.

"Drifblim" She glanced at Meowth and Heracross.

"Darmanitan" He looked as chill as ever.

"Duosion" She went through many possibilities and the number of outcomes inside her head.

"Farfetch'd" He gave the berry to Ms. Stick. However, she dropped it. Farfetch'd frowned. She was nothing like Mr. Stalk.

"Aromatisse" She had a knowing look.

"Meowth and Heracross, the rich and the poor. The golden spoon and the rusty metal. Will the rich get richer or will the poor start a successful rebellion? We shall see. The eliminated contestant is…" Skarmory made a dramatic pause.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Heracross."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** She held a single rose in her hand. "I have made my decision. Heracross is an uncivilized, unbearable brute. I feel much better having Meowth around the camp than her."

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Guess everyone hates me more than Meowth. Can't say that it's surprising after the tiebreaker though. Whatever, I hope my girl Drifblim can do this and just give me some spare of cash. Even just a single P. Just give me something, girl. I want to say this to everyone else. *beep* you all! You all suck, especially you, Farfetch'd. You and your stupid girlfriend. I'm done.

* * *

Two Pokemon came to see Heracross: Farfetch'd and Drifblim.

"Heracross, did you steal Mr. Stalk?" Farfetch'd only came to ask her this.

"Nope. Get lost, pervert." Heracross gestured for Farfetch'd to leave. He left, disappointed and distressed.

"Girl, take care of my bed. Got it?" Heracross winked.

"Got it." Drifblim went along with it. She looked a bit confused.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** He cried in the confessional, curling in a fetal position. "Will I ever see Mr. Stalk again?"

* * *

Nosepass headed down the secret base. Soon, he would free himself of his guilt. Of course, Nosepass wouldn't come clean entirely. He felt like he has the right to avoid the responsibility and blame Drifblim or Meowth for everything instead.

Hickery-o lied before too. This gave him some comfort, knowing that it wasn't him alone that did these _dastardly_ things.

However, the world wouldn't go easy on him. It shall make him suffer and atone for his mistakes.

Nosepass widened his eyes. Mr. Stalk was gone. The only one who knew about the location beside him was… Drifblim.

Nosepass hurried outside. He missed a tiny blue and white blur in the sky.

Guilt burned like the flames of purgatory inside his body.

Nosepass returned to the camp. He was about to wake Drifblim up for some questioning until…

He saw Meowth with a leek stalk. The cat gleamed like a golden sun under the silver moonlight as he rubbed the leek stalk.

"Drifblim, Meowth & Co is back. I'll switch things up with my newest product." Meowth chuckled darkly before entering his own cabin.

Nosepass dropped down to the ground, kneeling in penitence. If Meowth entered the secret base, he would find the blatantly large piece of paper Rhydon gave him. Meowth would know for sure that he did it. Nosepass was screwed.

Hickery-o's words came to mind. "The truth always limps behind the lie, Nosepass." He confessed too late. Now, he didn't have a chance to confess.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "What have I done…?"

 **Farfetch'd:** "I couldn't sleep so I asked Ms. Stick to come up with a place where it's likely for Mr. Stalk to be there. She said that I should check the sea out."

* * *

Farfetch'd walked to the shallow parts of the sea, trying to find Mr. Stalk. Unfortunately, an angry horde of Carvanha attacked.

"Help!" Farfetch'd screamed as they bit him furiously. He was about to drown.

Luckily, Skarmory landed on the dock for the closing part. He spotted Farfetch'd and ordered Alakazam to teleport him to the infirmary.

"Wow, Farfetch'd is now the true pain magnet. Maybe, Ms. Stick is cursed. Who knows? What I know is that Jumpluff is about to get some competition!" He laughed, clapping to himself. "Sorry, viewers. It's just that Bisharp is the perfect Pokemon to make fun off. Well, see you next time on Total Skarmory Island. One, two, fire!" Skarmory hinted, ducking and covering his head with both wings.

* * *

 **Votes**

Nosepass: Meowth

Darmanitan: Heracross

Drifblim: Meowth

Meowth: Heracross

Heracross: Meowth

Farfetch'd: Heracross

Duosion: Heracross

Aromatisse: Heracross

Heracross: 5 (eliminated)

Meowth: 3 (safe)

* * *

Here is Farfetch'd and Swanna Ability- Delusional Duplicator

You can duplicate yourself. In reality, you just hire a few helpers (Passive).

Level 1: You get a Wimpod intern.

Level 2: You get an additional Raticate intern.

Level 3: You get an Ursaring intern alongside the other two.

The word 'Valentia' means courage by the way. I learn it from Fire Emblem Echoes: SOV.

This chapter has many references to a popular variety show. If you're bored and have nothing to do, try to find them all.

I see that my viewers got their winner pick already. Let me mess up your elimination lists a bit then.

Nosepass is a smart winner pick. Not only is he a steel type (my favorite type) after evolving, he gets a lot of development and sympathetic edits. He's the underdog. Can he pull off a huge upset?

Drifblim is also a smart winner pick. She plays this game the hardest. Despite being the main antagonist, she gets positive edits and development. She's a gameshow fanatic like me. Arguably the smartest. Can she make her life-long dream come true?

Meowth is another smart winner pick. He's the secondary antagonist turned anti-hero. He plays this game really hard. In addition, his intelligence and business charm is nothing to scoff at either. He's a businessman like me. Can he build his business empire?

Aromatisse is a smart winner pick as well. She gets tons of positive edits. She shows a lot of growth in her character. She got a solid social game despite floater-ish gameplay. Will she get the one thousand roses from Meowth?

Darmanitan is a solid, believable pick. He's the most composed, calm and chill. The least likely to succumb to pressure in the finale. Arguably the strongest physically. Can he activate Zen Mode more often and show them all that he's actually a competitive threat to win this game?

Duosion is a risky pick. She got a mix between positive and negative edits. Despite being one of the most intelligent contestant, she has her struggles.

Farfetch'd is a crazy pick. I mean just look at him right now. Without Mr. Stalk, he's toasted. If he gets Mr. Stalk back then he's a smart pick as well. With Mr. Stalk, he's the most well-rounded player. He also shows a respectable amount of development and he got his code of honor going for him.

Heracross got no chance to win this game. I'm tired of forcing myself to lie and say she has a chance. Bye, bye Heracross.

The final seven won't return in season two. They get enough development. See you all next time and remember to review. It really motivates me.


	26. Chapter 26

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Parousia45**

Hickery-o will return with Nosepass in Season 3. Season 2 is already filled. Once again, you're right about the villains. Your analysis really is spot on. Triple G and Bisharp are two of the best characters I ever created in my opinion. They're comedic but at the same time they can serve other roles. I can't wait to write about them again.

 **Worma-Sir**

You better be scared about Farfetch'd. He might not see Mr. Stalk ever again... Your predictions are interesting. Watch out for possible curve-balls though. Maybe I'm just messing with you because you guessed correctly.

 **Fallenstreet01**

I don't want to make Heracross too deep. It doesn't suit her character. There are many remaining contestants with D as the first letter. Isn't that strange? Maybe, I'm just messing with you.

* * *

 **Episode 26: The Sheriff, The Outlaw and The Patissier**

Skarmory wore a cowboy hat this time around. He pushed it up slightly so it wouldn't obscure his vision.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Skarmory used his wings as if they were guns.

"Welcome back, viewers. Last time, our contestants got to see their loved ones again. Ah, the happy and lovely reunions… The kisses and hugs…" Skarmory recalled romantically. "After many touching moments, they all competed in our two-part challenge. The first tested their knowledge of each other while the second tested their strength. In the end, Nosepass timed out a victory against Meowth, earning himself his first individual immunity. Oh, how the businessman scrambled to get votes as Drifblim set her sights on him. It came down to Aromatisse, who got the final call as to who would go home. Bye, Bye Heracross. Bang! Meat exploded out of her head." Skarmory ended the recap, blowing his right wing coolly.

* * *

Nosepass woke up, yawning before sliding off his bed. His head felt really light and his thoughts were strangely empty. Nosepass slapped both of his cheeks for a few times, trying to snap his mind to work. Suddenly, a sudden jolt of realization shocked him.

He stole Mr. Stalk and Meowth found out about his shadowy deed.

"No, oh god, no! They're going to kill me! Are they here?" Nosepass panicked, trembling as he turned around rapidly. He withdrew his hands close to his chest, fearing for his own safety. He grew restless. Even the fact that Farfetch'd wasn't inside the cabin right now didn't relieve him of his worries in the slightest.

His heart skipped a beat as he stepped on a newspaper.

"Ah!" Nosepass screamed, jumping onto his bed and hid under his blanket.

"Nosepass, h-help me…" Nosepass heard a weak and dying voice. He continued to hide under his blanket.

"Help me… _H-help me_ …" The voice grew weaker and weaker. Nosepass shut his eyes and ears, wishing the voice to stop.

"Help me!" Suddenly, the voice turned malicious, loud and threatening. A monstrous figure loomed over him.

"Go away! Go away! Go away!" Nosepass shouted desperately. However, his blanket was taken away. Nosepass opened his eyes, witnessing true terror.

It was a newspaper figure with shadowy arms and legs. Soon enough, it grew ears, eyes and fangs… All bloody red. Its body bled severely from a red, gashing cut.

"Nosepass, why did you abandon me to suffer from Farfetch'd's wrath all alone? Why?! We are supposed to be partners! You coward!" Mr. Newspaper grabbed Nosepass and threw him off his bed.

Nosepass cried in agony as his head slammed hard against the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" Nosepass repeated the same, empty apology. "I'll confess, I'll confess!"

"It's too late to apologize. It's too late to confess as well." Mr. Newspaper rejected, looking down critically with no sympathy.

Tears coursed down Nosepass' cheeks as Mr. Newspaper blasted a storm of newspapers at him, giving him several paper cuts.

"Ahargh!" Nosepass yelled in indescribable pain. It was cold and freezing…

Mr. Newspaper kicked Nosepass out of the cabin. Outside, Nosepass saw the looks of despise from all of the other contestants.

"You have a zero percent chance of making it out alive." Duosion stated, loading her firearm with bullets.

"You can't be s-serious, Duosion. H-houndour won't like t-this." Nosepass stuttered, gulping once Duosion penetrated his eyes with her serious look.

"You'll never be able to look at your face again." Aromatisse sharpened her knife.

Nosepass retreated back apprehensively.

"I hope you got your health insurance ready, thief. The punishment for embezzling the goods of my guests is death." Meowth kicked his suitcase open, lifting up a laser gun.

"Time to chill out in hell, homie." Darmanitan wore boxing gloves, belly drumming.

Nosepass cried endlessly as they all stepped intimidatingly and slowly toward him. As Nosepass kept retreating, his back was pressed against Mr. Stalk.

Nosepass turned around, quivering as he saw Farfetch'd and his devilish grin.

"Nosepass, why did you steal Mr. Stalk and locked him up in your cold, solitary secret base?" Farfetch'd asked with a deceiving smile, slapping Mr. Stalk against his right wing lightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I promise, I promise! Please spare me! I'll do anything!" Nosepass fell to his knees, begging for his life.

"Anything? Then will you go and *beep* kill yourself?!" Farfetch'd questioned, blood leaking from his eyes.

Nosepass screamed in terror at the sight. At the corner of his right eye, Drifblim appeared with a sympathetic smile before she vanished.

"It's Drifblim's fault! She tricked me!" Nosepass threw her under the bus.

"Silence, coward! What about me?! You used me to steal Mr. Stalk and even then, I still got this *beep* cut!" Mr. Newspaper pointed at his wound. "Where is my justice? Farfetch'd, punish him!" Mr. Newspaper appealed for Nosepass' death sentence.

"Mr. Stalk agrees and I agree as well. Nosepass, accept your *beep* punishment!" Farfetch'd raised Mr. Stalk up, preparing for the final blow.

"No!" Nosepass woke up from the dream (I use my divine rights to show it exclusively to my viewers), breathing heavily. Tears still fell from his eyes as he hugged himself for comfort. The nightmare destroyed him mentally and emotionally.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I just had a nasty nightmare. It was so terrifying. Everyone was trying to kill me. I don't want to experience something like that again." He shuddered, sniffling.

* * *

Nosepass slowly sneaked outside, trying to avoid everyone.

Distantly, he heard sounds of a commotion. It was between Meowth, Darmanitan and Farfetch'd. Nosepass secretly eavesdropped the conversation.

"What do you mean this isn't Mr. Stalk? This is definitely him!" Meowth insisted, confidence waned in his eyes.

"Are you trying to trick me with a cheap fake? I know how Mr. Stalk feels, looks and smells. This isn't him!" Farfetch'd saw through the scam. He threw the fake Mr. Stalk away.

Farfetch'd pointed Ms. Stick at Meowth's neck threateningly. "I think you're the thief! You have stolen Mr. Stalk from me! I know your evil plan. You knew that Mr. Stalk is a multi-talented professional. You kidnapped him so you can force him to work in a circus like a freak to his very last breath. You don't want to arouse any suspicion so you fake to help me. Exposed!" Farfetch'd accused assertively.

"That isn't true, my dear guest. I never kidnap any personnel from other organizations. No, I never intend to resort to such illegal means." Meowth defended, raising his hands up to his face level and tilted his head backwards.

"I don't believe you!" Farfetch'd shouted aggressively, fixing a skeptical and hostile look. The duck even slashed the air with Ms. Stick, making Meowth flinched.

"Homie, chill!" Darmanitan intervened. "We don't know everything for sure. Let's take some time to talk about this politely and keep the conversation chill." He proposed.

Nosepass stopped eavesdropping. At one hand, he was relieved. At the other, he felt guilty.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "It didn't work. Ugh, I underestimate my guest's intelligence. I can't believe that customers nowadays read the fine print or their product details and specifications. They're getting smarter. This is bad news for business."

 **Farfetch'd:** "If Meowth thinks that he can force Mr. Stalk to work in his crazy circus for freaks then he better thinks again. Mr. Stalk is a tough, indomitable man. Even the toughest cookies crumble under pressure from his presence. He'll never throw away his professional pride and work in a circus like a fool, especially without me."

 **Nosepass:** "I feel safe for now but if Meowth didn't take Mr. Stalk from me, then… Who did it?" He looked baffled by this strange mystery.

* * *

In the Feckless Flygon girls' cabin…

Aromatisse was applying her morning make-up while the other two girls had a conversation.

"Statistically, violence is presented in 99 percent of street punks due to lack of parental disciplines and proper education. While statistic is certainly no excuse for her behavior, it really does raise the question of inequality in our society. Should someone that's deprived and suppressed of opportunity like Heracross deserve to stay and win the money more than a rich man who lives in a perfect world like Meowth?" Duosion set up a thesis.

"The general public usually likes to root for underdogs. If we put both of them side by side without any context as to how they play this game, the majority of the viewers will support Heracross for sure." Drifblim contributed to the discussion.

"Are you girls mad at me for choosing to eliminate Heracross? Duosion, I thought you gave me the choice." Aromatisse felt like she was being criticized.

"You misunderstand, Aromatisse. We aren't trying to disapprove your decision. We are just having a sophisticated conversation here." Duosion clarified, giving her a reassuring look.

"Sophisticated conversation, huh? Then, why don't you girls let me join? I'm not stupid." Aromatisse felt excluded.

"Girls, don't fight. Our numbers are down here. The guys might find an easy opportunity to vote us out one by one. They're having a conflict over Mr. Stalk right now. We should use this chance to eliminate one of them like Meowth. If we stick together, it's easy final three for us." Drifblim advised.

"You're right about that, Drifblim. I totally agree with you. I don't like any of the boys anyways. The last one that I can stand is Shedinja and he's eliminated a long time ago."

"Quite the opposite for me, honestly. I like all of the boys except for Meowth." Aromatisse gave her opinion.

"We are all in accord of booting Meowth, then?" Duosion looked at her two allies. They both nodded.

"Good, let's go and get breakfast, girls." Duosion suggested. "My treat." She said generously.

"Sounds good to me." Aromatisse agreed, grinning.

"How nice of you, Duosion. Certainly, more generous than Archeops." Drifblim said in a grateful tone.

"Hey, I need to treat my friends everyone once in a while. Let's go." Duosion opened the door to see Nosepass waiting outside. He seemed agitated.

"May I see Drifblim?" Nosepass asked, a bit quieter than usual.

Duosion turned to face the ghost. "Drifblim, Nosepass wants to see you."

"Alright. Girls, go ahead without me. Leave some food for me, alright?" Drifblim requested.

"Don't worry, girl. I'm on a diet." Aromatisse assured. The two girls left, leaving Nosepass and Drifblim with their private talk.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I think I overreacted a little but still, they make it really sounds like they're criticizing my decision and downplaying my intelligence. I'm done being known for just my beauty, you know? I want to look smart and strong too." She sighed.

"I guess they can't take me seriously sometimes. I'm not always the brightest I guess. I make a fool of myself over Decidueye. How can you blame me though? That guy is hot." She daydreamed.

 **Duosion:** "I'm not mad at Aromatisse at all for choosing to eliminate Heracross over Meowth just like I'm not mad at Drifblim for eliminating Houndour early yesterday. I still feel pretty bad though. I make it sound like I'm insulting her. That's why I want to buy some good food for Aromatisse as an apology."

 **Drifblim:** "I don't mind Heracross getting eliminated, honestly. She's no longer useful to me anyways. If she was to last any longer, she would turn into an eyesore for the viewers, no doubt. Why did I suggest that the girls target the boys? Well, the thing is they don't know that I have Nosepass in my back-pocket. With four votes, I control the elimination."

* * *

"Drifblim, be honest with me, did you remove Mr. Stalk from my secret base?" Nosepass asked in a gravely manner.

"You lost Mr. Stalk?! How?!" Drifblim shouted, shocked.

"What?! I thought you were the one." Nosepass sounded equally shocked.

"No, Nosepass. Why would I do that? Think about it, a very risky move in execution. If I move Mr. Stalk, others might see me with him. Then, there's the risk of causing confusion with you. You get the idea." Drifblim reasoned.

"Drifblim… I'm done with this sabotaging business. I can't take it anymore. The guilt, the nightmares… They're too much for me. Maybe, we should just confess and share the blame together." Nosepass really wanted to retire from being the shadowy saboteur.

"No, Nosepass. That's ridiculously stupid! Do you want to throw your chance at the million away just like that?" Drifblim strongly opposed, scowling slightly.

"It isn't worth it to me anymore, Drifblim. I don't want to suffer any longer." Nosepass sobbed. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I'm scared."

"Nosepass, you think I'm not scared? I'm scared too. This is my life-long dream. I can't afford to waste it no matter what. However, confessing doesn't solve the problem in any shape or form, especially when you don't have Mr. Stalk in your possession. Don't act impulsively. Don't drag both of us down together. Please." Drifblim pleaded with earnest eyes.

"I guess you're right. I'm too scared to confess anyways." Nosepass admitted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Well, no turning back now. Maybe, everything will turn out well if I just stay quiet, you know? Farfetch'd might just randomly find Mr. Stalk and then everyone is happy."

 **Drifblim:** "While this is certainly quite a predicament, I don't mind it. I take it as a test of my worthiness to win this game."

* * *

Aromatisse and Darmanitan helped Farfetch'd searched for Mr. Stalk around the forest area. Aromatisse already heard about Meowth's duping scam from Farfetch'd and wasn't pleased at all.

"Meowth is totally trash tier. What kind of business owners commit that kind of fraud shamelessly?" Aromatisse condemned.

"To be fair, he might just want to make you feel better. Just saying, homie." Darmanitan addressed Farfetch'd.

"Darmanitan, you're too positive. Meowth influenced Lucario in a bad way. Things turned out ugly probably because of him. You realize that, right?" Aromatisse disagreed with his chill mentality.

"Let's stop talking about this and continue searching, homies." Darmanitan frowned, no longer in the mood for a conversation.

Aromatisse eyed Darmanitan worriedly until she heard a scream of pain.

"Ow, I drop a rock on my right foot!" Farfetch'd yelled. It was one clumsy and unlucky accident. Darmanitan decided to carry him over to the infirmary.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd** : "Maybe it's me that should be performing in a crazy circus like a freak. I'm willing to let the audience throw Mr. Tomatoes Mrs. Pies at my faces in exchange for getting Mr. Stalk back."

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm not that close to that homie, Meowth but we are on friendly terms. For one, he's one of the few that isn't mean to me for idolizing Lucario. Second, he's the only roommate I got left in our cabin. We talk sometimes." He sighed. "Still, Aromatisse is probably right. Meowth caused all the hot mess. I should take some time to meditate and think carefully about this."

 **Aromatisse:** "Darmanitan can be pretty blind sometimes. I seriously can't believe that he sees Lucario as his role model. There are so many more famous superstars and models out there that he can pick instead."

* * *

Skarmory called everyone to gather in front of Chef Drapion Grill for today's challenge. He still wore his cowboy hat to fit in with the theme.

"Contestants, the objective of today's challenge will vary according to the roles you'll be given. If you complete it first, you win individual immunity. No moves allowed like most of the challenges. Seven unique roles and seven envelopes awaits you inside Chef Drapion Grill. Choose one and read it in secret. We will start right away." Skarmory finished his explanation.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I'm honestly concerned about balancing issues when all the roles are unique and different. However, I learn to trust Skarmory and his skills by now." She smiled proudly. "You better not disappoint. I'll do a post-show recap and trust me when I say this, Skarmory. I'm critical."

* * *

The camera showed Meowth ripping the envelope opened with his claws. The role card showed the following:

 **Sheriff**

The protector of the town. The light that shines hope upon other good Pokemon.

Goal: Eliminate three contestants with evil roles out of the other six.

Advantage: Can drag one contestant at a time to jail for fifteen minutes, has a gun (shoots sleeping darts) at the start of the challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "Not bad, not bad. This is a role befitting of me. Hopefully, Drifblim got one of the three bad roles. I wish for a stand-off against her. The battle with the town's treasure on the line."

* * *

The camera drifted over to Drifblim's role card next.

 **Outlaw**

The one who opposes the law and commit many crimes with the desire to take over the entire town.

Goal: Eliminate all the other contestants

Advantage: Start with 1,000 P.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** She smirked. "I like my role. It's thrilling, exhilarating and most importantly, flexible. I sure hope that there are multiple methods to eliminate other contestants. It'll make the challenge a lot more interesting for the viewers."

* * *

The last role card shown for now was Farfetch'd's. He smiled as he read his.

 **Patissier**

An honest baker that could never earn enough money or catch a break.

Goal: Work inside Chef Drapion Grill and hope you don't get eliminated or fired until you satisfy ten of your customers.

Advantage: Chef Drapion got your back… probably. You have special access inside Chef Drapion Grill.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk is a five stars chef. What about you, Ms. Stick?" He asked with high expectations. "What?! You don't know how to cook? Oy vey, I guess it's all on this three-stars chef. _Siblings aren't alike_." He muttered quietly to himself.

* * *

The desert town was finally complete. Houses were fully furnished. The well got a metallic ladder installed for convenience. Next to the well was an information board, detailing the directions to many places.

They were multiple buildings of interest. Obviously, we got the signature restaurant owned by Chef Drapion and the sheriff's office. However, there's more that the viewers had never seen before.

One was a giant rundown, three-floors sandstone building with broken windows and doors. The brown color faded from the frames, leaving an unappealing gray. It located in the far corner of the town.

Another was an attractive looking sandstone building with a red, alluring door lamp. In addition, the building gave off a _peculiar_ smell. Apparently, it was a brothel, evident from a sign.

Among the buildings was an interesting boy. He wore bright pink shades and held a travel brochure and a pen. Seemingly, he alternated between reading and glancing around. It was Nosepass.

* * *

 **Tourist**

A random tourist that's too curious for his own good.

Goal: Find out about four of the other contestants' objectives and write it down at the back of your brochure.

Advantage: Put your pink shades on to see invisible ghosts. They might contain what you're looking for.

* * *

Nosepass had trouble deciding where to go first. There were several places to explore in the desert town like the detective agency and the pharmacy even if they didn't catch his attention much. Those buildings were very bland and ordinary. Besides, Nosepass wasn't a fan of detective shows…

Eventually, Nosepass saw Lurantis walking past him and entering Chef Drapion's Grill. The tourist decided to follow her, having no better idea for himself.

"May I ask you something, Lurantis?" Nosepass nudged her awkwardly after the two got inside. Truth to be told, he didn't feel comfortable around her after all the times he put the pants on his head.

"What is it, Nosepass?" Lurantis looked willing to help.

"Well, you know anything about this place? Or, maybe something about the other contestants? I'm just a random, curious tourist." Nosepass asked.

"Of course! Not long ago, a Farfetch'd got hired as the patissier here. He bakes the most delicious pastries. They're hot like the sun itself! I can't wait to eat it!" Lurantis informed enthusiastically.

"I see… Thank you for your help." Nosepass jotted before making his way over to the order counter, lining behind Lurantis.

"I want to order bread that's hot like the sun!" Lurantis told.

"Hot like the sun? Alright, I'll try…" Farfetch'd looked weirded out by her, sweat dropped. He wrote her order down, then looked at the next customer.

"Nosepass? Want to order anything?" Farfetch'd asked with a slightly surprised expression.

"What are you doing here, Farfetch'd? Why do you work? Like what's your goal? Care to tell me before I order so I can you know… be confident that it'll turn out good." Nosepass asked, making his intention obvious.

"I need to satisfy ten customers before I get fired or eliminated, Nosepass. Care to help… Nosepass?" Farfetch'd gawked as Nosepass waved at him from the door.

"Sorry, Farfetch'd. I got no money. Bye." Nosepass left just like that.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** 'Wow, I can't believe that anyone will fall for it."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Ms. Stick, am I gullible?" He shook her sideways. "Yes, I'm gullible without Mr. Stalk. I can't do anything without him." He looked disappointed in himself.

* * *

Meowth looked out the window of his office. He saw Nosepass exiting Chef Drapion Grill with a joyful smile. He soon returned to his table. Three sleeping darts were placed on it. He grabbed his gun out from his holster and loaded the darts inside.

Soon, there was a knock on the door. Meowth placed the gun back in the holster and adjusted his hat before permitting entry. "Come in."

Drifblim entered, eyeing the gun on his holster. "Why did you call me here? The challenge just begins."

Meowth walked slowly to her, letting his arms swayed in a relaxed manner. "You see…" Suddenly, he grabbed the gun and aimed at her head. "I forecast that you'll harm this town's value."

"Are you sure?" Drifblim didn't show any signs of fear.

"It's just a gut feeling but I'm sure nonetheless." Meowth grinned confidently. "You should be scared."

"Why should I? I doubt that you have more than three bullets. Skarmory won't let you just shoot everyone that you come across. It's too easy to win immunity that way. I watch gameshows on a daily basis, Meowth." Drifblim astonishingly grabbed the gun and positioned it against her head. "I know how to win them. Shoot me if you're that confident." She dared.

Meowth widened his eyes in shock, sweating bullets. The audacity of her…

Meowth pulled his gun back. "I'll save you for last. Leave." He dismissed. Drifblim bowed politely before she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** He clenched his fists. "Playing with me like that, huh? Drifblim, prepare for a payback with no paycheck."

 **Drifblim:** "Oh, Meowth. All talk, no walk. How disappointing. I expect more from you."

* * *

In the kitchen…

"Hot, hot, hot like the sun!" Farfetch'd screamed, dropping the blazing bread on a plate before immersing his wings with water.

"Ah…" Farfetch'd sounded relieved.

"Duck stew, ever heard of fire-resistant oven mitts?" Chef Drapion sneered, showing the mitts to him.

"No. I didn't see them, chef." Farfetch'd admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Ha, what an idiot." Chef Drapion walked over to Farfetch'd threateningly and turned off the tap water before gripping him by the neck with his huge claws. Farfetch'd looked terrified, trying to unclamp the claws from his neck.

"Duck stew, do you still think that I stole Mr. Stalk?" Chef Drapion asked threateningly.

"No." Farfetch'd replied weakly.

"Do you think my restaurant looks horrible because it still looks like a sushi restaurant instead of a bakery?" Chef Drapion asked again. Farfetch'd shook his wings, giving up on trying to free himself.

"Do you still see me as some garbage chef from a pathetic cooking school?!" Chef Drapion basically demanded an answer he wanted.

"No." Farfetch'd submitted in his pathetic state.

"Good. Because if you piss me off even once, I'm firing you!" Chef Drapion yelled threateningly before dropping Farfetch'd down. The duck held his neck in pain as Chef Drapion was very rough.

"Hurry up and do your goddamn job! Serve the *beep* bread!" Chef Drapion hastened and Farfetch'd immediately obeyed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** He sobbed quietly to himself. "My job, my life and myself are all horrible without Mr. Stalk."

 **Chef Drapion:** "Mwahaha…" He laughed maniacally. "My revenge will be sweeter than sweet bread."

* * *

Aromatisse looked through the window into the sheriff's office, staring at the two jail cells. Ursaring and Druddigon got locked up inside.

"Aromatisse, what are you staring at?" Drifblim asked after exiting out of the office. Aromatisse got spooked.

"You scare me, Drifblim. I thought you're Meowth for a second." Aromatisse sighed in relief.

"Do we have a common enemy?" Drifblim asked, inspiring confidence and ease with an empathetic smirk.

"Of course. Maybe we should check the pharmacy out. There might be… poison and drugs that we can use to eliminate him." Aromatisse whispered.

* * *

 **Jailbreaker**

The role every criminal gang needs.

Goal: Break Druddigon out of jail and eliminate the sheriff in revenge.

Advantage: None

* * *

The two shook hands, signifying cooperation.

After the two left, Duosion came and looked through the window as well before she quickly left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Meowth, you better watch your back now. We are coming for you."

 **Aromatisse:** "I like this. Us girls taking down that dirty businessman."

 **Duosion:** "I should check out the detective agency."

* * *

Darmanitan walked inside Chef Drapion Grill. He approached the closest table to the door.

"Do you have a job for me?" Darmanitan asked Lurantis.

"I want you to give me the sun as a birthday present!" Lurantis requested unrealistically. Darmanitan shied away immediately.

"Sorry, homie. I'm the chill like the moon type." Darmanitan left and Lurantis frowned.

"Do you have a job for me?" Darmanitan asked Snorlax this time. He wore a black hat. The headgear made him stand out from all the other interns.

"Sit down." Snorlax instructed, tapping the table.

Darmanitan obeyed, sitting down and giving Snorlax the 'eager to work' face.

Snorlax showed Darmanitan a poster of a wanted criminal. The bounty was 2,000 P.

"This is Palossand. He's wanted for hugging, extortion and thievery of my goods. He usually can be found near the oasis. Catch him dead or alive and you'll get the reward. Understood?" Snorlax explained.

"Yes, homie. I'll get right to work." Darmanitan got off his seat immediately.

"Wait." Snorlax stopped. Darmanitan turned to face him again. "You might want a dart gun. Solve this riddle and you might just get it. Ahem. Remember to flush twice after doing your dirty business."

"I'll keep that in mind, homie." Darmanitan left, scratching his head.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Well, this homie boy isn't the best at riddles. Maybe if I meditate, I'll be enlightened."

* * *

Drifblim and Aromatisse entered the pharmacy. It was pretty small and shabby with only a few shelves and glass containers. Medicines ranged from healing berries to prescription drugs.

Seeing the two girls looked around, unable to find what they wanted, Wimpod offered to help. "What are you two l-looking for? I'm the o-owner. I c-can help." Wimpod stuttered, finding it difficult to fit his role.

Aromatisse got close to his ear. "Poison." She whispered.

"P-poison?" Wimpod quivered in fear. "Are you trying to kill someone? I'll report this to the sheriff."

"No, don't! Drifblim, what are we going to do? If Meowth finds out, he'll shoot our fabulous faces!" Aromatisse started panicking. Drifblim placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. This calmed her down considerably.

"Wimpod, I think you misunderstand. We are conducting a research on the harmful effects of certain drugs. Please bring us the cheapest one." Drifblim requested.

"We are medical students. Sorry for scaring you." Aromatisse reinforced, trying to sound natural.

"C-cheapest? Err… Just give me a moment." Wimpod excused himself to find the cheapest one. He scurried around the store, struggling.

"Where is it? Where is it?" Wimpod mumbled, becoming more anxious with every passing second.

Drifblim and Aromatisse looked frustrated. Therefore, they searched on their own.

This drug store was pretty much extremely unprofessional. No price tags, no proper organization of drugs and berries. Everything mixed together like a mess.

Drifblim came across a small bag of brownish-green leaves that looked like herbs. She thought it was weed until she touched it.

"How much does this bag cost?" Drifblim pointed and asked for the price.

"Uh, 300 P." Wimpod said randomly. Drifblim paid him the money before exiting the store with Aromatisse, not impressed with the store. Wimpod averted his eyes. His service was unacceptable.

"Drifblim, are we even allowed to drug Meowth? I'm not so sure about this anymore." Aromatisse cast her doubts.

"Don't worry, Aromatisse. It's fake. Touch it, artificial leaf." Drifblim exhibited. Aromatisse touched it, it gave a papery feeling to her skin.

"It really is fake." Aromatisse nodded slightly.

"I have a change of plans now. Instead of poisoning the sheriff, we are going to frame someone to divert his attention from us." Drifblim devised quietly.

"Who are we going to frame?" Aromatisse kept her voice low. Drifblim threw a look toward Chef Drapion Grill. Aromatisse had a moment of hesitation before agreeing to it.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Wimpod:** "I guess I'll be stuck with the credits for the rest of my life."

 **Drifblim:** "Wimpod breaks the immersion of the challenge and makes the show looks really unprofessional. Maybe the viewers will like it but, eh. It feels awkward watching him scrambling around for a whole minute or two. I feel bad for Skarmory. He should edit some parts out."

 **Aromatisse:** "Well, I like Farfetch'd but I rather win immunity more. I'll choose the million over him any day of the week. Even on Sundays when I feel generous after a long spa time. The show will be over soon and I finally can go back to my old beauty routine."

* * *

Duosion entered the detective agency. On the exterior, it looked like any other building. On the interior, it had more of a detective feel to it.

There was a coat stand with a deerstalker on top. There were paintings of detective movies along the walls. One showed a detective Heracross and his Ice Sandslash partner.

The table was pretty well organized with a laptop computer and table lamp. Bookshelves held many case files and records. At the end of the room was a coffin, strangely.

As you could guess, Smeargle worked here.

"Detective, can I see the murder files of Ursaring?" Duosion asked.

"Ursaring?" Smeargle got off her chair and retrieved a file from a bookshelf. "You need an authority's approval to see it. You have any note or anything that grants permission?"

"No, not right now." Duosion admitted.

"I'm sorry but I can't just show it to outsiders." Smeargle denied. "Return once you got permission. You can ask the sheriff."

Duosion sighed in disappointment. This was unexpected. She left the detective agency, looking down on the ground. Did she really need to beg Meowth for approval? Anything but that. There must be another way.

"Miss, you looked pricked. May I hear your story? Perhaps, I can help." Abomasnow approached her suddenly after she exited.

"I guess. The thing is I need to get an authority's approval so I can save an innocent man from getting wrongfully hung." Duosion revealed.

* * *

 **Guardian Angel**

A kind-hearted angel that looks after innocent Pokemon of the desert town.

Goal: Clear Ursaring's name and free him from the sheriff's jail. You may not resort to violence in order to achieve your goal.

Advantage: An angel doesn't need an advantage.

* * *

"I see… Miss, I'm a forger. This is your lucky day. I'll help you if you help me." Abomasnow offered a deal.

"Thank you very much. What do I need to do?" Duosion asked eagerly.

"Follow me." Abomasnow led her to his house. Once Duosion entered, she saw a giant pile of Sudoku puzzles on the table. The psychic widened her eyes in shock.

"Please complete all of it for me, miss. I'll wait outside patiently." Abomasnow bowed politely before he left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "This is going to take a very long while. Luckily, I'm good at Sudoku puzzles."

* * *

Meowth descended down to the first floor of his office, glancing at the two jail cells. Druddigon snarled, barking and cussing swear words at him. Ursaring said nothing, avoiding eye contact. His eyes were grief-stricken.

Meowth ignored the swears and headed over to the table with a bunch of newspapers. A Granbull statue with a police hat was next to it. Meowth searched through the newspapers, trying to find some sort of hint or clue that might be hidden.

Soon, there was a sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Meowth wondered, preparing his gun just in case. He opened the door and aimed the gun at the tourist.

"Ah! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Nosepass screamed deafeningly.

"Quiet!" Meowth closed his ears.

"Don't scare me then. I just want to ask you a few questions. You're the sheriff of the town but what exactly do you do?" Nosepass asked straightforwardly.

"Customer, do you think I give away my company's confidential information to random strangers? How naïve. Look at you with that pair of eager eyes and a pen. No one will fall for it." Meowth found his attempt pathetic.

"Come on, just give me a hint. Please." Nosepass begged.

"We have a no beggar policy here. Get lost or else..." Meowth threatened.

"Are you going to put a noose pass my neck?" Nosepass made a pun, albeit the fearful expression. Since he found out Hickery-o, Luca and Chamel liked them, he made them more and more.

"I'll shoot you!" Meowth thrusted the gun against Nosepass' forehead. The cowardly fled immediately, screaming all the way. Meowth grinned, satisfied with his accomplishment.

In reality, Nosepass fled because he noticed the newspapers at the corner of his right eye.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I love cowardly customers. You can pressure them to buy your products with fear."

 **Nosepass:** He rocked back and forth, traumatized. "Please don't hurt me, Mr. Newspaper. Please don't hurt me, Farfetch'd. Please don't hurt me…"

* * *

Darmanitan carried Palossand on his back as the intern hugged him, sweating under the scorching heat.

"Homie, you're heavy…" Darmanitan panted. "It isn't easy carry you all the way to town."

"Aw, sorry. I'll try to lose weight next time." Palossand apologized before tightening his arms around Darmanitan. The homie boy grimaced in pain before sucking it up.

"Zen, zen…" Darmanitan chanted, concentrating his effort on the laborious task.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I dislike the desert. It isn't chill like the snowy area. Instead of hugging Doctor Chillman, Palossand gets to hug me."

* * *

Farfetch'd used the oven mitts to remove a tray of delicious pastries out this time. The duck smiled at his accomplishment as he placed each pastry on a dish.

"Wash these dishes!" Chef Drapion shouted demandingly, slamming a pile of dishes down in front of Farfetch'd.

Farfetch'd grumbled as he left his pastries and went to clean all the dishes. Drifblim used this opportunity to add fake weed in before vanishing.

Meanwhile, Aromatisse alarmed the situation to Meowth.

"Sheriff, Farfetch'd is putting weed inside his customers' food. You need to catch him!" Aromatisse sounded serious.

"Farfetch'd? I'll teach that competitor a lesson for harming his customers." Meowth rushed out of his office. Aromatisse grinned as she followed him.

Meowth pushed the door opened and the chatter died down instantly. The customers watched as the sheriff showed off his cowboy boots. The spurs were shiny and the rowels were sharp and big. Each stomp emitted a sense of authority and power.

Farfetch'd heard the intimidating sound and lowered his head as Meowth arrived before him with censuring eyes. The sheriff sliced the floor of the restaurant with the rowels, creating a sharp and clinking sound.

"Farfetch'd, how dare you put weed in your customers food? I shall arrest you." Meowth indicted.

"I didn't! I never do that. I hold my honor as a professional chef. There must be some misunderstanding, I swear!" Farfetch'd spoke of the truth.

"How will you explain this then?" Meowth picked up a dish filled with weed.

The customers all gasped. Farfetch'd gaped in shock.

"I got framed. Chef, you know that, right? I was washing the dishes." Farfetch'd turned to Chef Drapion to verify the truth for him.

"Is that true, chef? You'll be charged with perjury if you testify falsely." Meowth discouraged. It wouldn't actually be perjury as this wasn't court.

"I don't know what the hell duck stew is talking about. Just arrest him, sheriff." Chef Drapion chuckled meanly as Meowth dragged Farfetch'd away.

"Chef, you're supposed to have my back. You're supposed to defend me!" Farfetch'd resisted to no avail.

"Screw you, baker bird. You don't deserve my help. *beep* off in jail!" Chef Drapion swore, inconsiderate toward his customers' feelings. A few customers left the restaurant out of disgust.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "It doesn't matter if Farfetch'd gets framed or not, I just want to hinder his progress and throw him into the jail. If I really think that he got an evil role, I would shoot him already."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk and Swanna will be so disappointed to see me stuck in a jail."

* * *

Nosepass finally pulled himself together after reminding himself of his blissful memories in Toucannon Island. The tourist decided to hunt for ghosts next since begging the other contestants for information probably wouldn't work on anyone else.

Nosepass couldn't spot any ghosts in any open areas. Therefore, he speculated that they probably hid in isolated areas, probably around the far corners of the town. Looking at his brochure once again, he found an ideal but scary place.

The rundown building.

If it was the old Nosepass, he wouldn't dare to get anywhere close to that creepy place. The brochure told a story of a prosperous family destroyed by greed and corruption.

However, this was the new and improved Nosepass. After his time with Hickery-o, he felt a bit braver. Still a coward but no longer a spineless coward.

"I can detect ghosts with my shades and they're there to help me. There's nothing to fear." Nosepass reassured himself as he got closer and closer to the building. Soon enough, he stood in front of it with shaky legs.

Taking a deep breath, Nosepass stepped forward sluggishly. He fitted through the hole of the entrance, glancing around at his surroundings.

Now that he got a closer look, it looked really similar to the haunted mansion. At least for the foyer.

Two doors, one to the left and the other to the right. A grand, double staircase leading to the second floor. A chandelier got attached to the ceiling.

Nosepass couldn't find any ghost types in the foyer. He continued with slow and apprehensive footsteps, heading to the right.

Nosepass held the doorknob, twisting it opened slowly. The door creaked and Nosepass trembled, peeking through the narrow gap of the door.

The room appeared to be a small dressing room with a shattered mirror, a table and a stool. Spider webs clung to the mirror and ceiling.

Most noticeably, there was a clothing rack with a pink hat and a blue overall on it. The hat got the letter N on the front. A Haunter holding a camera floated above it. He got a friendly smile on his face.

"Why the fearful face, Nosepass? Come in, hohoho…" Haunter laughed jollily. Nosepass opened the door fully, invited by his friendliness.

"So, any useful stuff to tell me?" Nosepass asked.

"Of course. But first, I think you'll look good if you put the overall and the cap on, Nosepass." Haunter suggested.

"Alright." Nosepass complied. He didn't mind it. Not like he was brave enough to refuse anyways.

The camera cut to when Nosepass finished dressing up.

"Perfect, Nosepassario." Haunter nicknamed. "Now, let me tell you the mission. Inside this haunted place filled with ghosts, role card replicas of other contestants are hidden. Find them and beware of hostile ghosts. They will attack you." He warned.

"A-attack?" Nosepass turned pale.

"What are you waiting for? Start finding. I'll film your adventure for a movie called Nosepass' Mansion." Haunter hurried.

"Okay." Nosepass replied simply, returning back to the foyer. Turning around, he saw that Haunter was still filming him. At least, he got a companion… kind of.

Nosepass opened the left door and jumped backwards. Upon seeing that they were no ghosts, Nosepass pushed his shades up his nose before entering the room.

It was a room filled with cleaning equipment. A vacuum cleaner was at the center of the room, capturing his attention.

"Can I capture ghosts with this?" Nosepass asked the Haunter cameraman.

"Yes, just don't capture me." Haunter nodded.

"I'll be careful." Nosepass equipped the vacuum cleaner behind his back and started heading upstairs cautiously.

Nosepass had a feeling that he would meet a hostile ghost soon…

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Mamma-mia, why did a random tourist like me end up in a haunted mini mansion? I didn't win a random, suspicious contest or anything."

* * *

"Sheriff, you got the wrong Pokemon! I do wheat, not weed! Free me!" Farfetch'd shouted disobediently as he tried to free himself from the sheriff's grasp.

"Go and reflect upon your wrongdoings inside the jail for fifteen minutes." Meowth sentenced, hurling Farfetch'd into the same prison as Druddigon. The sheriff even confiscated Ms. Stick before shutting the cell close.

"Hey, give her back!" Farfetch'd stretched his wings out of the iron bars.

"Yes, after fifteen minutes." Meowth placed Ms. Stick next to the newspapers before exiting his office.

Farfetch'd gasped. " _Mr. Newspaper_ …" He scowled.

"Hey, you got arrested for what?" Druddigon asked with his hands behind his head, leaning on the wall.

"I got framed. This is so unfair. The law system of this town is flawed." Farfetch'd complained.

"Yeah, sure. 'Framed', everybody says that." Druddigon scoffed.

"Hey, I got framed too! I didn't actually kill my own wife. Hell no!" Ursaring yelled earnestly.

"Sure, sure. We are all innocent." Druddigon said in a sarcastic tone.

Farfetch'd and Ursaring exchanged looks of empathy.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "I think I know who is Mr. Newspaper's accomplice now…" He narrowed his eyes. "The scummy sheriff, Meowth."

* * *

Before Darmanitan was about to carry Palossand inside Chef Drapion Grill, he saw Lurantis exiting with a sullen expression.

"What's wrong, sunlight homie?" Darmanitan asked with concern.

"Meowth and Chef Drapion, those two jerks are so mean to Farfetch'd! He baked me a delicious, scorching sunlight bread. Someone like him wouldn't put weed in his customers' food. I'm never coming back to this stupid restaurant ever again!" Lurantis vented off.

"Alright." Darmanitan absorbed the situation in as he walked to Snorlax. The chill Pokemon soon dropped the sandcastle down, unloading the burden and wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Good job, worth 2,000 P." Snorlax paid him the money before he tied Palossand up with ropes.

Darmanitan smiled proudly after his successful bounty hunt. Aromatisse and Drifblim suddenly approached him.

"Darmanitan, you got an evil role, right?" Drifblim assumed.

"Yeah, homie. I'm a greedy thief." Darmanitan confessed.

* * *

 **Greedy Thief**

You only care about the money. No need to eliminate the others.

Goal: Rob Chef Drapion Grill and the sheriff's office for treasure.

Advantage: You heard that someone got a job for you inside Chef Drapion Grill.

* * *

"Let's work together and take down Meowth, Darmanitan. Will that be okay with you?" Aromatisse asked, proposing an anti-Meowth coalition.

"I'm fine with that, homie." Darmanitan accepted. Although, his eyes showed reluctance.

"Ah, I see evilness in all of your eyes. I used to be a criminal as well in my adolescent days. Here is my help to those that will carry the tasty torch of crime. 'All well ends well. A rat lives where a rat lives.' I hope this helps you find the location of the gun store." Snorlax gave them a clue before dragging Palossand away.

"Any clue?" Aromatisse asked, looking puzzled.

"Maybe the restroom under the well?" Drifblim suggested.

"Probably, homie. Snorlax told me another part. Something about flushing twice after doing your dirty business." Darmanitan informed.

"Oh, I get it now. It's a secret code. Flush the toilet twice and the entrance to the hidden gun store will reveal itself. While we can all go down the well, it'll attract unnecessary attention. I believe we should send someone down to purchase guns for the three of us if possible." Drifblim advised.

"Yeah. I have no money so I'll let you two choose. You don't need to buy me a gun if you don't have enough." Aromatisse was fine with anything.

"Homie, I'm too big to go down the well. Maybe, you should do it." Darmanitan handed the money to Drifblim out of trust.

"Thank you, Darmanitan. I won't misplace your trust." Drifblim smiled reassuringly before exiting Chef Drapion Grill.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Obviously, I won't steal his money. Neither will I shoot him and Aromatisse. They're all bad moves. Right now, I need to unite everyone against Meowth."

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm still new to this dart gun business. It isn't chill at all. The freezing gun is more of my style."

 **Aromatisse:** "Drifblim told me that she's fine with me winning immunity today. We just need to stop Meowth from winning."

* * *

"Finally, I finish all of the Sudoku puzzles!" Duosion celebrated joyfully. She showed all of them to Abomasnow and he gave her a fake approval note.

Duosion placed the approval note down on the table for Smeargle's to inspect.

"This looks real. I guess I can show you the body of the victim." Smeargle led Duosion over to the coffin before opening it.

Inside was a 'corpse' of a female Bewear. Through the use of many make-ups, she actually looked like a murdered victim. There was a major wound on her face and multiples minor wounds around her body, especially the legs and arms.

"This Bewear got murdered by Ursaring's Hammer Arm. The victim's blood was also found on the killer's body." Smeargle stated. Duosion chuckled at this.

"Excuse me?" Smeargle raised her left eye in annoyance.

"Detective, I think you got it all wrong. This Bewear got murdered by Druddigon's Superpower. Hence, the damage was specifically on the face. Hammer Arm usually strikes the top of your head. While statistically possible to hit the face directly, it's unlikely. In addition, the other damages around the legs and arms were all due to the ability Rough Skin. The victim was probably trying to fight back. Just because the victim's blood is on someone doesn't mean that person is the killer. That's presumptuously foolish." Duosion schooled the 'detective'.

"So, Ursaring is framed?" Smeargle finally caught on. Duosion nodded.

"Bring the sheriff here, he needs to see this!" Smeargle directed. Duosion headed over to the sheriff's office as fast as possible. She needed to prevent Meowth from winning.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I think I have around a ninety percent chance of winning. Meowth, you'll be eliminated today."

* * *

Nosepass reached the second floor and found a Dusclops sweeping the floor with a broom.

The ghostly sweeper found Nosepass and immediately pointed at him mockingly. "Pink shades, really dude? Are you a boy or a girl? Hahaha…"

"You're going to get it now!" Nosepass seethed, turning the vacuum cleaner on.

"Ah! Help!" Dusclops dropped the broom and tried to run away futilely. However, in the end he got sucked by the powerful vacuum.

"Gotcha, ghost. He isn't scary at all, are all ghosts like this?" Nosepass addressed Haunter, feeling confident after his first victory.

"He's just target practice. Stay on your guard or else you're going to regret it, Nosepassario." Haunter warned.

Nosepass nodded before entering the first room of the second floor. He licked his lips immediately once he saw a long dining table with white sheet and tons of delicious food including spaghetti, pasta, lasagna, meatballs and even pizzas.

"Finally, I get to eat good food!" Nosepass couldn't resist the temptation. He totally forgot about Haunter's warning and pulled the chair back before sitting on it recklessly.

Suddenly, a mysterious Pokemon used Psychic to tie a napkin to his neck.

"Thanks, Haunter." Nosepass assumed before putting a bunch of spaghetti and meatball on his plate. Again, the mysterious Pokemon used Psychic to put some salt and pepper on his meatball spaghetti.

"That's just perfect. Thank you very much, Haunter. Unlike all the other ghosts, you're nice. I'll eat now." Nosepass said gratefully before eating carelessly.

The mysterious Pokemon utilized this opportunity when Nosepass got distracted by the food to remove his pink shades and charged up a Shadow Ball behind his back.

"Haunter, why did you take my shades off?!" Nosepass turned around furiously with spaghetti sauce on his mouth. He widened his eyes in fear immediately once he saw an invisible ghost charging up Shadow Ball.

"Oh no!" Nosepass ditched the food and ran away immediately. The Shadow Ball narrowly missed him.

"Take this, ghost!" Nosepass turned the vacuum cleaner on but it was difficult to target the ghost without the pink shades as it was thrown away to the other side of the room.

The hostile ghost started throwing chairs and dishes of food at Nosepass' direction.

"Ah!" Nosepass ducked, dodging the first chair. Once he saw a plate of pizza being thrown at him. He used the vacuum to suck it into his hands.

"Haha, yummy." Nosepass took a big bite of the pizza before he started running away from all the storm of chairs, chewing at the same time.

"Ah! This isn't cool. Stop with the chairs and throw me some more food please." Nosepass pleaded.

The ghost stopped throwing chairs and charged up another Shadow Ball. Nosepass sucked toward that direction. A female Mismagius became visible. She didn't bother floating away. Instead, she shot the Shadow Ball at Nosepass to stop his vacuum attack.

"Ouch!" Nosepass got blasted away, taking some serious damage. His face planted on the lasagna. Nosepass wiped the lasagna off his face and trembled hopelessly. There was no way that he could beat her. He was too weak to fight her head on and too slow to get his shades.

Mismagius smirked once she saw his hopeless face. She charged up another Shadow Ball, preparing to finish him off. Skarmory would raise her pay if she defeated him.

Nosepass had an epiphany after seeing his messy hands. There was another way to make her visible…

The tourist activated his vacuum cleaner. However, he didn't target Mismagius. Instead, he locked his sights onto a nearby plate of meatballs.

Nosepass sucked them up before blasting them at the Mismagius, who was caught off guard by this unorthodox strategy. The sticky meatball collided with her face and Nosepass capitalized on this chance to suck her up.

"No, I'm this close to getting a pay raise!" Mismagius shouted after a frustrating defeat. An envelope popped out of the vacuum cleaner after Nosepass captured his second ghost.

"Neat, Meowth's role card." Nosepass opened the envelope to check the content. Two more to go.

"Bravo, Nosepassario. That will make an excellent scene at the theatres." Haunter clapped, turning visible once again. His camera was placed on the chandelier. "Skarmory told us that you're an easy target. He underestimated you. You're very talented and brave."

"Haunter, Skarmory is right." Nosepass looked down on the ground in distress.

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Haunter seemed confused.

"I still think that I'm weak and pathetic. It's just that… I hate myself! I don't want to be known as the coward anymore. Anything but that, even a saboteur. I want to satisfy my big brother who wasted so much of his precious time to train a hopeless weakling like me. I want to impress my girlfriend, who saw something special in me!" Nosepass released his innermost feelings.

"I'm sure you satisfy your brother and impress your girlfriend by now." Haunter smiled.

"No, Haunter, you don't understand. You haven't seen the footage. You don't know what I did. Neither will I tell you. Let's go." Nosepass put his shades back on and left the room with regretful eyes and a frowning face. Haunter lost his smile, following Nosepass out.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I regretted stealing Mr. Stalk so much. It hasn't made me stronger in the slightest. Will I be arrested as a thief if Mr. Stalk is lost forever? Will everyone hate me? Will everyone kill me?!" He soon cried quietly to himself.

* * *

In the restroom under the well…

Drifblim flushed the toilet twice. Slowly but surely, the wall started to rotate, pushing Drifblim into a secret room.

"Nice surprise, Skarmory. Although, if I were you, I would design something less risky. I can see complaints coming about privacy violation." Drifblim talked to the camera.

"Ugly kid, you can trust Alakazam on that one. He smoking monitors everything. Not like I care." Raticate told. The rat got a table full of guns and sleeping darts in front of him.

"That's much more reassuring. Although if any problems come up, I bet Skarmory will end up on the receiving end." Drifblim replied.

"Get on with the *beep* gun business. I'm tired of my smoking sucky internship. I never get paid. I'm going to quit soon, probably when the chef does." Raticate heralded with cold, infuriated eyes. The intern lost all of his flare and passion in torturing the contestants. That's why he didn't appear at all in the last few episodes.

Drifblim remained indifferent. Raticate and Chef Drapion were far from her favorite staff members. The gun had a price tag of 700 P. Each dart costed 100 P. Lastly, there was another group of identical guns. A paper note was placed next to them.

"A gun that backfires? Interesting?" Drifblim commented after reading. The backfire gun costed 1,000 P. Drifblim decided to purchase two normal guns, three darts and one backfire gun. She paid all of her money for all of the weaponry.

Drifblim held each gun with each arm. The last held the darts. She soon left, leaving Raticate all alone in his little hole of solitude.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I hope to see better replacements than those two in the next season. While Chef Drapion can be funny. At the end, he's just one horrible, grumpy chef. Raticate is just an unprofessional sewer rat that Chef Drapion hired randomly."

* * *

Speaking of Chef Drapion, he entered the sheriff's office after Farfetch'd finished his fifteen minutes jail sentence.

Meowth came and opened the jail cell. Duosion entered and whispered something into his ear. The psychic flashed a smile at Ursaring before the two left.

The patissier glared at his boss grudgingly.

"I can fire you, duck stew. You should feel fortunate." Chef Drapion felt like he had the upper hand, grinning conceitedly at Farfetch'd.

"Fire me then, chef. Why come here?" Farfetch'd questioned.

"Because you need to work. I actually get the money from the interns by selling them food. Go and do your goddamn job!" Chef Drapion ordered. Farfetch'd chuckled and left with no need for more words.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "In the end, the chef just wants me for the money. Makes me wonder why he didn't defend me in the first place."

 **Chef Drapion:** "That smug face of his when he knows that he's a better chef than me… *beep* him! Does it even matter if he can cook better shit than me?! I'm still the chef of this island! I got my restaurant and I got my pay! He's just one *beep* contestant that will never win! To hell with him and Mr. Stalk."

* * *

Duosion told Meowth everything and Smeargle backed her up. The sheriff smiled ambiguously at the guardian angel.

"My hard-working employee, you must be rewarded." Meowth said in a very sweet tone. Too sweet…

"Reward me by freeing Ursaring. That's all I can ask for. Wait, Meowth… What are you doing?" Duosion noticed that Meowth aimed at her with his gun.

"This is your reward. Accept it gratefully." Meowth fired her.

"Duosion, eliminated!" Skarmory made an announcement and Duosion's body got teleported away.

"Why the hell did you shoot an innocent Pokemon, sheriff?! I demand a good reason." Smeargle raged.

"Because my employee thinks she can outsmart her boss and pull a win over me." Meowth explained, pointing the gun at Smeargle's head. She looked horrified.

"Don't tell anyone this or else there will be grave consequences to your financial career." Meowth threatened before he left, taking Ursaring's files with him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I wasted one bullet. No big deal. I got my ways to win."

 **Duosion:** " _Meowth_ …" She said with spite.

* * *

Drifblim handed Aromatisse and Darmanitan one gun and one dart each.

"Two guns cost 1,400 P. Three darts cost 300 P. My gun is special. It backfires and costs 1,000 P. I hope you trust me." Drifblim said sincerely.

"Of course, girl. You aren't Meowth. I bet that dirty businessman is plotting an evil scheme right now." Aromatisse had no doubt.

"Yeah, homie." Darmanitan agreed even though Drifblim basically took 1,200 P off him. One gun and dart only worth 800 P after all.

"Duosion, eliminated!" Aromatisse heard this and knew Meowth did it immediately.

"That dirty businessman. I'll teach him a lesson! You two stay here. I'll take care of him by myself." Aromatisse resolved.

"Your choice, girl. Good luck." Drifblim smiled encouragingly. Darmanitan did the same.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Meowth, you shot someone with a good role as the sheriff? Comtemptible."

 **Drifblim:** "Bad publicity stunt, Meowth." She shook her head in disapproval.

 **Darmanitan:** "Meowth reminds me of Lucario sometimes. They both are very competitive. Is this a good thing?"

* * *

Meowth was inside Ursaring's house. His bedroom to be exact. He saw dried tomato sauce on the bedsheets as well as the ground.

The sheriff examined a picture of Ursaring and Bewear kissing each other. Meowth immediately turned the picture on the table away with a revolted expression. Just like Lucario, Meowth hated romance. To him, it was only a distraction. If Houndour and Duosion weren't in a relationship together, he might actually save Treasure Trio. However, that was old news. Something to be forgotten.

Meowth soon left for the brothel. The peculiar smell forced him to close his nose as he entered.

Once Shiinotic saw her customer, she eyed him flirtatiously and seduced him with her long finger. She dressed up in her casino costume. This time, her skirt was a bit shorter than usual.

None of this worked on Meowth, of course. He pointed the gun at her head.

"Tell me, did Ursaring ever visit here?!" Meowth asked threateningly.

"Oh, sweetie, why would that-" Shiinotic got interrupted.

"Shut your trap, prostitute! Sex should never be a product no matter how desperate you're." Meowth slammed Ursaring's files down in front of Shiinotic. "These files here say that Ursaring killed his wife over their argument about his visit to this brothel. I'll ask you again. Did Ursaring ever visit here?!"

"No. Please don't shoot." Shiinotic shook, closing her eyes in fear. Meowth picked up his files and walked over to her.

"Stay silent and you shall live. Understood?" Meowth pressured with his gun. Shiinotic nodded profusely.

Aromatisse rushed inside after hearing noises from nearby.

"Meowth, I can't believe that you're threatening another innocent lady." Aromatisse pointed her gun at him. However, Meowth held Shiinotic as his hostage.

"Innocent? Laughable. If you dare shoot, she's going to take the hit." Meowth used Shiinotic as his meat shield.

"Please don't shoot, Aromatisse. I beg you!" Shiinotic implored. Her eyes were so sympathetic.

Aromatisse loosened the grip on her gun. Meowth utilized this opportunity to shove Shiinotic aside and fired the jailbreaker out of the game.

"Aromatisse, eliminated!" Aromatisse's body got teleported away but not her gun. Meowth took it and left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shiinotic:** "Don't get me wrong, I'm not actually a prostitute. I just get paid a lot performing these roles. On another note, I hate Meowth as much as Lucario now. Both are ruthless, vicious and crazily competitive sons of a-" The last word got cut off.

 **Aromatisse:** "Meowth, you're going home tonight. I hope to the fabulous gods of beauty that you lose."

* * *

"Gotcha!" Nosepass rejoiced as he captured a Banette successfully. He got another role card. This time, it was Darmanitan's. He needed one more.

The tourist eventually reached the final floor and entered the very first room. It was a shiny, clean white bathroom. A Gengar was currently sitting on a toilet, reading his newspaper.

Nosepass trembled in fear from the sight of the monstrous, nightmarish newspaper. He was paralyzed in fear.

"Eek! Pervert, take this!" Gengar reddened as he used Psychic and blasted the toilet water at Nosepass. Luckily, it was clean toilet water.

"Ack! Arghack!" Nosepass spat out the toilet water. However, Gengar blasted more at him. Nosepass soon fainted.

"Nosepass, eliminated!" Everything got teleported away, even the vacuum cleaner.

"This ending is pretty disgusting. Do you think the viewers will like it?" Haunter cringed as he replayed the footage.

Gengar shrugged. "I got my bonus, whatever. Although, all of us ghost interns will get a bonus if we reach the sales target. What are you waiting for, pre-order the movie tickets to Nosepass' Mansion now! See exclusive scenes not shown on Total Skarmory Island!" Gengar advertised, pointing down as the number 98012-376-6433-SK appeared on the screen with the price of 400 P. The small print below said no refund.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "That's just disgusting. I need to watch my mouth ten times today."

* * *

On Meowth's way back to the office, Drifblim 'accidentally' bumped into him. She knocked both of their guns off and immediately took his gun, leaving him with the backfire gun.

"Oops, clumsy me. Sorry, sheriff." Drifblim apologized, rubbing her head sheepishly.

Meowth checked to see if the gun had any ammunition. To his surprise, there was one.

"Drifblim, don't try to act innocent. You're trying to switch our guns and leave me with no ammunition, don't you? Such a shame that you messed up." Meowth clicked his tongue multiple times as he shook his head. Drifblim scratched her head in frustration and face-palmed herself before she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "There's still a possibility that he might catch on to what I did and change to use Aromatisse's gun instead. That's fine by me. It won't be exciting for the viewers if I beat him easily."

* * *

Meowth inserted his key through Ursaring's jail cell.

"Is it time to get hung, sheriff?" Ursaring asked pessimistically.

"No, I'm letting you out. I found the true culprit that murdered your wife." Meowth freed Ursaring. (Duosion doesn't win immunity because she needs to complete her task, not Meowth.)

"Who is that *beep*?! I'll *beep* murder that little *beep*!" Ursaring swore. Druddigon sweated nervously.

"It was Druddigon. Not only did he rape three victims during the night of the incidents, he also killed your wife because she resisted." Meowth revealed.

Ursaring suddenly went berserk and broke the jail cell and beat Druddigon up. Meowth left the violent scene and the camera didn't show any footage of the brutality because nothing like that actually happened. The interns were just acting.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "I just feel pity for a beggar like him. That's why I throw him a piece of bread."

* * *

Meowth exited and saw Darmanitan. He fidgeted nervously with his gun as he stared at Chef Drapion Grill.

"Hey, Aura Beast fanboy! I got a message for you. Chill, not grill. Think before committing a crime, alright?" Meowth conveyed.

"Yeah, homie." Darmanitan gave him a thumb up and forced a smile.

"Good, enjoy your bakery goods." Meowth waved before walking away from him.

As Darmanitan entered Chef Drapion Grill to commit robbery, Drifblim appeared in front of Meowth.

"Sheriff, I believe we should end this now. Why don't you, me and Darmanitan face off in a truel for a final showdown? This is a social game, Meowth. Darmanitan is your roommate after all. Aren't you curious to see if he'll point his gun at you or me?" Drifblim persuaded.

"Of course, I'm curious. We will start in twenty minutes. Prepare for defeat, Drifblim." Meowth clenched his right fist in determination.

"Perfect. Show me all you got, Meowth. This might be your last chance after all." Drifblim desired a spectacle.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Meowth:** "If Darmanitan knows how to win this game, he'll shoot Drifblim."

* * *

Darmanitan barged inside the kitchen, holding his gun up at Chef Drapion.

"Where are the goods, homie?" Darmanitan asked. Chef Drapion opened one of the drawers, showing 10,000 P.

"Don't hurt me, I'm leaving." Chef Drapion quickly scrammed away. Darmanitan was about to steal the money until Farfetch'd knocked him down with a giant bread stick. The duck stole the gun and exited the restaurant.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "In this turbulent world with an evil sheriff and many outlaws, I can't afford to live my honest life as a patissier anymore. I'll become a vigilante and serve justice to this desert town."

* * *

The duel was about to begin…

Meowth exited his office, stomping toward the well slowly but intimidatingly.

Drifblim floated toward the well, keeping her eyes on Meowth.

Farfetch'd exited out of Chef Drapion Grill instead of Darmanitan. Meowth and Drifblim both looked surprised but they didn't say anything.

Drifblim glanced toward Farfetch'd and threw Meowth a look.

Farfetch'd fixed his eyes at Meowth.

Meowth sweated as he saw the looks the two were giving him.

Farfetch'd turned to Drifblim a bit before turning back to Meowth.

Drifblim faked a look of worry. She would shoot Farfetch'd when the time comes.

Farfetch'd held a grudge against Meowth after he threw him into the jail. However, he also knew that Drifblim was targeting Meowth. Maybe, it was smarter to shoot her.

Meowth knew both of them targeted him. He looked really anxious as they kept staring at him.

Drifblim knew she gave Meowth the backfire gun but she also knew that he got Aromatisse's gun.

1…

Farfetch'd tightened his grip on the gun.

2…

Drifblim was prepared to suddenly turn toward Farfetch'd's direction and shoot him.

Fire!

Drifblim shot Farfetch'd…

Farfetch'd's gun…. backfired.

"Farfetch'd, eliminated!"

Meowth shot Drifblim, grinning jubilantly.

"Drifblim, eliminated!"

* * *

Flashback…

Hey _Aura Beast_ fanboy! I got a _message_ for you.

Aura Beast's message system. Only Lucario, Meowth and Darmanitan knew this.

Chill, not _grill_.

Meet up at Chef Drapion Grill.

 _Think_ before committing a _crime_ , alright?

Let's plan up a scheme together before doing anything rash.

Meowth and Darmanitan sat on a table together. Meowth placed one of his gun to the left (Drifblim's) and another to the right (Aromatisse's). He showed him the dart of each gun before putting them back in.

"Drifblim gave me the gun to my left as a sample. Darmanitan, care to provide me the product specifications? Please cooperate. Not only are we roommates, but we are also Lucario's only friends." Meowth asked, clasping Darmanitan's huge hands together pleadingly. Darmanitan averted his eyes a little.

"Homie… I'll be honest with you. I'm jealous. You did something that I should. I should have stayed by Lucario's side no matter what. Only if I'm there and show him that he isn't alone, he wouldn't do any of those horrible things. Meowth… The gun to your left will backfire." Darmanitan revealed after making his mind up.

"I get it now, Darmanitan. I'll keep your trust in a bank to generate interest and we shall go to the finale together. Drifblim will certainly fire at you in the truel. You need to avoid it, Darmanitan. Give this backfire gun to Farfetch'd and let him pay the fine in your place. I'll act worried as if recession is about to begin and shoot Drifblim." Meowth invented an ingenious plan.

"That's extremely smart, homie." Darmanitan complimented.

"Indeed. Care to give me your gun, Darmanitan? I want to check it." Meowth asked with a 'harmless face'.

"No problem, homie." Darmanitan gave Meowth his gun. He checked to see if there was a dart inside. Indeed, there was. Meowth smiled, handing the gun back to Darmanitan under the table.

"Welcome to the business world, Darmanitan. You'll learn to accept money under the table." Meowth grinned sneakily.

"Yeah, homie." Darmanitan felt a bit uneasy.

End of Flashback

* * *

Darmanitan exited Chef Drapion Grill, glad to see Meowth successfully executing his plan. Meowth smiled at Darmanitan mysteriously. Darmanitan returned a knowing smile.

"Chillmen's agreement, homie. Shoot on the count of three. How does that sound?" Darmanitan suggested.

"Fine by me." Meowth accepted.

1…

Darmanitan held the gun with both of his hands, aiming at Meowth. He seemed chill.

2…

Meowth looked extremely relaxed and confident.

Fire!

Meowth didn't even bother to shoot because Darmanitan's gun got no ammunition.

"What's going on?" Darmanitan looked baffled as he pressed the trigger multiple times and nothing came out of the gun.

"Gullible customer. You should have checked your product after you purchased it. Do you seriously think a businessman of my caliber would be fooled by your simple trick? After shooting Drifblim, Aromatisse and Duosion, you knew I'm left with zero dart, especially after giving you the backfire gun with a dart inside. That's why I stole your dart under the table." Meowth made a grand reveal.

"Homie, why do you need to take this game so seriously? Is it necessary to trick and manipulate others all the time?" Darmanitan questioned.

"Affirmatively. Just like Lucario, winning and losing means life and death for me. I live in a family where everyone fights each other like savages to claim or defend the title of being an heir to a multi-billion company. My siblings, cousins, my uncles, my aunts, I can't trust any of them! Even though I'm taught to prioritize the family business above everything else, I couldn't help but prioritize myself above the rest." Meowth paused for a short breather. His words were… heavy. Darmanitan was speechless.

"The one million has little to no value to me. I only want the title and show my father that he made the right decision to name me as the heir! That includes manipulating and tricking you all. I need to tolerate such harsh living conditions and such tough competitors for three weeks! You don't understand that pain, the grief and everything I went through." Meowth paused again, his eyes turned watery. Darmanitan's eyes were sympathetic.

"I hurt my loyal customer, Ledyba. I severed the relations of my business partners, Houndour and Duosion. I can feel guilt and regret too, you know? I have connections with gigantic, immoral business owners that customers blindly throw money toward. I see how they strip everything away from their employees. Treating them like nothing but machines in sweatshops and factories. I fear that I'll turn out like them but, just because I'm the owner doesn't mean I have the rights to dictate anything. When you venture into the world of business, you learn to obey the board of directors, the shareholders and more. The only one that truly understands me is Lucario!" Meowth cried genuine tears. Darmanitan was shocked by this outburst.

"He knows how important it's for me to win this game. He knows just how much I need to tolerate everything. Not only is he willing to forgive me for turning against all of you, he turns against his beloved Feckless Flygon members for me! Darmanitan, you caused so much pain and suffering to Lucario. You indeed should be jealous of me. You admired and followed him for the wrong reasons. Time to get fired!" Meowth was about to pull the trigger.

"Homie, behind you!" Darmanitan warned. Meowth ignored his simple 'trick'.

A giant bread stick slammed the back of his head. "Get him, girls!" Shiinotic initiated the first blow.

Lurantis, Smeargle and Shiinotic started beating and whipping Meowth up with their bread sticks.

"This is my end…? Defeated by a cheap, everyday food product? How humiliating…" Meowth whimpered.

"What are you interns doing? Stop!" Darmanitan halted.

"Punishing him for being a bad sheriff. In this challenge, the interns have freedom to do certain things too. Everything isn't scripted." Smeargle explained.

"Yeah, just like when I left Chef Drapion Grill. That isn't scripted." Lurantis gave an example.

"He threatened innocent civilians with guns. Someone like him should be punished." Shiinotic said before resuming to beat Meowth up with the other girls.

"Ah!" Meowth yelled out in pain. Darmanitan covered his eyes.

"Stop! He cleared my name. That should make up for some of the things he did." Ursaring appeared with a bottle of sleeping pills. "I know you gals want to take out your anger on him but that won't do you any good just like when I punched those Lucario dummies… At least, give him a painless elimination." He convinced.

Shiinotic threw Meowth a dirty look before dropping her bread stick down. She had a personal reason for beating Meowth, getting revenge against him was like getting revenge against Lucario.

Smeargle stopped, feeling a bit guilty. She also had a personal reason for beating Meowth. She blamed him for what happened to Lucario.

Lurantis just followed the other two. It was also a great work out, beating him hard under the sun.

"Thank you, kind customer." Meowth accepted the sleeping pill gratefully. He consumed it and eliminated himself.

"Meowth, eliminated!" Darmanitan dragged himself to steal the sheriff's treasure and ended the game as the immunity winner.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I applause you, Meowth for outsmarting me. You're a good rival. However, your victory is pointless. It doesn't earn you the immunity win."

 **Darmanitan:** "Today, so many things go through my mind. I need some time to meditate and collect my thoughts… Sorry, Meowth."

* * *

"One, two, Leppa! If you receive one, you're safe. If not, you're eliminated." Skarmory started giving them out.

"Darmanitan"

"Aromatisse"

"Duosion"

"Farfetch'd"

"Nosepass"

"Drifblim, you're the gameshow fanatic. A very big threat to win this game." Skarmory commented.

"A very big threat to your ratings too. I have a big list of criticisms. You better watch out." Drifblim said jokingly. Skarmory rolled his eyes.

"Meowth, you're the businessman. You get discounts, you're good at pitching your products to others and much more. You're a threat as well." Skarmory listed a few of many reasons.

"I accept my bankruptcy. Give the berry to Drifblim." Meowth had no illusions of hope.

"Way to kill the suspense, Meowth. You're eliminated." Skarmory revealed to no one's surprise.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

During my time here, I tend to use 'employee' and 'customer' interchangeably. As a business owner, I care about my employees more. As a normal Meowth, I care about my customers more. However, the truth is I'm neither a business owner or a normal Meowth. I'm a deranged corporate monster that cares about himself the most. I still have much to learn and grow as a Pokemon. Someday, I wish to become both a business owner and normal Pokemon that everyone can look up to.

* * *

Only Farfetch'd and Darmanitan came to see him off. Farfetch'd obviously came to ask about Mr. Stalk. The duck left dejectedly after Meowth said that he wasn't the thief.

"Homie, I'm so sorry. Sorry for everything." Darmanitan apologized, lowering his head.

"Stop apologizing, Darmanitan. It hurts Lucario. If you can only apologize, quit the game now. It'll save you the headache." Meowth advised harshly.

"Homie, I never expect to be involved in all of this mess. I just want to chill out. Unlike all of you, I have no real or solid reason to win this game other than the million is nice I guess. I want to win for Lucario but I just don't know anymore. Seeing all of you being competitive hurts me." Darmanitan expressed his discontent.

"Then don't be competitive. Run a charity if you can't run a business, Darmanitan. This is all I can say to help you. I'll root for you, not because I think you deserve to win but because of Lucario." Meowth said his parting words. He left on his Lapras, staring at the penniless sky.

Darmanitan returned to his cabin, lost in his thoughts all alone.

Skarmory landed on the dock for the closing part.

"The twist after twist in the challenge. The epic truel. This episode is insane! Hopefully, there are more like this to come. What will happen next? Will Farfetch'd ever find Mr. Stalk? Find out in another exciting episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Votes**

Duosion: Meowth

Aromatisse: Meowth

Nosepass: Meowth

Farfetch'd: Meowth

Drifblim: Meowth

Darmanitan: Meowth

Meowth: Drifblim

Drifblim: 1 (safe)

Meowth: 6 (eliminated)

* * *

I really want a crossover between Luigi's Mansion and Pokemon with Nosepass as a protagonist. Hopefully, I can pitch this idea to Nintendo.

Meowth got his comeuppance and final burst of development. Fun fact: He had seven siblings. Among all the characters, his family is the most complex. I can actually create a business story about him battling for the title of the heir if I want. Sadly, my schedule is already filled.

You can predict the finalists through this chapter. I left a secret hint.


	27. Chapter 27

**Reply to Reviews**

 **InfernoMaster64**

It's okay. I appreciate the fact that you review nonetheless. Will Mr. Stalk ever be returned? Probably. Darmanitan got the best physical strength. He got a shot. I'll tell you that much. Yep, Nosepass can do stuff on his own now like sabotaging and sucking ghosts.

 **Shuckle Master**

Meowth is one of my favorites as well. You can actually guess how all of this'll end. You just need to analyze.

 **Fallenstreet01**

You should expect surprises and complexity in my stories. I don't like straightforward and simple plots. Keep hoping. Anyone can still win, including a weakling like Nosepass and a villain like Drifblim. Here is a hint, you can only predict the finalists. You can't predict the winner or runner-up or third place, fourth place. You get the idea.

 **Parousia45**

I'm touched that you cried for Meowth. While he's sympathetic, I don't expect anyone to appreciate and love his character to this extent. You can see that he often only talks in business terms, showing how his family taught him. He was created to be a business machine. Someone who is only knowledgeable about how to manipulate customers and manage his employees. He doesn't understand the concept of love because of troublesome things like maternity leave. He sees the world only from a business standpoint.

Nosepass is just like Luigi. Cowardly, uses vacuum cleaners and got a big brother.

* * *

 **Episode 27: One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward**

Skarmory sipped his coffee and breathed out the smell of the morning. "Welcome back viewers to another episode of coffee time with Skarmory. Just kidding but still, coffee is delicious!" He licked his lips before sipping some more. His face exaggerated the taste.

"Last time, it was revealed that the leek stalk Meowth tried to sell to Farfetch'd was a fake. Mystery still surrounded the disappearance of Mr. Stalk. Nosepass grew more and more anxious as a result. Will he be exposed as the initial thief? Moving on, in the challenge, our contestants each got a unique role. Three got evil roles, three got good roles and there there's the sheriff, Meowth. Our honorable protector of light threatened innocent civilians, and even shot the guardian angel. He clearly deserves a raise." Skarmory said sarcastically, smiling cheekily.

"In the thrilling truel, everything pointed to the outlaw winning until Meowth outsmarted her with his ingenious plan. Working with Darmanitan, the sneaky sheriff switched the backfire gun over to the patissier. In the end, it all came down to Darmanitan versus Meowth. The sheriff got beaten by bread sticks as chill injustice prevailed for another day. Meowth left the island, who will follow him? Stay tuned to find out!" Skarmory ended energetically, swiftly moving one step forward before jogging backward to the end of the dock.

* * *

Farfetch'd woke up from a horrible nightmare, breathing at a faster rate than normal. His clutched his beating chest, eyes drowning in tears. He looked completely distressed.

"Mr. Stalk, where are you?" Farfetch'd asked no one in particular, looking around with forlorn eyes. The tears cooled off his heated face.

"Farfetch'd, are you okay?" Nosepass asked worriedly, straightening his face to appear natural.

Farfetch'd wiped his tears away. "I had a nightmare, Nosepass. In my nightmare, Mr. Stalk was gone forever." He sniffled.

Nosepass looked alarmed, averting his eyes quickly with guilt. He covered a part of his face with the blanket. Farfetch'd raised his left eye in question at this.

"Sorry, I usually have nightmares." Nosepass disguised his guilt with empathetic sadness. "I really hate them. I don't even want to think about them. It's not like I stole Mr. Stalk or a-anything. P-please understand." His eyeballs trembled as he faced Farfetch'd fearfully.

"I trust you, Nosepass." Farfetch'd assured with a weak smile. "You wouldn't sleep with me all these nights if you stole him." He said reasonably.

Nosepass grinned in relief. "That's true."

"Anyways, since you're the professional of nightmares. I don't mean that in a bad way, don't get me wrong." Farfetch'd lifted his wings up in front of him defensively. Nosepass' unoffended demeanor quickly dissolved it.

"I want to ask if you know how to prevent or lessen them." Farfetch'd asked with an inquisitive look.

Nosepass blushed. "If I know then, I'll probably have no nightmares. Sorry but, no." He swallowed the few embarrassing tips and tricks he got to speed up the conversation. It was for the best of his interest to quickly get away from Farfetch'd.

"Oh, that's a shame." Farfetch'd watched as Nosepass dropped down from his bed. "Leaving for breakfast?"

"Yeah, bye." Nosepass quickly left.

"Why is he in such a hurry?" Farfetch'd asked himself. Although, the thought of Nosepass being the thief never crossed his mind. Suddenly, his expression turned dark.

"I know who stole Mr. Stalk now…" Farfetch'd clenched his fists and jaw.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "It's Duosion! I knew it. After all the insensitive things she said to us, I'm absolutely sure it was her!"

 **Nosepass:** "This is getting worse and worse. How long do I need to keep up this horrible act? I c-can't handle it anymore."

* * *

Aromatisse, Drifblim and Duosion woke up for a while now. Currently, the three were having a conversation about their next move in this game.

"Personally, I think we should target Farfetch'd next." Duosion suggested, immediately following up with some reasoning after Aromatisse stared disapprovingly at her. "He's in a very volatile state of mind right now. He might accuse any of us for stealing Mr. Stalk. I don't want to risk getting eliminated for a stupid reason like that."

"Duosion, I beg to differ. We should show him some sympathy instead of voting him out. I told you two girls his backstory, didn't I?" Aromatisse asked rhetorically. Drifblim nodded while Duosion frowned.

"If you're worried about getting accused, you shouldn't." Aromatisse addressed Duosion. "You didn't steal Mr. Stalk so Farfetch'd won't just suddenly barge inside here."

"Duosion, you dirty thief!" Farfetch'd suddenly barged inside and shook Duosion. "Give him back to me!"

Aromatisse covered her mouth, astounded. Drifblim seemed amused.

Duosion used Psychic and threw Farfetch'd out of the cabin before locking the door.

"Hey, face me bravely, you cowardly thief!" Farfetch'd banged the door futilely.

"Aromatisse, this is why. You get it now?" Duosion indicated.

Aromatisse sighed. "Farfetch'd, can you please calm down? I'm trying to defend you here." She pleaded.

"No, not until you give Mr. Stalk back!" Farfetch'd refused angrily.

"Girls, the elimination isn't starting anytime soon. No need to worry. With the three of us, the boys can only tie the votes. We can suspend the discussion for later." Drifblim pointed out.

"You make a good point, Drifblim. Aromatisse, there are only six of us left. You can't be choosy. Just go along with it and eliminate Farfetch'd." Duosion reproofed, showing concern in her eyes.

"I guess we'll eliminate him." Aromatisse looked outside at Farfetch'd pitifully.

"You will be the one that is eliminated, Duosion. I stick to my word. You will be eliminated! Eliminated!" Farfetch'd yelled, attracting Nosepass' attention. The cowardly saboteur came to check, making the situation more awkward. He exchanged a glance with Drifblim, signaling that they need to meet.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "Come to think of it again, Duosion is right. We're competing for a million here. I can't show sympathy. Farfetch'd, sorry but you will be eliminated. I prefer Duosion to stay over you."

 **Duosion:** "Farfetch'd is incredibly pathetic. Honestly, I'm starting to think that he pretended to lose Mr. Stalk to gain sympathy. Maybe even worse, he might try to frame someone for it like me."

 **Drifblim:** "Since Meowth is eliminated, there aren't any villains left for me to hide behind. I don't think I can pull any more stunts if I want to win this game. I'll play strategic from now on. First, I need to make sure I position myself well enough to enter the finale. If us girls are in the final three together, there is no doubt that Aromatisse will keep Duosion over me and vice versa. They're too close." She pondered for a moment.

"However, if Duosion is eliminated tonight without a tiebreaker then Aromatisse will definitely know I betray her. I can't do that either. There is only one option. I need to force a tie and make all the boys vote for Duosion while us girls vote for Farfetch'd. If Duosion stays then that's fine. The two boys will realize that the girls are coming for them. I just need to flip and get rid of either Aromatisse or Duosion next time."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Duosion, I'll show you why you should never mess with Mr. Stalk."

* * *

Nosepass and Drifblim met each other privately in the forest area.

"Drifblim, I really can't do this anymore. I'm scared to confess but I'm even more scared if Farfetch'd finds out on his own." Nosepass expressed his concerns.

"Nosepass, we talked about this already. Confessing won't do you any good right now. At the very least, find Mr. Stalk first. Don't act impulsively." Drifblim stressed, seemingly worried.

"Drifblim, will you be there to protect me if Farfetch'd finds out?" Nosepass asked. "This is very important. Please answer honestly." He added.

"Nosepass, if Farfetch'd finds out that I'm the culprit, I'll take all the blame to myself until the show gets aired. However, if he finds out that you're the culprit, I expect you to do the same. If one of us goes down, don't bring the other down with you." Drifblim replied. "I'm being honest." She nodded sincerely.

"I see… Thank you for your honesty." Nosepass left, thoughts swirling in his mind. Drifblim stared at his back as he left, frowning a little.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Just like the nightmare, I see. She probably won't be there to protect me."

 **Drifblim:** "This is bad. Hopefully, I can stall him from confessing for a few more days. Maybe, I should eliminate Farfetch'd now. However, that is just not right… The viewers won't like that kind of ending. If he leaves, at least let him leave after settling everything with Duosion. They seem to really hate each other. They should compete in a tiebreaker."

* * *

The five contestants were surprised to see Darmanitan setting up a 'charity' inside the mess hall. The homie boy basically spent all of his Skarmory tokens to provide them a scrumptious meal during lunch. A poster was attached to the door. It described the event as a chill charity where everyone gets to chill out.

"Welcome, homies." Darmanitan opened the door, smiling invitingly. "Head inside." He gestured. The smell lured their noses.

"Wahoo! More spaghetti and pasta for me." Nosepass rushed inside.

"How nice of you, Darmanitan." Aromatisse said gratefully before walking inside.

"I agree, Aromatisse. You have outdone yourself, Darmanitan." Drifblim complimented.

"No problem, homie." Darmanitan beamed, enjoying the looks of joy on their faces.

As Duosion was about to enter the charity event, Farfetch'd blocked her with Ms. Stick.

"No thieves allowed." Farfetch'd denied entry.

"Farfetch'd, I'm not a thief." Duosion looked annoyed.

"Homie, chill out. This is my event, just let her inside." Darmanitan allowed, trying to prevent a fight.

"Fine. You can enter." Farfetch'd growled. Duosion glared at him as she floated inside.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Thief, your punishment doesn't end here. I'll make you suffer until you give Mr. Stalk back to me."

 **Duosion:** "Farfetch'd is taking this too far. I no longer feel comfortable staying in this island as long as he's here."

 **Darmanitan:** "Those homies all need to chill out like me. Even though they only know me as Lucario's fanboy, I'm not mad. I think I'm still his fanboy after all. He broke my heart, true. However, Lucario had a good reason for it. After a long session of meditation, I'm now enlightened. I know how to be competitive while remaining chill. By setting up these charity events, everyone will like me and keep me until the finale. Thanks for the advice, Meowth."

 **Drifblim:** "Good social move, Darmanitan. However, that makes you more of a threat."

 **Aromatisse:** "I think I need to get rid of Darmanitan sometime soon. While I like him, he's too strong and likable."

 **Nosepass:** "I don't feel comfortable staying around Lucario's fanboys. I should get rid of Darmanitan in the near future."

* * *

Skarmory instructed the contestants to gather in front of the gym area for the next challenge. They all were surprised to see it turning into a carnival fair. There were several attractions and food stalls altogether.

"Contestants, this challenge is a very easy and simple challenge. Short as well. Take it as a break from all the complicated challenges with all the mind games and harsh physical activity. If you run one lap around the field, you get one point. Get the most points before the time's up and you win. Here is the twist…" Skarmory paused, creating suspense.

"So much for short, easy and simple." Drifblim rolled her eyes.

"Nothing complicated, of course. There are many basketballs hidden around the entire gym area. In the basketball court, there are six baskets. Each has a picture of one contestant. Shoot the ball inside and you reduce their points by two. Each ball can be used once. However, you can't give someone a negative score. Choose whether you want to take one step forward or push someone back two steps. Any questions?" Skarmory asked after finishing his explanation, looking around at each contestant.

There were no questions so Skarmory declared the start of the challenge officially.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "I find this challenge to be a representation of life. You can focus on improving yourself and dealing with your own problems. It might be hard and difficult to endeavor sometimes. However, at the very least you're taking a step forward. On the other hand, you can cause problems and make life worse for others like Farfetch'd. If you're like him, you won't progress anywhere in this world."

 **Darmanitan:** "The fair will be awesome, homie. Tons of chill stuff to do and eat." He looked excited like a kid about to enter an amusement park. That big and innocent smile and the way he positioned his fists together in front of his neck made you wonder if he was a cute, little kid in disguise.

* * *

All the contestants rushed over to the track field section except for Farfetch'd. There was no point finding any balls early since negative score wouldn't count.

Darmanitan reached the track first and started jogging on all fours (with his arms and legs) at a moderate speed right away. As a casual Pokeathlon player, he knew to never overexert himself early on.

Drifblim and Duosion floated around each other, neck and neck. They didn't go too fast either.

Nosepass and Aromatisse trailed behind everyone else.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Darmanitan overlapped me several times. We need to target his basket or else we won't win."

 **Duosion:** "I'm pretty sure that Farfetch'd is finding the balls to attack me. No pun intended."

 **Darmanitan:** "What a good exercise. I visit the gym area the most out of us six. I think I can win without getting all serious and competitive. I'm still going to give it my all though."

* * *

Farfetch'd found a basketball inside a box of dodgeball balls. He sprinted over to the basketball court and shot it inside Duosion's basket. The ball got teleported away.

"Yes! Take that, thief." Farfetch'd celebrated, raising his fists into the air simultaneously. He was unaware of the fact that Duosion didn't complete her first lap yet.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Duosion is the thief for sure. Right, Ms. Stick?" He shook her a little. "See? She agrees."

 **Duosion:** "I don't think I'll win with Farfetch'd singling me out. Maybe, I should start singling him out as well. He's the last Pokemon I want to win immunity today."

* * *

"Girls, I'll go out to find the balls. Giving Farfetch'd the taste of his own medicine." Duosion told, completing her first lap.

"I'll probably follow you after I complete at least three laps." Aromatisse panted. Duosion nodded before leaving.

Drifblim slowed down until Nosepass and Aromatisse caught up to her.

"We should start targeting Darmanitan soon if we want to win." Drifblim whispered, smirking.

"Good idea, girl. We should probably complete a few laps first though. Nosepass, are you with us?" Aromatisse questioned. Nosepass nodded, sweating rapidly. He saved his breath.

"We're all in agreement, then." Drifblim said before speeding up again as Darmanitan overlapped the three. The homie boy already completed three laps while the rest completed one with the exception of Farfetch'd.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I don't really care too much about reducing the others' score. I'll just run, chill out and try my best."

 **Aromatisse:** "I want to find those balls not only because Darmanitan is the biggest physical threat but I also want to take a break. Too much running isn't good for my complexion."

* * *

Duosion gazed at the stalls of the fair. She imagined herself with Houndour, playing together. They could be eating cotton candy right now or trying the lottery, testing out their luck while collecting statistical data at the same time…

Speaking of statistics, it was her main core of thinking process. She was hesitant to ask Houndour out at first because of statistics. She also very well disliked Farfetch'd because of statistics. Crazy, delusional Pokemon like him had many correlations and links to crime, thievery and violence. At the same time, she knew very well that her hate was also personal. Being outsmarted by him damaged her self-esteem a lot.

How was she introduced to statistics? Well… Duosion never planned to be a statistician. For one, her father was an archaeologist. The old artifacts he brought back home fascinated her. Second, she loved historical dramas. She was always a huge fan of them. Her love for statistics was just mere coincidence, originating from her stronger and more prioritized love for history and archaeology.

Unlike the mainstream audience, Duosion analyzed the dramas passionately since childhood. She accumulated a huge compilation of data over the years. They allowed her to make accurate predictions about future episodes. To her, statistics combined with history was a way to determine the best move forward even in daily life.

She came to Total Skarmory Island not only to win the million and explore interesting places like Skarmory Cave but also to collect statistics. Not just the number of immunity wins and the placement of each contestant, much more complex than that. A different sort of fanaticism compared to Drifblim. While the superfan was more about the personality analysis, strategy and psychology of this game, Duosion was much more mathematical. Perhaps, this shared interest was what strengthened the bond of the two.

Duosion could come off as geeky at times. However, she was far from being anti-social. She was well aware that her interests were uncommon. Therefore, she tended to be selective…

Houndour's attitude greatly shocked her. She never expected love from someone like him. If she was to imagine marrying someone, it would be a secluded statistician or a hermit historian.

Having Houndour with her made the historical drama fan feel like a royal princess in ancient times with a kind and loving knight by her side. When Lucario eliminated Houndour, it was as if an enemy general killed him. After he was gone, she felt like a cantankerous and cold widow. At one point, she considered herself to be no different than Skrelp.

(Alright, alright… I'll stop giving insight on Duosion to you and return to the challenge.)

Duosion approached a whack-a-mole machine. A game that was extremely popular in the Desire Era. A sign next to it said the following: "Hit all of the Diglett to get a ball."

"Challenge accepted." Duosion lifted the toy hammer up and pressed start with Psychic. Imagining herself hitting Lucario and Farfetch'd, she destroyed all the Diglett with an insane reaction time.

"Die, General Lucario and Psycho Stalker Farfetch'd!" Duosion rampaged, engrossed by the destruction. The interns gave her weird looks as she took the game too seriously.

"Obliterated by the royal army, executed and died a humiliating death!" Duosion smashed the last Diglett into oblivion. She smiled in gratification after releasing all of her rage.

"Here's your prize. D-don't hurt me, please." Drilbur begged for mercy. "Eek!" He let out a squeak as Duosion took the ball from his hands with Psychic.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just went through a lot, okay?" Duosion looked ashamed.

Suddenly, Farfetch'd snatched the ball away.

"Hah, thief. Taste your own medicine." Farfetch'd pointed at Duosion with Ms. Stick vindictively.

Duosion simply used Psychic to retrieve the ball back from Farfetch'd's grasp. The duck snarled at her.

"Statistically, you have a 95% chance of getting eliminated. If I'm you, I would run laps instead of wasting time to catch an imaginary thief." Duosion offered advice in a cold tone.

"Imaginary? We'll turn you into an imaginary contestant. Watch your back…" Farfetch'd warned, showing malice in his eyes before he left. Duosion scowled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Pitiful and pathetic. The pervert will be beheaded for good." She used hyperbole.

 **Farfetch'd:** "Thief acting as if she's the good gal, huh? We'll show her what me and Ms. Stick are made of."

* * *

Aromatisse, Drifblim and Nosepass all finished three laps. This paled in comparison to Darmanitan's ten laps. Drifblim slowed down a lot, conserving most of her energy while Nosepass and Aromatisse slumped down in exhaustion.

"Nosepass and Aromatisse, we better hurry. Darmanitan is about to complete whatever lap he's on now." Drifblim lost count. She gestured for them to get up.

"I'm so… tired. I need more… rest. Running sucks." Nosepass whined.

"Yeah." Aromatisse agreed.

"Fine, fine. Take your time and rest." Drifblim shook her head in disappointment as she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I'll take a break after a few more laps, homie."

 **Drifblim:** "Those two need to hit the gym, seriously."

* * *

Drifblim left the gym, glancing around at the entire fair. It was very small. Understandable, since it was built early morning today. There were four food stalls and four attraction stalls, alongside the mole machine. The games located near each other. The same applied to the food. Balloons were attached here and there. Drifblim shivered slightly once she remembered what happened to her in the twelfth challenge.

The four food stalls were: chili dogs, frozen yogurt, cotton candy and soft drinks. Besides the chili dog stall, the three other stall owners were not interns. They were Toucannon Island stall owners looking to make a quick P or two.

The four attraction stalls were: dart throw, gun booth, karaoke machine and lottery. Drifblim headed for the dart stall first since she was an expert at the game.

The dart stall was decorated in purple. Chef Drapion stood inside with a table full of darts in front of him and a target behind him.

Upon seeing Drifblim, Chef Drapion lifted his eyes lazily at her. "Chef Drapion Games Twist 2, beat me at a game of dart to win a basketball. You can only challenge me once." He explained unenthusiastically, supporting his chin from dropping with both claws.

"Chef, you look so tired and lifeless. Did Skarmory cut your pay or is it because you're hopeless after I beat you in the prison? Think you will never win against me?" Drifblim provoked with an irritating smile.

"Screw you, stupid blimp! I'll pop your face with my darts and smother you with my putrid pop tarts!" Chef Drapion fumed.

"Now, that's the spirit. Show me what you got, chef." Drifblim eyed him challengingly with a defiant smile.

Chef Drapion didn't hesitate to cheat. He grabbed the dart and stabbed the bullseye immediately. He smirked. Since he didn't state that he couldn't cheat, it was allowed.

However, he immediately dropped his jaw once Drifblim knocked his dart down and hit the bullseye without cheating.

"Chef, you might not know this but back at home, I'm the immunity winner of this challenge." Drifblim grinned smugly.

Chef Drapion threw the ball at Drifblim's face forcefully. She caught it easily.

"Get the *beep* out of here! I don't want to see you again!" Chef Drapion swore, face reddening. Drifblim left, deciding to not bother him recklessly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Chef will see me again in the mess hall. Poor him. Not really, he deserves it. Anyways, I'm wondering if I should target someone else instead of Darmanitan because the other two are going for him. Farfetch'd worries me quite a bit. The immunity will make me feel a lot more relieved and safe."

* * *

Nosepass and Aromatisse finally met up with Drifblim near the lottery counter. The three picked three random lottery tickets with the following numbers:

Drifblim: 2181514

Aromatisse: 2651814

Nosepass: 1315125 (You got the hidden message, right?)

"The winning number is…" Lurantis paused to build suspense. The three anticipated the result. Winning meant one of them would get three balls. The odds were one in six, considering there were six tickets to choose from.

"…26512814! Congratulations, Aromatisse!" Lurantis clapped with a sunlight smile. Nosepass crumbled his ticket quietly.

"Yes! The saying 'With beauty comes luck' is really true." Aromatisse was overjoyed.

Lurantis handed her three balls with the number 19, 21 and 14 written on each respectively. Aromatisse seemed amused by the neat, little touch.

"I think we should go and throw these balls inside Darmanitan's basket." Drifblim suggested. "We already got four. Minus eight points for him." She calculated. The other two agreed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I wish that I can be lucky too. Maybe if I win a lottery ticket for real, I'll never need to work a day in my life anymore. That will be nice." A sudden thought intruded Nosepass' mind. He sighed. "But if I don't work then what is the purpose of my life? Do I just eat and sleep all day? Hickery-o and my parents will be really disappointed in me if that's the case."

 **Drifblim:** "Right now, I won't target the two. We need to focus our efforts on Darmanitan first."

* * *

Darmanitan entered the fair after finishing thirteen laps. Duosion passed him as she returned to the track field, still keeping the ball with her.

Darmanitan saw a familiar face and rushed over to the frozen yogurt stall. It was the Infernape stall owner.

"Homie, how ya doin'? Still chill?" Darmanitan asked, opening his arms widely.

"Sure, brotha. Chill like frozen yogurt." Infernape hugged Darmanitan, patting each other's back.

The two chatted about chill topics and enjoyed frozen yogurt treats for a while. Infernape's stall got no basketballs but that didn't matter for the homie boy.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Us fire types are the chilliest. Like have you ever seen the flower fields in Mt. Scorch before? Chill and beautiful, homie. The fire type gardeners there are so nice. They give free berries out to visitors."

 **Duosion:** "I'm taking the advice I gave to Farfetch'd into consideration myself. If all the boys vote against me and Drifblim betrays us—which I doubt she will—I'm in a huge risk of elimination. I need to win this immunity."

* * *

Farfetch'd saw a basketball shaped balloon. He took it to the basketball court.

"Mr. Basket Balloon, time to float toward your goal. Say hi to Ms. Hoops for me." Farfetch'd talked to a 'non-living' object. He released the balloon just below Duosion's basketball net. The balloon got teleported away. At the moment, Duosion got two points. Now, she got zero.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Duosion saying that she isn't the thief is such ballooney, right Mr. Balloon?" He made a pun for a green balloon he took with him. "Hah, baloney."

* * *

 **Current Standings**

Darmanitan: 5

Drifblim: 3

Nosepass: 3

Aromatisse: 3

Duosion: 0

Farfetch'd: 0

* * *

Drifblim played inside the gun booth. Pretty much, she needed to shoot Pokemon plushes down with a pop gun. She got six tries with three plushes as the minimum target to get one ball. If she managed to shoot down six, she would receive an extra ball.

Drifblim aimed at the Bisharp plush and shot him down. "Bye, cardboard strategist with sucky sharpshooting skills." She insulted jokingly.

Drifblim then aimed at Grovyle next. "Farewell, egotistical leader with batteries for brains." She smiled victoriously as the plush fell in defeat.

Drifblim eyed her final target. It was Meowth. She missed the next three shots. Frustration started forming on her face.

Drifblim became more patient than usual with her last shot. Because of that, she successfully knocked Meowth down. "Bankrupt proudly, Meowth. You're a worthy competitor. However, my business reigns supreme." She acknowledged him as a challenging adversary.

The superfan took the basketball and headed back inside the basketball court.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I think I know who I should bring to the finale now. I believe this Pokemon to be the worthiest opponent. Someone who can fight me on equal footing. I just need to survive for a few more episodes. I'm this close to the million and fulfilling my life-long dream. I can't afford to lose now." She looked really determined.

* * *

Darmanitan moved to another food stall after spending quality chill time with Infernape. The fire type headed to the chili dog stand. Apparently, an eating contest against Snorlax was being held there. Any contestant could challenge him once. Win and they would receive two basketballs.

"Big guy, I want to compete." Darmanitan challenged courageously. "I love chilly dogs." He misunderstood the name.

"Oh, it's on." Snorlax tightened the bib around his neck and licked his lips. The two eaters sat on the table and waited for the food to be served by Shiinotic.

Darmanitan widened his eyes in shock once he realized that he must eat chili dogs instead of chilly dogs.

"What?! We aren't eating chilly dogs? The cold ones." Darmanitan asked, struck with disbelief.

"No, we're eating the hot, spicy ones." Snorlax corrected.

"Homie, I hate chili dogs. They aren't chill. I gotta make them chill." Darmanitan left the table and brought back a bucket of ice.

Snorlax had a horrified expression on his face. "Don't do it. Don't ruin them!" He pushed his hands forward, trying to stop the chill guy.

"Sorry, homie. I need to chill them out." Darmanitan tilted the bucket, pouring ice into all the chili dogs. There was no rule against this so it was allowed.

"No!" Snorlax screamed into the sky, prolonging his voice. "I forfeit. You ruin the chili dogs." He sobbed quietly as he left.

"Well, I guess you win." Shiinotic served two basketballs to him after checking the rule book.

"Thanks, shroom homie." Darmanitan held one ball with each hand. Suddenly, he heard sounds of ice cream cart bells.

"Ooh, ice cream. I love chill food." Darmanitan ran eagerly to the Greninja ice cream man.

"Homie, I want a chill cone." Darmanitan ordered.

"Chill cone? Fella, that's my favorite flavor! You have a great taste." Greninja complimented.

"You have great taste too, homie." Darmanitan returned. Once the ice cream got scooped into the cone, Darmanitan put the balls on his armpits and grabbed the cone. He started licking it right away. The icy blue cream was a mix between mint and bitter Rawst Berries. (Remember kids, bitter is good for your health.)

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "That chill cone is chillin' tasty, homie. I don't even need to pay for it. That ice cream homie is nice."

* * *

Drifblim noticed Nosepass inside the basketball court. He struggled to shoot his ball inside Darmanitan's basket.

"Ouch." Nosepass yelped as the ball bounced back to hit his head. He got knocked down. Drifblim came to his rescue, lifting him up.

"Thank you." Nosepass said gratefully.

"No problem. I'll shoot the ball for you." Drifblim picked the ball up and threw it accurately inside.

"You're good at this." Nosepass praised. "Unlike me." He looked down on the ground.

"Nosepass, if you practice enough, you can be good at anything. Cheer up." Drifblim tried to make him feel better.

"I guess…" Nosepass took her words lightly. "If I confess, will I also be good at confessing?" He asked a question that shocked Drifblim.

"If you don't, you will be good at hiding secrets, Nosepass. The same works in the exact opposite way. Please, don't throw both of our chances at the million away, Nosepass. Let's just focus on the immunity for now. I'll target Aromatisse since we have decreased enough of Darmanitan's points. I'm telling this because I trust you, Nosepass. We're allies. We stick together." Drifblim stared at him pleadingly.

"I guess…" Nosepass' answer wasn't reassuring to Drifblim in the slightest.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "This is a crisis. I need to come up with a plan to deal with this fast." She looked anxious.

 **Nosepass:** "I don't know how much I can trust Drifblim anymore. She might be nice to me but she also put me in this whole mess. It's all her fault."

* * *

Duosion decided to stop after her sixth lap (points deduction excluded) and went over to the basketball court. Seeing Aromatisse there with the ball she found, Duosion stopped her.

"Don't shoot yet, Aromatisse. I have a bad feeling about this elimination. I want immunity. You're with the others so you have information. How is the scoreboard looking? I estimate that I have four points." Duosion deliberated her next move, inquiring for information.

"Well, Darmanitan probably won't win. We have all targeted him. He lost at the very least eight points. I think I have three. I'm not sure about the other three though. I don't think Farfetch'd run any laps." Aromatisse informed.

"Then, we should each throw a ball into Drifblim's and Nosepass' baskets. I'm sure Drifblim will understand." Duosion proposed a smart move. This would win her immunity.

"Smart idea, Duosion." Aromatisse looked impressed.

Duosion used Psychic to lift her ball above Drifblim's basket and dropped it down. She then took Aromatisse's ball and did the same for Nosepass' basket.

Unexpectedly, Farfetch'd speeded inside with a ball of his own…

The screen transitioned to an outside shot of the gym.

"Challenge is over!" Skarmory ended. Uncertainty filled the air as either Darmanitan or Duosion won immunity.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "If I need to choose between Duosion or Drifblim, I'll choose Duosion without any hesitation. I'm closer to her. We went through a lot of things together."

* * *

While everyone else competed and strategized, one contestant remained chill near the end of the challenge. Darmanitan was inside the karaoke room with Infernape and Greninja. The three sang 'The Chill Song'. Sometimes, they followed the lyrics. Sometimes, they improvised new lines for the song.

"Chill, chill, chill. Chill out, homies." Darmanitan started.

"Chill like yogurt. Yo, yo, brotha." Infernape continued.

"Chill cone, chill cone. Freeze up, fella." Greninja followed up.

"Here's a lesson on how to be chill like a snowy hill." Darmanitan sang again.

"Chill out brotha, we'll show you how to get grills." Infernape pointed with his right forefinger, moving it slowly across the room.

"All the other guys are hot-headed. They burn their brownie points." Greninja got a beautiful voice. "Us three are chill. We score those girls a free cone."

"Chill, chill, chill. Chill out, homies." Darmanitan repeated.

"Chill like yogurt. Yo, yo, brotha." Infernape repeated.

"Chill cone, chill cone. Freeze up, fella." Greninja repeated.

"We're the chilliest. The calmest. The most composed." All three sang.

"Forget about all those melting men. Come with us and we'll show you zen." Darmanitan got up and spun around before sitting in a meditative pose, microphone still in hand.

"Never going to be frustrated. Won't ever be agitated." Infernape bent his knees down, crossing his legs together. He raised both hands up before slowly dropping down into a meditative pose.

"We'll captivate you with chocolate flavor. Fill your heart with vanilla flavor." Greninja kicked the wall and landed in a meditative pose.

The three all suddenly jumped up. From this point of out, they all sang.

"We're the chilliest. The calmest. The most composed."

"Chill out, chill bout, chill rout."

"We're the chilliest. The calmest. The most composed."

"Freeze friend-zone like frozen yogurt. Chill cone love you girl!"

They raised their microphones for the final part. "Chill out, homies. Yo, yo, brotha. Freeze up, fella. This is true chill! No quill, no frill, only chill!"

The karaoke machine gave them a 70 out of 100.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Man, this challenge is great. It is so chill."

* * *

Skarmory instructed everyone to gather around the basketball court to hear the results. The contestants were surprised to see Darmanitan arriving with basketballs. He didn't use any of them.

"It came down to the very last moment. The winner of this challenge is… Darmanitan!" Skarmory revealed after a short pause.

A short flashback clip showed Farfetch'd slam dunking the ball into Duosion's basket.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Haha, the thief doesn't win. Perfect. Time to rally up our troops, Ms. Stick. I'll talk to the boys."

 **Darmanitan:** "I chill and I still win. Those homies need to follow my example. Tomorrow, I'll set up another charity. Today, I'll vote for Duosion because I think she might actually be the thief and she can be pretty mean to me as well."

 **Drifblim:** "Darmanitan is the least deserving winner ever. He doesn't even take the challenge seriously. At least, he didn't win because Lucario or Meowth piggybacked him this time. The viewers might like to see a non-competitive winner once in a while but still… not the biggest fan of Darmanitan's gameplay."

 **Aromatisse:** "Darmanitan is a big physical threat. I feel like he's the new Lucario in a sense."

 **Nosepass:** "Drifblim wanted me to tie the votes. I…" His loyalty and trust wavered. "…will vote for Duosion so that Farfetch'd gets to stay. I wronged him. This is the very least I can do to tone down his wrath."

 **Duosion:** "It is highly likely that the boys are going to vote for me. Us girls will vote for Farfetch'd. It'll end in a tie if no one betrays each other."

* * *

Once Duosion exited her cabin, Farfetch'd immediately followed her like a psycho stalker. Ms. Stick was nowhere to be found. He started singing and dancing.

"I see you, thief." Farfetch'd placed both wings eye-level before pushing his right wing forward first, twisting his hips a little. He then pulled the right wing back and pushed the left wing forward.

Duosion made a sharp turn, trying to get away from him.

"I give you, grief." Farfetch'd slapped thin air with his right wing, kicking with his right leg at the same time. He then did the same for the left wing and left leg.

"I see you, thief. I give you, grief." Farfetch'd repeated the line and the dancing moves involved.

Duosion floated away faster, glaring back at him briefly.

"There will be no relief for I got my sights on you." Farfetch'd pointed both wings inwardly at his eyes before pushing them both forward.

"You better believe it, I'm watching you." Farfetch'd pulled both wings back to pointing inwardly at his eyes.

Duosion entered the girls' restroom to hide. Farfetch'd still sang and danced outside, waiting for her to come out.

"Stalking you 24/7, no breaks, no snacks." Farfetch'd made an X shape with his wings twice during the 'no' parts.

"I see you, thief. I give you, grief. I see you, thief. I give you, grief." Farfetch'd repeated.

Suddenly, Darmanitan came out of nowhere, wearing black shades, a bling-bling necklace and a black knit cap.

"Yo, homies. Your boy Darmanitan is here, chillin' like a snowy hill." Darmanitan made a mountain shape with both arms.

"Coming through like a snowball, rolling at the grill." Darmanitan rolled on the ground.

"No need to point wings, chill like a king. Chill out, homie. Cool down. Chill out, homie. Cool down." Darmanitan shook his waist, alternating both arms forward. His shoulders moved up and down.

"This is my song, Darmanitan. It is rude to interrupt others like this." Farfetch'd scolded.

"Sorry, homie. I'm leavin'." Darmanitan apologized and left with sagging shoulders. Duosion exited the restroom and tried to float away as fast as possible during this time. She headed for the mountain area.

"I see you, thief. I give you, grief." Farfetch'd repeated as he followed her.

"I see you, thief. I give you, grief." Farfetch'd dodged a rock that Duosion threw at him and continued.

"There will be no relief for I got my sights on you." The two reached the intersection.

"You better believe it, I'm watching you." The mountain area was just a bit further away.

"Stalking you 24/7, no breaks, no snacks." Farfetch'd annoyed and pestered Duosion to no end.

"Shut the hell up!" Duosion shouted furiously.

"I'm not shutting up until you give me Mr. Stalk back!" Farfetch'd placed his right wing near his heart as he stretched his left wing forward.

"I warn you…" Duosion said in a threatening tone. She looked deadly serious.

"You can't stop me and my track!" Farfetch'd jumped up and slashed thin air in an X motion.

Duosion threw him against a rock with Psychic.

"I see you, thief. I give you- Argh!" Farfetch'd yelled in pain as Duosion slammed a rock against him.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Ms. Stick, why did your suggestions never work out for my well-being? You said that Duosion would give Mr. Stalk back to me if I sing to annoy her." He questioned. His body was bruised black and blue.

 **Duosion:** "I don't want to resort to violence. He forced me."

* * *

After Farfetch'd got healed up, the elimination ceremony started.

"Well, five of you will take one step forward while one of you will take two steps backward and get eliminated. Let's see who that Pokemon will be." Skarmory started giving out the Leppa Berries.

"Darmanitan" He looked as chill as ever.

"Drifblim" She had a neutral expression.

"Nosepass" Even though he voted with Farfetch'd, it didn't appease his guilt one bit.

"Aromatisse" She looked worried for Duosion.

"Farfetch'd and Duosion, the result is a tie. Prove your strength in the colosseum in a classic one on one Pokemon battle with no twist. Moves are allowed. Faint the other to stay in this game." Skarmory revealed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Duosion:** "Statistically, I have a 99% percent chance of winning. Without Mr. Stalk, Farfetch'd stand no chance against me."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Ms. Stick, we need to pull out the secret weapon." He smirked.

* * *

The full moon shined on the colosseum…

Duosion and Farfetch'd faced each other from opposite sides. The mud in the middle was gone. Farfetch'd hid something behind his back with a sneaky grin. Duosion raised her right eye at this.

"Duosion, go girl!" Aromatisse cheered.

"Farfetch'd's victory is farfetched. You got this!" Drifblim made a pun.

"Homie, give her chilly grief!" Darmanitan supported Farfetch'd.

"Win." Nosepass didn't feel like cheering.

Farfetch'd revealed his secret weapon…

It was a leek stalk. The spectators were stupefied. What was going on?

"See? There's no thief. You have Mr. Stalk all along." Duosion assumed overconfidently.

"No, this is the leek stalk Meowth gave me!" Farfetch'd clarified loudly, readying an offensive stance.

The spectators looked relieved, especially Nosepass and Drifblim.

"Good. This makes me want to take you down even more." Duosion prepared herself mentally.

Farfetch'd made the first move. "Yah!" He cried as he rushed forward.

Duosion activated Trick Room immediately, gaining the speed advantage.

Farfetch'd whipped Air Slash at her with his leek stalk. Duosion floated away extremely fast, avoiding the attack easily.

Farfetch'd felt a telekinetic control taking over his body. Suddenly, he was pinned against the wall by Psychic.

"You're like a pitiful perverted psycho about to be executed by the royal princess. Just give up now and make this easy for the both of us." Duosion used her historical analogy.

"Never!" Farfetch'd refused. He broke through the control with Night Slash. Duosion quickly dodged another incoming wave of Air Slash. Farfetch'd slashed thin air repeatedly and vigorously to create a deadly volley of wind blades.

Duosion floated up, down, left, right to avoid his consecutive and relentless attack.

Farfetch'd charged up Slash and jumped up into the sky. He aimed to chop Duosion's head. Instead of dodging, Duosion tried to counter the attack with Psychic. However, this failed as Farfetch'd's Slash overwhelmed her telekinetic control.

"Suffer for what you did to Mr. Stalk!" Farfetch'd shouted with vengeful eyes. He sliced Duosion with Slash. The Psychic gave off a quick yelp before retreating far away from Farfetch'd.

"You're the one that shall suffer!" Duosion blasted Energy Ball at Farfetch'd. The duck sidestepped. However, Duosion used an advance technique. She manipulated the Energy Ball with Psychic, redirecting it at Farfetch'd's back. It connected, dealing minor damage. A weird weakening green aura surrounded him.

"Oh no…" Farfetch'd dreaded. His mind felt as shaky and wobbly.

"Your Sp. Def drops. Now, you have no chance of beating me." Duosion utilized this lucky chance to control him with Psychic and repeatedly slammed Farfetch'd against the wall.

"Ah!" Farfetch'd agonized. He was about to lose his consciousness. "I just want Mr. Stalk back…" Tears fell from his eyes.

Nosepass looked overwhelmed by guilt. Aromatisse couldn't watch. Darmanitan felt uncomfortable. Drifblim frowned, brooding.

"You think I don't want him to come back to you? You think I hate you with no reason? No! I'm tired of your delusions. Keep them to yourself. You have no right to enforce the existence of your so called 'father' on anyone. A leek stalk can't be your father!" Duosion yelled inconsiderately and insensitively.

"Shut the hell up! He's *beep* alive!" Farfetch'd broke through the telekinetic control with rage. His eyes were exasperated. Trick Room ended. Farfetch'd utilized this opportunity to blast Air Slash at Duosion. She flinched from the attack.

Farfetch'd jumped up high into the sky and raised the leek stalk under the moonlight. It charged up Night Slash to be even more powerful.

Duosion widened her eyes, terrified as Farfetch'd dived down for the finishing blow.

"I see you, thief. I give you, grief!" Farfetch'd finished off Duosion. There was a huge explosion of dark energy.

Skarmory flew down to check. "Farfetch'd survives. Duosion is eliminated." He made the official announcement.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Is what I said so wrong? It is the truth. He's living in delusion. He should seek help from a therapist. I really hate the fact that I lost to him. I don't want Farfetch'd to win. If Aromatisse or Drifblim wins then I'll be pleased. Even though I'm eliminated, I'll get to see Houndour now and I can't wait.

* * *

Aromatisse and Drifblim came to see Duosion off.

"Girl, I'll really miss you. Without you, this island got a lot less fabulous." Aromatisse said unhappily.

"Yeah, who is going to talk about sophisticated topics with me now? Is there anyone?" Drifblim looked around, intentionally ignoring Aromatisse. The fairy type rolled her eyes.

"Just joking, talking with you is fabulous, girl." Drifblim's joke got a chuckle out of the three.

After the two left and Duosion was about to depart, Farfetch'd came.

"Give me Mr. Stalk back, thief." Farfetch'd demanded, still assuming that Duosion was the thief.

"When will you fricking get the message through that stubborn skull of yours? I'm done with your pathetic, baseless accusation. Quickly leave, Lapras." Duosion had enough with Farfetch'd's persistency.

"If you didn't steal Mr. Stalk then… I used a different leek stalk… I threw away my code of honor and integrity to rally up votes… I did all of that for… nothing? Hahahaha…." Farfetch'd laughed like a crazy mental asylum patient, crying. He looked completely broken.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk, I'm so sorry. I accepted help left and right. I… Who am I? What am I? An immoral monster?" He sniffled.

* * *

Instead of the conventional closing scene… we got something special this time around. Farfetch'd would sing and dance another song for us.

"Who am I? Holding a stick, swinging like a fool." Farfetch'd swung Ms. Stick around while dazing from side to side unsteadily.

"Who am I? A nobody without a tool." Farfetch'd dropped Ms. Stick down, shrugging.

"Who am I? Who am I? Who am… I?" Farfetch'd picked Ms. Stick up and covered his face.

Gradually, he removed his wings from his face. His eyes were deranged.

"I must be a perverted freak! Creepily stalking Pokemon at night." Farfetch'd suddenly dashed across the sand in randomly directions, kicking the sand around before twisting his wings around madly.

"I'm definitely not a revered professional! Dancing under the moonlight…" Farfetch'd spun around, sweeping the sand with his legs. He then stared at the mesmerizing full moon.

"Who stole him? Who stole him? Who stole him?" Farfetch'd asked the moon, tilting his head sideways.

"Give him back! Give him back! Hahaha…" Farfetch'd laughed to himself as he started kicking sand around again.

"I'm going crazy. My vision is getting hazy… Help me." Farfetch'd clutched his heart with his left wing and pointed at the moon desperately with Ms. Stick. He nearly tumbled as he moved around with no semblance of balance.

"My mentality is razed! There is no stopping this rage!" Farfetch'd fell down to the sand, kicking and rolling.

"Hahaha… Who am I? Screw it! Escalate the carnage." Farfetch'd started flinging sand around with Ms. Stick.

"Who am I? Lost in the dark, confused and scared." He covered his eyes as he rolled around the beach.

"Who am I? Dancing in madness, broken and destroyed." Farfetch'd slowly got up and examined his body. It was a sandy mess.

"Who am I? Who am I? Who am… I?" Farfetch'd looked at his wings before quickly putting them behind his back. He jumped up and kicked both of his feet, looking downwards.

"Hopeless and defenseless, pitching an unlucky streak." Farfetch'd picked up and batted a pebble across the surface of the sea.

"Friendless and feckless, catching no break." Farfetch'd dropped Ms. Stick down and turned away.

"Darmanitan stole him! Drifblim stole him! Nosepass stole him! Aromatisse stole him!" Farfetch'd scratched his head furiously.

"Please give Mr. Stalk back to me." Farfetch'd smiled sympathetically as he held both wings out.

"Skating down a vicious spiral of darkness." Farfetch'd spun around twice.

"Boiling my tears to serve them all saltiness." Farfetch'd cried harder onto his wings and knelt down in reverence, offering his tears to the moon respectfully.

"Who am I? Wah! Wailing loudly and crying a river. I must be a hatchling without any parents or bliss." Farfetch'd curled into a fetal position.

"Who am I? Why am I swinging a miss?" Farfetch'd got up, swinging an imaginary bat around.

"I only remember that I was born without a father. Traumatizing…" Farfetch'd walked around with his wings behind his back, kicking the sand lightly.

"I only wish that I have something everyone else has. Fantasizing…" Farfetch'd gazed at the moon, tilting his head to the left as he crossed his legs.

"Then one day… he talked to me! But… where is he now?!" Farfetch'd started running around like a madman, kicking sand around once again. He held his head with both wings as he did so this time.

"Who stole him? Who stole him? Who has stolen him?! Hahahaha…" Farfetch'd collapsed on the beach, laughing and crying himself to sleep.

* * *

 **Votes**

Farfetch'd: Duosion

Duosion: Farfetch'd

Nosepass: Duosion

Darmanitan: Duosion

Drifblim: Farfetch'd

Aromatisse: Farfetch'd

Duosion: 3 (tied-eliminated)

Farfetch'd: 3 (tied-safe)

* * *

I hope you enjoy the three songs. Tell me your favorite. Mine is "I see you, thief. I give you, grief." The easiest and most enjoyable to dance. If you can dance "Who am I?", tell me.

In Season 2, Meowstic will return. With her out of the way, there are only two spots for veterans left. One for pre-merge. The other for merge. One for male and the other for female.

If you like my songs, Season 2 will have tons of them. Next chapter should come in August. I'll also fix Chap 18-27 mistakes when I release it. This is all I can say. I got games to play and economic books to study.


	28. Chapter 28

I release this chapter early because I don't feel like it's fair to make my old readers wait. Proof reading the older chapters only benefit new readers and re-readers. I'll do it before I release chapter 31, the finale on October 26th instead.

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

Sometimes, I wonder if Drifblim is too overpowered since her strategic game is as good as mine. However, she can't be more overpowered than Lucario who basically got everything but emotional intelligence. Well, I create the elimination list before I write so I've no way of knowing how annoying Darmanitan can be. Some like him, some don't. That won't be taken into account for his placement. If I'm you, I'll actually put all of my eggs inside Farfetch'd's basket.

 **InfernoMaster64**

I'm still thinking about the challenges for Season 2. More simple ones or more complex ones? Be ready to duck curveballs. If you can't handle the suspense then check every tiny little detail. Although, be careful of red herrings. Darmanitan got a shot. Can't tell you any more than that. Only three episodes away from the finale. The wait won't be too long.

 **Parousia45**

That is a neat coincidence. I'm glad that someone takes Duosion's side. Both of them are right and wrong in their own ways. I like it when my viewers have different opinions. Yeah, Farfetch'd lost himself for a moment there. Drink some seawater and I'm sure he will be back to normal. The message about the lottery number is Bronzern Mole. I started off in Fanfiction as The Mole Mario stories reader.

 **Fallenstreet01**

The finale will be epic. This is all I can say to prevent spoilers.

 **Dark Arcanine 33**

You think Aromatisse will win? Finally, someone has faith in her. Even though she doesn't receive much development since Chapter 18, it doesn't mean she can never win.

* * *

 **Episode 28: Stay Sharp and Smart! Two Tales of Shocking Shrines!**

In the lonely night with noisy silence, Nosepass began to feel increasingly anxious. Without Farfetch'd in the cabin with him, he was accompanied by many intangible and imaginary roommates instead.

Guilt tugged his bed sheets, pressuring him to do the right thing. Find Farfetch'd and confess.

Fear suggested the opposite, wanting him to hide like a coward. It pulled the blanket up to cover more of his face.

Relief shrugged, satisfied with the current situation. It yawned before telling Nosepass that he should sleep.

Loneliness…

An abrupt knocking sound chased the feelings away temporarily.

"Homie, can I sleep here for the night? After spending one night alone, I want a real roomie to chill with." Darmanitan requested, opening the door slightly to peek his head inside.

Nosepass pondered. On one hand, it would be nice to have someone break the loneliness. On the other, Darmanitan wasn't exactly his ideal roommate. Nosepass always had the impression that he was secretly violent because of his idolization toward Lucario.

"Where is Farfetch'd?" Darmanitan disrupted Nosepass' thoughts once again with another question.

"Uh, don't know either. Maybe, the restrooms. Anyways… come in." Nosepass hesitated.

"Thanks, homie." Darmanitan gave him a small smile before entering inside fully. Nosepass widened his eyes to see Darmanitan bringing a plush of a Dewgong with a head mirror with him.

"This is Doctor Chillman, homie." Darmanitan explained after seeing his confused countenance. "Last night, I felt really lonely sleeping alone so I went to the snowy area to get a chill roomie like him."

"Aren't you embarrassed to sleep with a plush like a baby?" Nosepass questioned with a flustered face.

"But this plushie is my childhood hero, homie." Darmanitan averted his eyes, sighing. "I guess I really am a big baby. You and Scolipede are right. I should be ashamed of myself."

"No, no. I didn't mean to call you a baby." Nosepass shook his hands. "Back at home, I sleep with a Cresselia plush too. It helps me to fight those nasty nightmares. If someone here is the baby, it is me, not you." He blushed.

"You aren't a baby, homie. You have a good reason to sleep with a plushie. Actually, both of us doesn't need to be a baby. Who says that only a baby can sleep with a plush?" Darmanitan pointed out.

"I guess you are right but, I always thought that I'm the only one. The only coward around here. Even Tyrunt and Snorunt are both braver than me." Nosepass said with low self-esteem.

"You aren't the only one, homie. Here, I always feel out of place being Lucario's blind fanboy. I let everyone push me around left and right, not knowing that it hurts the homie inside. I'm equally a coward as you do. I didn't just run away from the shroom homie's knife. I… ditched Lucario." Darmanitan empathized.

Nosepass was shocked to hear those words coming from Darmanitan's mouth. He realized that maybe it wasn't the size or species that dictates whether someone was a coward. Maybe, he and Wimpod weren't born as cowards after all. Rather, they made themselves into one…

Seeing Darmanitan's friendly facial features and his empathetic and shining smile opened a new perspective for Nosepass. Maybe, just because Darmanitan was Lucario's fanboy didn't mean that he was also a violent, mean bully like Larvitar.

Maybe…

Nosepass could only play with the thoughts in his mind. Thinking but never acting. Maybe, he would confess. Maybe, he would try harder to be brave. Maybe, he would accept Rhydon for what he truly was and is now…

"Homie, why are you crying?" Darmanitan asked worriedly.

Nosepass wiped his tears. He didn't even realize that he was crying until Darmanitan asked about it.

"Nothing, let's just sleep." Nosepass suggested, dodging the question. He quickly pulled the blanket over his face, hiding from Darmanitan's dazing stare.

"Homie, can you sleep comfortably like that?" Darmanitan questioned.

"Yes." Nosepass gave a soft reply. Darmanitan shrugged before sitting down on the bed next to Nosepass' bed.

After a while, Nosepass pushed his blanket away and turned to face Darmanitan. He sat on his bed, meditating peacefully.

Suddenly, Darmanitan opened his eyes as if he was aware that Nosepass was watching.

"Ah! You scare me." Nosepass got spooked. "Why haven't you slept yet?"

"Sorry, homie. I just want to wait for Farfetch'd. I find it fair if I also ask him if I can sleep here. Maybe this is his bed and he doesn't want me here for some reason." Darmanitan clarified.

"Oh, I see. Usually, Farfetch'd should be asleep by now. I find it weird that he isn't here yet." Nosepass tapped his chin. "Hopefully, something bad doesn't happen to him."

Darmanitan frowned, agitated by the thought. "Lately, the stalkie homie got really unlucky. Like I remember the time he dropped a rock on his foot. I should go out and check."

Involuntarily, Nosepass got off his bed as Darmanitan was about to exit the cabin.

"Homie, you comin'?" Darmanitan asked. Nosepass gaped, caught off guard by his impulse again. No… Guilt pushed him off his bed.

"Y-yes." Nosepass stuttered in a reluctant manner.

"You don't need to come if you don't want, homie. I don't mind and probably Farfetch'd as well." Darmanitan assured.

"I might be scared of the dark but I… want to do it." Nosepass ignored Fear's pleas. Darmanitan beamed.

The two searched outside, checking the restrooms, the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin and the mess hall.

"Where can he possibly be?" Nosepass mused.

"The infirmary maybe, homie." Darmanitan suggested and Nosepass nodded.

They yawned as they traveled to the infirmary. Unfortunately, Farfetch'd wasn't there. They returned to the Crazy Crawdaunt boys' cabin. Perhaps, he was already inside, sleeping. Sadly, no. They decided to check the beach area as their final location before calling it a day and giving up on poor Farfetch'd.

"Why would he be in the beach area?" Nosepass asked doubtfully.

"No idea, homie. Just checking to make sure." Darmanitan scratched his head sheepishly.

Fortunately, Farfetch'd was there. He sprawled across the sand, falling asleep after restless crying and laughing.

"He is sleeping. We shouldn't wake him up." Nosepass suggested. Relief nodded. The sooner they slept, the better. Nosepass preferred to avoid dealing with Farfetch'd's accusations. Without Duosion, the suspects got narrowed down.

"Yeah, homie. I'll carry him back." Darmanitan agreed, lifting Farfetch'd's body up gently. However, he woke up out of the blue.

"Are you the thief?!" Farfetch'd got off Darmanitan and immediately accused him.

Relief ran away, replaced by Guilt and Fear.

"No, homie. I'm not the thief. I'm too chill for that." Darmanitan denied.

"Nosepass, you aren't the thief as well, right?" Farfetch'd interrogated with an unnerving glare.

"I'm not the thief." Nosepass lied. Fear grinned, giving Nosepass a thumb up. Guilt threw Nosepass a dirty look of disapproval.

"Then, it must be Drifblim! Aromatisse wouldn't help me find Mr. Stalk and you two wouldn't come out to find me if any of you was the thief." Farfetch'd inferred.

" _Yeah_." Nosepass nodded. Relief patted his back.

"Homie, must there be a thief? What if no one here is the thief? You might've lost him accidentally, homie. What if he is under your bed all along?" Darmanitan posed the question seriously.

"Are you stupid?! I would never lose Mr. Stalk. He is my life and blood! I check under the bed already. You overgrown idiot!" Farfetch'd lifted Darmanitan up by the scruff of his neck and threw him away angrily. Nosepass trembled. Guilt flinched, Fear got a jump scared and Relief fainted.

Farfetch'd fumed, jerking his face back to the cabin.

Darmanitan dragged his body back to the Flygon boys' cabin, looking on the ground miserably. He would sleep alone again tonight.

Guilt grew quiet, questioning its very own existence. It soon scowled at Nosepass before leaving in a hissy fit.

Fear breathed heavily, slowly losing its mind. It succumbed to stress and broke down.

The unconscious Relief got dragged back to the cabin by Loneliness.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Wait until I find this thief… I'll tape this shameless criminal to the Moon and bat it to the Sun."

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm just trying to help…"

 **Nosepass:** "I can't handle this anymore. What the hell should I do?! Confess? Blame it all on Drifblim? Eliminate myself? So much is going on inside my mind."

* * *

The camera saw the host with the most… lost cause in the opening post of any game show in existence.

"I see you, thief. I give you, grief…" Skarmory tried to imitate Farfetch'd. However, he failed miserably with awkward wings and legs movements. The screen got split into two, showing the loved original and the cringe cover side by side.

"…no breaks, no snacks." Skarmory finished, fairly satisfied with himself. To his defense, he managed to follow the rhythm correctly.

"Viewers, I hope you enjoy my short cover of Farfetch'd's newest single. Remember to check it out in Poketunes and your local music store. Music aside, mystery still shrouded the disappearance of Mr. Stalk. Last time, Farfetch'd locked his stalking sights on Duosion and spent his entire day going after her. He tried to block her from entering Darmanitan's charity event. He solely targeted her basket in the challenge. He sang to annoy the hell out of her." Skarmory listed, pausing for a short breather.

"Most importantly, he slashed her out of the competition in the tie breaker. He was definitely the star of yesterday's episode with one catchy song and another creepy. What will happen this time? Will someone finally confess? Find out in this electrifyingly sharp episode of Total Skarmory Island! Gonna get good!" Skarmory shouted, snickering as he cleverly hinted about the challenge.

* * *

As soon as Drifblim woke up, she immediately started her game plan in preparation to face the consequences of the Mr. Stalk stunt she pulled with Nosepass.

First, she discussed with Aromatisse about the future of their game together.

"Aromatisse, are we still solid? Final two together?" Drifblim asked for confirmation.

"Of course, girl. I rather face you in the finale than going up against a muscle man like Darmanitan or a crazy stalker like Farfetch'd. Although, I might be tempted to bring Nosepass with me instead. No promises on that one." Aromatisse said truthfully. "I'm sure you understand and will probably do the same."

"Girl, keeping Nosepass any longer in this game is totally not fabulous." Drifblim shook her head in disagreement. Aromatisse raised her left eye.

"Facing Nosepass in the finale is certainly advantageous for everyone. However, everyone also fails to realize that going up against him in the final three is extremely disadvantageous. If you don't win immunity then kiss your beautiful face goodbye. Aromatisse, it actually benefits you the most to get rid of him now." Drifblim advised.

"Why?" Aromatisse cocked her head.

"Other than Nosepass… who is the least threatening?" Drifblim tried to lead Aromatisse to the answer rather than giving it to her directly.

"Me?" Aromatisse pointed at herself, not sounding very confident.

"Bingo. I certainly would bring you to the finale and Farfetch'd as well. You are the closest to him among all of us. Both of you are returners and you have helped him to find Mr. Stalk. Darmanitan isn't the most obvious one but he will definitely bring you to the finale too, no doubt." Drifblim stated confidently.

"Why? I don't get it. Can you just tell it to me directly?" Aromatisse couldn't figure this one out.

"Think about your team." Drifblim hinted.

"Team? I'm in the Feckless Flygon but I don't see why… Wait, I get it now. Lucario." Aromatisse realized.

"Bingo, Darmanitan is Lucario's fanboy. He will definitely want a Feckless Flygon member to win. The only one that he might bring instead of you is Nosepass who will most likely lose. In that case, there will still be a Flygon winner and that's Darmanitan, not you." Drifblim clarified.

"Why couldn't you just tell me everything right away in the first place? Is this some kind of test?" Aromatisse questioned.

"Girl, you said that you want a sophisticated conversation. Here's one. I give you a B minus. Happy with your performance? If not…" Drifblim nudged her. "Psst, tell you what? Next time, I'll give you a cheat sheet. Just turn your back against the camera and do some make-up while reading the script secretly. You will surely look smart." She whispered temptingly with a smirk.

Aromatisse rolled her eyes. "As if I need one. I can survive just fine using my own brain. Thank you but, no. _Psst, when will you give me the sheet_?" Her voice was barely audible at the end. The two shared a laugh afterwards.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I should really try to follow Drifblim's advice. I need to make myself look unthreatening and just nice in general. Those boys will bring me to the finale and when they least expect it, I'll strike them down. Hopefully, they forgot about what I'm capable of. Larvitar's revenge was like ten days ago. I doubt that they remember."

 **Drifblim:** She held a diary in her hand. "My plan is to swiftly silence Nosepass by eliminating him out of the game today. From my analysis of him, I should capitalize on his impulse just before the elimination, convincing him persuasively that he will be safe if eliminated. I also need to reinforce the fact that he should never throw my name under the bus."

* * *

Farfetch'd woke up, his body aching and mind numbing. The duck lightly poked his head with Ms. Stick. He soon regained sensibility to his surroundings. Something out-of-place caught his attention.

He noticed a Dewgong plush on a distant bed. While Nosepass and Farfetch'd shared the Crazy Crawdaunt boys' cabin, they didn't sleep next to each other. In fact, they never changed their beds. The bed they slept on the first day was still the bed they slept on the present day. The bed Darmanitan picked yesterday was Rhydon's.

Farfetch'd could've sworn that he found a few of this peculiar Dewgong plush in claw machines before. He dug through his memory a little and remembered that it was called Doctor Chillman. No doubt that it belonged to Darmanitan.

Upon the mention of Darmanitan, Farfetch'd was hit with a pang of sudden guilt.

The miserable look of Darmanitan's face flashed upon his eyes vividly and Farfetch'd shuddered.

"What have I done?" Farfetch'd regretted.

Farfetch'd decided to bring the plush over to Darmanitan and apologize. He walked heavy-heartedly, dreading the response.

Farfetch'd soon arrived at the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin and knocked on the door politely.

"Come in." Darmanitan tried to reply normally. However, there was still a hint of sadness.

Farfetch'd opened the door slowly and entered inside with a lowered head. Darmanitan focused his eyes on the plush.

"Hey… I'm very sorry for snapping at you yesterday. I lost control of myself. Without Mr. Stalk, I've been really frantic lately. I don't know if you will forgive me and it's fine if I'm not forgiven. I just hope you know that I don't mean any of those things I said yesterday. Sorry, Darmanitan." Farfetch'd apologized sincerely, handing the plush to Darmanitan before turning to the door.

"Homie, I forgive you. Also…" Darmanitan said, stopping Farfetch'd from leaving. He turned back to face Darmanitan.

"I want to ask you something. What will you do if you manage to find the thief? Beat him or her up? If so, please don't do it. Don't repeat what happened with Lucario and Rhydon. Please." Darmanitan pleaded, holding both hands together.

Farfetch'd didn't answer. He only gave Darmanitan a thoughtful look before leaving. Darmanitan's eyebrows drooped.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Swanna, can I really forgive the thief that made me suffer so much?"

 **Darmanitan:** "I don't feel like setting up the charity event today anymore."

* * *

Skarmory guided the contestants to the far edge of the desert area. There, they saw two circular stone pedestals. Each with a strange statue on top. The one on the left depicted a Magneton pushing a metal cube. The right illustrated a frozen Decidueye with a horrified, contorted face.

"My poor Decidueye, who did this to your handsome face? That bottom tier loser will pay!" Aromatisse agonized, rubbing his face consolingly.

"You will find out soon enough." Skarmory pushed her back with the others. Aromatisse nearly resisted.

"Anyways, the objective of today's challenge is simple. Complete your shrine the fastest. The Magneton shrine is for the boys and the Decidueye is for the girls. Don't worry, both equalize in difficulty and time to complete from multiple intern tests. There is a good reason as to why we separate the five of you into two groups and it isn't because of your gender. You will find out on your own hopefully. I don't want to ruin the surprise." Skarmory explained. Drifblim looked enthusiastic.

"Each shrine will be occupied by one contestant at a time. The rest will wait here. Once you finish solving the puzzle, your time will be recorded and you will be teleported back to the camp area. Any questions?" Skarmory asked the usual. Everyone seemed to understand the challenge.

"Good. Anyone wants to go first?" Skarmory asked and Drifblim immediately raised her hand.

"I'm very excited to compete in this interesting challenge." Drifblim expressed eagerly. Skarmory blinked.

"You are certainly weird today, Drifblim. I'm actually prepared to counter against your complaints about balance issues." Skarmory remarked.

"You want me to complain? Seriously?" Drifblim raised her right eye.

"No thanks." Skarmory shook his head. He then glanced at the boys, Darmanitan volunteered since the other two didn't.

The challenge eventually began. Drifblim and Darmanitan got on their respective pedestal. Soon enough, a blue mystifying light teleported them underground.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Very unprofessional, Skarmory. You shouldn't ask for a contestant to complain about your show."

* * *

Darmanitan emerged out of the light, witnessing a shocking sight.

He was in a dark room with blue torches lighting up the walls. They illuminated what appeared to be an electricity conductivity puzzle.

In front of him was a giant hi-tech magnet. It got two buttons on it: push and pull.

In the lower right corner of the room, a container locked the giant Triple A battery inside for safety.

There were four sets of line on the floors. They functioned like wires. The line near the battery container lit up in green light.

At the end of room were two metal cubes and a locked door with two switches on the left and right side.

The first line shaped like an 'L'. It connected to the container. It also had a small gap to the 'U' shape in the middle of the room. The 'U' shape split off into two 'I' lines. Each line connected to a switch directly.

Turning to the back of the room, Darmanitan saw a wall of dry leaves. He wasn't tempted to burn them one bit. Rather, he was against all kinds of pyromaniac activity. Zen taught him the sensible and chill path.

Picking the magnet up, Darmanitan concentrated on the puzzle right away. He experimented with the motion controls of the magnet first. He pressed the pull button and the cube got attracted immediately. When he turned the magnet around, the cube also rotated. Wherever he moved, the cube followed unless it got stuck against the wall.

"This should work." Darmanitan dropped the cube down between the 'L' line and the 'U' line. The 'U' lit up in green light as a result.

Here came the mind-boggling part. With one metal cube left and two switches, how was it possible to solve the puzzle? Darmanitan started to meditate for the answer.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "I advise everyone to meditate whenever they got stuck on something. It helps, homie." He mostly addressed the viewers.

* * *

Drifblim met with something completely different. Unlike the boys' shrine, the girls' shrine shone luminously due to the bright Sun shaped lighting on the ceiling. Drifblim blocked her eyes from the blinding light.

"Way to make your contestants go blind, Skarmory." Drifblim complained, focusing her eyes on the ground.

The floor got painted in five different colors (excluding the words):

Red with the words 'Bottom Tier' written in black.

Blue with the words 'Low Tier' written in black.

Green with the words 'Middle Tier' written in white.

Silver with the words 'High Tier' written in bronze.

Gold with the words 'Top Tier' written in bronze.

In addition, there were seventeen cardboard cut-outs all over the place. Sixteen male contestants and Decidueye. Lastly, five ice blocks scattered across the room with a frozen treasure chest inside. A flamethrower lay next to the one closest to her.

Drifblim rolled her eyes, instantly getting the theme of today's challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Let me guess, Bisharp is getting revenge on the girls and Grovyle is getting revenge on the boys." She folded her arms.

* * *

The screen flashbacked to yesterday's night.

The door of the cottage opened, slowly revealing a dark figure that blended well with the darkness. It was Bisharp.

"Glad to see you again, Skarmory." Bisharp bowed as a polite gesture before shaking his right wing.

"Glad to see you too, Bisharp. You have finished watching the tape I sent, right?" Skarmory asked.

"Indeed." Bisharp frowned. "While I'm not vindictive by any stretch, I'm very displeased that they have taken things too far. They have degraded me into a joke, unaware of the dire implications that I must deal with back at home. My parents are watching the show and they take things very seriously."

Skarmory's eyes hid guilt. He was the one who started the gag in the first place but Bisharp didn't know that. The footage only showed Aromatisse and Drifblim insulting him. The host just wanted to create funny moments for the viewers, not considering Bisharp's side of things.

"I see… Bisharp, let me remind you of your mission. You will return as a special guest tomorrow for the final revenge special. The two girls will need to solve a puzzle in a shrine created specifically for you. You might wonder about the boys. Well, another guest will return alongside you. There he is." Skarmory indicated, pointing behind Bisharp.

Bisharp turned around, disappointed after seeing that it was Grovyle.

"Glorious Guest Grovyle will make his comeback as a new man today. My fans, I hope you look forward to that." Grovyle started blowing kisses and waving at the camera.

"Can't it be someone else?" Bisharp glared at Grovyle with spite.

"That should be me asking." Grovyle glared back.

"Let me ask both of you a few questions for the fans. Grovyle, how are you doing after you got eliminated? Has your stay been enjoyable so far in Loser Island?" Skarmory interviewed curiously.

"Great. I'm not as hated as Skrelp, Larvitar or Heracross so that's a plus. Although, nobody allows me to call myself Good Guy Grovyle anymore. That is why I'm now Triple G. A much cooler nickname I say." Grovyle said proudly.

"Stands for Guilty Guy Grovyle." Bisharp added sharply.

"Only for you, Bucket Boy Bisharp." Grovyle retorted to Bisharp's chagrin.

"Bucket Boy Bisharp? How did you get that nickname?" Skarmory suppressed his laugh.

"I rather not talk about it." Bisharp blushed slightly, avoiding direct eye contact with the camera.

"From another of his fishing misadventures. I show him good." Grovyle told in a vague manner, grinning smugly. Bisharp groaned.

"What is the relationship between you two now? You started off as allies. Then, you both became friends, turned into enemies at the end. Anything to say?" Skarmory glanced at both of them.

"In the beginning of the game, we didn't know each other very well. Both of us were shady characters with ulterior motives that tried to take advantage of the other. Now, we are like exposed, naked prisoners with nothing to hide. We agree to express our hate toward each other openly. I can't stand him and he can't stand me. The more accurate representation than enemies would just be two vastly different individuals that are forced to live together in a secluded island." Bisharp described their rather complex relationship.

"What he said." Grovyle pointed at him before shrugging.

"Good news for both of you. You don't need to work together." Skarmory told to their delight. "Although, your success depends on each other's. If all five contestants fail to complete the shrine, both of you can name two contestants up for elimination. If you both name the same contestant, then it will be an automatic elimination." Skarmory added to their dismay.

"Hope you don't lose to those girls. That won't look good in front of your parents, won't it?" Grovyle provoked.

"Speak for yourself! You got three contestants to take care of." Bisharp scowled.

"Yeah, but I'm up against Nosepass, Darmanitan and Farfetch'd without Mr. Stalk. That's like taking a candy from a… Skrelp." Grovyle used the wrong saying again.

"Baby, Genius Guy Grovyle." Bisharp corrected with sarcasm.

"Thanks, Bucket Brain Bisharp." Grovyle returned an insult. Bisharp gritted his teeth in annoyance.

The situation was very uncomfortable as the three boarded the boat back to Skarmory Island.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grovyle:** "Will probably put Darmanitan up for elimination. That goody two shoes, Lucario fanboying, chilling baby needs to learn that gratitude, generosity and being a gentleman don't take you far in life if you aren't Triple G. A good guy needs a reward at the end. Otherwise, there is no point being good. He will end up like Houndour, used by Meowth and abused by Lucario."

 **Bisharp:** "Grovyle is one-of-a-kind. He has a strange superiority complex regarding his intelligence. He usually boasts that he can easily beat Skrelp and me in most areas of expertise with minimal effort. He often blames his countryside background for his lack of book smarts. Dedenne said that he is someone who requires a lot of encouragement and flattery to actually show his good side. He also apparently can't stand it when anyone doubts his ability or question his already questionable morality."

* * *

As Drifblim used the flamethrower to defreeze the first treasure chest, she found the thought of creating a tier list to be very amusing. It was a classic in seasons where the girls were all crazy about the hottest guy. However, in this season, they weren't any eye candies really.

Lucario was too muscular. Machoke was too thin. Tyrunt looked like a total nerd. Meowth only looked good in a business suit. Larvitar was too wimpy. Only Bisharp and Grovyle came close to the pretty boy category. Even then, their personalities were mediocre at best, at least in her opinion.

The girl side wasn't any better. Aromatisse was probably the only pretty one while some might consider Heracross to be ugly. She didn't take care of her body well. The dirt, dust and dull showed on her entire body.

Drifblim found it to be a breath of fresh air that there weren't really any love triangles or hot models in the show. Relationship took a backseat this season, making room for crazy challenges and insane strategies.

Decidueye was definitely the hottest, Drifblim agreed with Aromatisse.

Drifblim returned to reality once the ice melted. She opened the treasure chest, hoping for something useful.

"A note? Let's see…" Drifblim picked it up and read. "I score lipids, eating medium rare mussels."

Drifblim thought for a moment. She soon floated over to the cardboard versions of Scolipede, Darmanitan, Lucario and brought them over to the middle tier area.

Afterwards, she burned another frozen treasure chest.

"This is going to take a while…" Drifblim sounded a bit impatient.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Score-lipids as Scolipede and mussels as muscles. I wonder if Bisharp or Skarmory came up with the word puzzles."

* * *

Back to the surface…

Farfetch'd approached Aromatisse who gazed dreamily at the frozen Decidueye.

"You still look handsome." Aromatisse mumbled, ogling the statue.

Farfetch'd poked Aromatisse lightly with Ms. Stick to get her attention.

"Aromatisse, I want to apologize for accusing your friend of stealing Mr. Stalk without any evidence. I'm not myself as of late. I'm very sorry." Farfetch'd looked down on the ground, ashamed of what he did yesterday.

"I forgive you, Farfetch'd. After all, you saved me from that barbaric conveyor belt." Aromatisse accepted the apology.

"I guess…" Farfetch'd muttered. Aromatisse looked at him worriedly.

Nosepass listened to the conversation, averting his eyes. Guilt punched his side.

Even though Farfetch'd lost Mr. Stalk and suffered so much, he still had the courage to actually apologize and ask for forgiveness. What about him? He was only a pathetic coward that ran away from his problems with Fear all the time.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "I didn't save Aromatisse. It was Mr. Stalk. All of my skills, talents and abilities are basically his, not mine."

 **Aromatisse:** "Poor Farfetch'd, I hope he reunites with Mr. Stalk soon. When we find out, I'm voting that heartless thief out no matter what."

 **Nosepass:** "I'm really disgusted with myself. Brother, Hickery-o… what should I do?"

* * *

Darmanitan was enlightened after a moment of meditation. He examined the dry leaves wall behind him, rubbing it to find some sort of hidden secret. Eventually, he found a small hole. Inserting his fore finger inside, he slid a note out successfully.

"Think like Grovyle to solve the puzzle." Darmanitan read the hint, scratching his head in confusion.

Think like Grovyle? The gecko homie wasn't always the brightest to Darmanitan. Although, he couldn't be underestimated. He was a total sneak, combined this with his cunning and deceitful nature and then you got a quick-witted trickster.

Triple G wasn't smart for many contestants' standards. However, back where he lived, he was the strongest, smartest and coolest. Many contestants seemed to glance past this fact.

Thinking about it, Darmanitan found the puzzle to be extremely simple with a very obvious obstacle. There were two metal cubes but three gaps to fill. Definitely the style of puzzle that Grovyle would create. It tested the contestants' resourcefulness rather than academic intelligence.

"I need to meditate again." Darmanitan returned to his meditative pose and started replaying his memories about Grovyle and anything related to him inside his head.

Grovyle kicked him on the back of his head. Ouch.

Grovyle submitted to Lucario. Not very useful.

Grovyle pushed Darmanitan out of his way during the cooking and fear challenge. What a jerk.

Darmanitan struggled to find the answer. Therefore, he shifted his focus to the battery instead.

Darmanitan remembered how energetic and eccentric it could be, blasting deadly thunderbolts and electric meteors. The memory of the tiebreaker contrasted greatly with the present. Now, the battery calmed down greatly, locked inside the container for safety.

Wait… That's it! Darmanitan got the answer now.

Using the magnet, Darmanitan threw the metal cube at the container, breaking it opened.

The battery charged electricity, aiming at both metal cubes. Darmanitan quickly positioned both near the switches.

The battery zapped the door opened and Darmanitan hurried inside before it closed down, bringing the magnet with him just in case.

The next room was a large but mostly empty rectangular room. In the top left and top right corners were two metal cubes, one on each side. Attached to the ceiling was another giant Triple A battery.

Grovyle stood in the center of attention, holding the gun that shoots out lightning lure disks.

"Ha, you made it. However, don't celebrate just yet. If you want to beat this shrine, you need to take down its owner. That's me, Triple G. Now, it stands for Glorious Guest Grovyle. Soon, it will stand for Grief Giver Grovyle!" Grovyle asserted.

"Homie, what you got against me?" Darmanitan asked with pacifistic eyes. "Can't we just settle it the chill way?"

"Not much. I hate you because of Lucario just like many others. You are the one that should try to seek revenge. What's with that look? C'mon, let's fight." Grovyle initiated the battle, shooting multiple disks toward Darmanitan's direction. The homie boy wasn't prepared to dodge. He got hit by six disks in total.

"Lucario, Lucario. Why is it all his fault? Is it so wrong that I'm his fanboy?" Darmanitan questioned with narrow eyes, repressing his anger. He rammed at Grovyle on all fours.

"He ruined my shot at the million. You expect me to like him?" Grovyle performed a front flip over Darmanitan, shooting four more disks at his back.

"Homie, I don't expect you to like him. I know that he can be mean, especially to the Crazy Crawdaunt members. However, please give him a chance. I know that he can change. I'll compete on his behalf and show everyone that the Aura Beast fandom isn't always crazily competitive and ruthless!" Darmanitan appealed with chill conviction.

"You know what? You are right, Darmanitan." Grovyle dropped his gun down and walked toward Darmanitan apologetically with guilty eyes. The homie boy was shocked but smiled regardless.

"I'm Guilty Guy Grovyle. I got what's coming for me. Lucario did the right thing by beating my ass up. It's just that I'm jealous of his fame and leadership, you know? He got fans and so many loyal teammates." Grovyle averted his eyes. "I don't think I can ever be forgiven." He sobbed. Everything sounded so sincere and genuine.

"Homie, I forgive you." Darmanitan patted his back consolingly, dropping his guard. "I'm sure that someday you will have a huge fanbase as well."

Suddenly, Grovyle laughed hysterically.

"Gullible goody two shoes…" Grovyle grinned evilly. Darmanitan widened his eyes. However, it was too late. Grovyle kicked him in the direction of the metal cube on the top right corner. The battery blasted lightning at Darmanitan upon Godly Guy Grovyle's command.

"Ah!" Darmanitan screamed in pain. He received major damage.

"Blind fanboy, this is why you shouldn't trust someone so easily. Not me and certainly not Lucario." Grovyle mocked.

Darmanitan twitched his eyes a little. He took deep breaths before meditating, changing his form into Zen Mode Darmanitan. Grovyle smirked, well prepared for this situation since Heracross warned him about Darmanitan's ability.

"Darmanitan, I actually got an Aura Beast T-shirt, ya dig?" Grovyle countered with Confide, using a made-up secret.

Darmanitan lost his concentration and his Sp. Atk got lowered. Grovyle utilized this chance to snatch the magnet and hurled the other cube at Darmanitan, stunning him.

Grovyle retrieved his gun and fired continuously at Darmanitan until he commanded the battery to rain down meteors upon the poor homie boy.

A gigantic explosion boomed, creating a huge cloud of smoke. It slowly faded, showing an unconscious Darmanitan. Grovyle chuckled at his easy victory.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Is this why Lucario wants to abandon me? To show me the harsh reality of the things that will happen to Aura Beast fans?"

 **Grovyle:** "Can't believe the guy fell for it. Great Guy Grovyle is jealous of Lucario? Don't make me laugh." Even though he tried to deny it, there was a hint of truth.

* * *

"Two grass guys hit rock bottom." Drifblim read her second clue. She immediately knew that the two were Decidueye and Grovyle.

"Aromatisse isn't going to be happy. Better watch out, Bisharp." Drifblim said to no one in particular.

Lifting Decidueye up, she noticed visual hints that weren't presented in cardboard versions of Lucario, Scolipede or Darmanitan.

First of all, the edges got cut sloppily, showing some white areas. Second, the cardboard was too easily bendable. The Grovyle cardboard cut-out experienced the same treatment.

"I get it now." Drifblim figured out a faster way to complete the puzzle.

Instead of wasting time burning frozen treasure chests for ages, Drifblim inspected the cardboard themselves.

Low tier cardboard cut-outs like Machoke, Magikarp, Meowth and Larvitar all bend easily.

High tier cardboard cut-outs like Houndour, Electabuzz, Shedinja and Farfetch'd looked a bit shiny.

Cardboard Bisharp shone brilliantly with a flashy look. Any guesses about his tier?

Tyrunt was middle tier while Rhydon and Nosepass belonged to bottom tier. Drifblim regretted not checking the cardboard cut-outs carefully before burning the frozen chests.

After completion, the door automatically opened.

Drifblim entered the room where Bisharp was waiting solemnly. He held the freezing gun firmly in his hands. Interestingly, he stood on a pillar of ice. The room got flooded with water from two Kingdra statues to the sides, releasing rapids from their snouts. The back of the room got a strange lever. Underneath the water was a drain, preventing the water level from rising.

"You look mad, Bisharp. Angry that you don't look hot in our eyes?" Drifblim teased.

"No. Drifblim, everybody knew what you did in Loser Island. Heracross told us." Bisharp acknowledged. Drifblim frowned, looking anxious.

"Drifblim, I respect the level of gameplay you bring to this show. However, there is always a line in the sand. As a fellow strategist, I must express disapproval against some of your moves in this game. I'm not allowed to tell anyone and I won't. However, can you please explain to me why was it necessary to steal Mr. Stalk? In my opinion, the risk outweighs the benefits." Bisharp questioned in a composed and objective manner.

"Bisharp, we are both strategists. However, here comes a glaring difference between us. I'm a superfan and you aren't. That itself makes a huge difference. I don't expect you to understand. I'm going to deal with my consequences after the game ends, whether I win or not. Right now, I expect you to fulfill your responsibilities as a guest." Drifblim postponed.

"Fair enough. A friendly word of caution… As Farfetch'd's friend, this might be a bit personal. Are you ready?" Bisharp alerted.

"Ready unlike you!" Drifblim initiated the battle by melting the pillar of ice Bisharp stood on with her flamethrower.

Bisharp jumped backwards and froze the lever before shooting the water to create another ice platform. He dug his feet through the ice to stick a proper landing.

Drifblim analyzed his behavior and immediately knew that activating the lever would be advantageous to her. She aimed a Shadow Ball at the ice platform, planning to distance Bisharp from the lever.

Bisharp jumped away again and shot an icy blast at Drifblim which she melted with her flamethrower easily. The shrine boss created another platform for himself before using an unexpected move.

"Embargo!" Bisharp summoned dark chains to restrict Drifblim's use of her item. He smirked as Drifblim was taken by surprise.

Drifblim tossed her unusable flamethrower away before blasting another Shadow Ball at Bisharp. She made sure to curve it so that it chases Bisharp away from the lever.

Bisharp jumped away and created another platform immediately for himself. This time, he didn't bother to counter attack. He set up using Sword Dance instead.

Drifblim utilized this opportunity to charge Fly and struck the frozen lever, activating it. Instantly, the Kingdra stopped releasing water and the drain sucked all the water up.

Drifblim made a big mistake. She didn't keep her eyes on Bisharp. Before she could react, he slashed her with Night Slash. Bisharp followed up with Iron Head, headbutting her down the drain.

Drifblim yelped, struggling to get out of the drain. However, Bisharp froze it, trapping her. He slid over to the blocked drain stylishly, placing his right foot on the frozen Drifblim.

"You fell into my trap. I win." Bisharp smiled victoriously.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Well, I gotta hand it to Bisharp. Maybe he isn't a flat cardboard strategist after all. He is promoted to a colorless, boring whiteboard strategist instead. If he keeps up this performance, I'm sure he will be the bulletin board strategist someday. I'm so proud of my son." She referred to Smeargle's acting challenge.

* * *

Nosepass volunteered to take on the shrine before Farfetch'd after a moment of retrospection.

One event greatly impacted him. That time when Tyrunt volunteered to face his fear before the likes of Grovyle and Archeops… it was amazing. Nosepass still couldn't believe that a coward- …

Calling Tyrunt a coward was hypocritical. Nosepass was envious of him. Tyrunt grew a lot more in a span of fourteen days than Nosepass in a span of twenty-eight days or so he believed. Nosepass sometimes wished that he could be like Tyrunt. Then again, maybe that was a bad idea. He would lose Hickery-o and Rhydon.

Nosepass felt a strange sensation inside his brain. It was… satisfaction. But, how could he? Nosepass shouldn't be satisfied with being a pitiful cowardly thief that ran away from all of his responsibilities! He shouldn't be under the delusion that just because Hickery-o accepted him, he got nothing to improve on. No, he was still extremely flawed. More flawed than anyone in Total Skarmory Island. He would take one step forward now. Enough hiding with Fear. It's time to ditch that loser and followed Tyrunt's footsteps instead.

Experimenting with the magnet, Nosepass found the clanging sound of dropping the metal cube to startle him a lot. Yet, he kept going with the challenge even when Loneliness was presented.

Unfortunately, he couldn't solve the puzzle and got timed out of the challenge.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I actually don't want the immunity. There is something that I _must_ do today." He sounded serious and resolute.

* * *

Aromatisse, just like Drifblim, didn't check the cardboard cut-outs carefully first. Even worse, she decided to defreeze all of the treasure chests before managing the cut-outs. These girls might be secretly inclined to pyromaniac activities. (Chill out!)

The other clues were the following:

Low profits from thin, lavishing slices of fish.

An angelic being with wings, halo and the power to wield electricity lived high in the heavens. (This description fits Godly Guy Grovyle perfectly. Are you sure he doesn't belong to high tier?)

Born in a top-ranking family… Beautiful blades adorned him… His bride was jumpy and fluffy.

Aromatisse rolled her eyes. Soon enough, she read the clue about Decidueye and seethed. She crumpled the clue and threw it away.

"Bisharp, you are crossing the line! I won't do this crappy challenge any longer!" Aromatisse reddened, forfeiting.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I couldn't do that to my handsome honey. Decidueye, I love you!" She formed a heart with both hands, blushing furiously.

* * *

It was Farfetch'd's turn. His failure meant that Bisharp and Grovyle succeeded in getting their revenges. In that case, a deathmatch between Darmanitan and Drifblim was likely to happen. Could he pull off his first immunity win without Mr. Stalk?

Farfetch'd sighed. Working alone without Mr. Stalk was extremely difficult. Sure, he got Ms. Stick but she caused more harm than good most of the time.

Farfetch'd studied the room and ended up in the same situation as Darmanitan. Baffled with the three gaps and two cubes. The room reset after Darmanitan and Nosepass attempted the shrine, with the help of interns. Therefore, there was no advantage in going last.

Farfetch'd rummaged through the dry leaves and soon found the note.

"Think like Grovyle, huh?" Farfetch'd looked thoughtful, tapping his chin. He exhaled, shaking his head after failing to find the solution.

"Ms. Stick, got any ideas?" Farfetch'd asked, a bit hopeful.

"What?! Release the battery? That sounds like a dangerous idea, Ms. Stick. I might get hurt. You want me to do it anyways? I guess… I'll do it." Farfetch'd sounded unsure and hesitant.

Instead of throwing the metal cube like Darmanitan, Farfetch'd held the push button of the giant magnet. The metal cube collided with the container, creating a small crack. Farfetch'd pulled the cube back before pushing it against the container again. He only needed to push the two buttons since the container was straight from him.

Eventually, the container broke and the battery sparked. Farfetch'd panicked and pressed the pull button for too long. The metal cube rushed at him dangerously. Out of fear, Farfetch'd threw the magnet behind him. The magnet lost control of the metal cube, flinging it into the air.

Farfetch'd looked horrified as the metal cube was about to crush his skull. Bracing for the impact, he held his head and ducked. It was too late to run away.

Luckily, the cube barely scathed by him since he ducked. However, it knocked Ms. Stick out of his wings, breaking her in half. She softened the blow for him…

"No! Ms. Stick!" Farfetch'd shouted in agony. He dropped to his knees as he held her remains, crying as if a dying family member was in front of him.

"Don't die please…" Farfetch'd prayed. Suddenly, the battery released electricity toward his direction.

 _Watch out!_ Farfetch'd heard a feminine voice yelled out urgently inside his head.

Farfetch'd rolled away, dodging the damage just in time.

"You saved me…" Farfetch'd gaped, treasuring Ms. Stick's remains in his wings. Farfetch'd closed his eyes, tears leaking out. Determinedly, he opened them with a strong sense of emergency.

"Stay strong! I'll bring you to the hospital!" Farfetch'd vowed with a sudden burst of energy. He hurried over to the metal cubes recklessly, not bothering with the magnet.

"Cube brothers, *beep* your square faces!" Farfetch'd fumed, red smoke discharging out of his body ragingly. He kicked both cubes using the move Revenge over to the switches.

Once the Cube brothers paid for their crimes through electrocution, Farfetch'd picked up the magnet and sprinted inside the boss room.

"Triple- ow!" Grovyle got gimped as Farfetch'd swung the metal cube at him without any hesitation.

"Out of the way! Can't you see a dying woman?!" Farfetch'd censured demandingly. "Rah!" Farfetch'd roared ferociously like a beast and performed a spin attack with the cube. Triple G took hits consecutively, crying out in pain until he fainted.

Farfetch'd got teleported to the camp area. The other contestants anticipated the result.

"Farfetch'd, you win-" Skarmory got interrupted.

"Shut up! Save that for later! Quickly teleport Ms. Stick to the infirmary. _Now_!" Farfetch'd shook Skarmory infuriatingly.

Everyone looked terrified of Farfetch'd. Skarmory ordered Alakazam to hospitalize Ms. Stick in the infirmary as soon as possible.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "What. The. Hell. Just. Happened?" She was still processing the situation.

 **Nosepass:** "How am I going to find the courage to confess now?" He hugged himself for comfort.

 **Darmanitan:** "The homie needs to chill out, big time. I might need to buy him a few chill pills." His seemed a bit shaky.

 **Aromatisse:** "He looked like Lucario for a second. His eyes were red." She didn't seem to be exaggerating.

* * *

Farfetch'd visited the infirmary, praying for Ms. Stick's safety anxiously.

The door opened and Farfetch'd held his breath.

Chef Drapion came out, handing him the wood glued Ms. Stick. Farfetch'd cried in joy.

"Thank the gods that your surgery is successful. Ms. Stick, I'll never lose you like Mr. Stalk ever again." Farfetch'd promised, wiping his tears away.

Chef Drapion rolled his eyes as he walked away, giving a cringe expression in the process.

"Ms. Stick, I want you to know that even if we never find Mr. Stalk again. I, at the very least… have you." Farfetch'd said emotionally, caressing her.

"Ouch, a splinter." Farfetch'd frowned at first. However, it soon turned into a smile "I… like it. I still remember the first time you gave me a splinter, Ms. Stick." He recalled. "Wonderful."

There was something beautiful about his delusion. The ability to find happiness, sadness, joy, laughter, sorrow and fun in non-living objects was special and rare. A connection that challenged the conventional notions of feelings, emotions and relationships.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Maybe… I can make a room inside my heart for more than Mr. Stalk and Swanna. Maybe… I can accept others like Ms. Stick and Bisharp."

* * *

Nosepass headed down his big brother's secret base in a melancholic manner. When he first discovered this place, he was scared. Now, he felt wistful. Maybe he really did change after all.

Nosepass normally found it difficult to distinguish between an actual change in his personality and mere impulse. However, that didn't mean he couldn't acknowledge the fact he changed. Of course, he changed but… by how much? That was the question in his mind. Sometimes, he reverted back to his original self after facing his fears and predicaments. For example, Nosepass only stood up against Larvitar in light of his wimpy weaknesses. He didn't suddenly become braver. Instead, he realized how weak and pathetic Larvitar truly was. However, this was still the simple version.

Nosepass' mind was complicated. A chaotic mixture of negative feelings swirled around his head with only a few neutrals and positives blending in. It was a travesty to describe his actions as a result of only impulse or fear.

Here's the thing, Nosepass didn't fully understand himself. He simplified how his mind works, unaware that perhaps he was as equally complex as Grovyle or Lucario.

Nosepass had a sympathetic childhood. Betrayed and bullied by many. Therefore, he had low self-esteem and barely any selflessness. He remembered the time when Houndour gave the noodle cup to him. Nosepass never paid back the gratitude. In place of that, he showed ingratitude. Nosepass cheered for Grovyle when he kicked the bracelet away.

Guilt would haunt him for a long time.

Nosepass developed an 'impulsive' nature through Relief's laxness and ignorance. After surviving through some sort of struggle, Relief would always erase his accomplishments and replace all of that with the excuses of impulse. Simply put, Nosepass preferred to forget about all of his bad experiences after feeling relieved. However, the bad experiences still haunted him. He only forgot the positive lessons he learned. Things like why he faced the difficulty in the first place.

Loneliness subjected him to selfishness and lack of empathy. Because his parents weren't really there for him, he got no one by his side until now.

Fear was the vaguest. Just like impulse, it was a simplified term to describe Nosepass.

Nosepass kept other feelings to himself like anger, worry, shame and etc. However, he never noticed them. They resided quite deep in his subconsciousness, influencing his decisions in subtle ways. Eventually, they aggregated into two major concepts: Fear and Impulse.

Fear meant he wouldn't do something out of cowardice.

Impulse meant he did something just because he was an impulsive idiot.

The only two that could break him from the vicious cycle of impulse and fear were Rhydon and Hickery-o. They taught him many precious lessons. Hopefully, he could put them to good use and grow stronger.

Nosepass noticed the giant piece of paper that Rhydon left for him. He walked to it, not expecting to get much of anything other than a good chuckle out of his big brother's messy handwriting.

The little brother found his big brother's handwriting to be hilariously hopeless. Once he evolved, he quickly rewrote everything essential using real hands as a Rhydon. Yet, the handwriting only improved slightly.

There was one section that stood out. The section that Rhydon wrote as some sort of farewell message. Nosepass tried hard to read it. Really, really hard to read it. He ended up needing to rewrite the letters he could decipher and fill in the gaps himself. It took a long while but he did it.

Rhydon wrote the following:

"My little brother, I'm very sorry for being so distant lately. I know it hurts you and makes you feel scared. It hurts me and makes me feel scared as well… I know that I'm not the best big brother. Too mysterious and detached to even be considered a friend at times. Leaving you in the dark for so long, clinging to a fragile faith that I'm some sort of guardian protector… I truly wish that I can be your big brother and do things that brothers do nowadays. The truth is… I always long for a family member. I have no one left after that incident and I can feel lonely at times…"

"However, that's enough about me. I know that it is selfish to ask someone to be a psychopath's brother so I won't do it. Rather, I request you to forget about me for your own safety… Nosepass, I know you will do just fine without me. You have grown a lot in my eyes and I hope you feel the same. I hope you can put my analysis into good use and win this game. Even if you don't, that doesn't matter. What matters the most is how you feel about yourself. If you think it is unfair on the other contestants and decide to not use my help, then feel free to do so."

"Nosepass… I'm proud of you. No matter what happens, I'll treasure you inside my heart even if I'll be forgotten. I love you… little brother."

Nosepass was left in tears. His big brother thought so highly of him… He didn't deserve any of this…

Nosepass felt the irresistible impulse taking control of his body once again. He would embrace it. He would take the responsibility this time. He would confess… so that he would be worthy of the love Rhydon and Hickery-o had given to him!

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "I've made my decision and I won't go back on it." His eyes and nose sharpened with conviction.

* * *

Drifblim traveled to the mountain area, preparing to execute the last part of her masterplan. She soon found Nosepass walking out of Rhydon's secret base. He seemed different this time. Drifblim discerned this Nosepass from the normal Nosepass. The normal one gave off unthreatening and cowardly vibes but this one…

Gave off an intense conviction that shaken her.

"Drifblim, I'm going to confess and I'm going to throw your name out too. Farfetch'd has the right to know everything." Nosepass resolved, fear vanquished from his voice.

"Are you mental?! Farfetch'd is going to kill both of us." Drifblim disagreed strongly.

"He is going to kill both of us after he watches the episodes anyways! It is better to confess and tone down his anger now." Nosepass reasoned in a persuasive tone.

Distress was written all over Drifblim's face. This was unexpected. She wasn't ready to deal with this new Nosepass. However, she wouldn't give up just yet. _No way_.

Nosepass walked past Drifblim. The ghost girl held his right shoulder, holding him back.

"Nosepass… _I'm scared_." Drifblim decided to take the sympathy and empathy route.

"Being scared is no excuse. I'm scared and I'm still confessing." Nosepass remained unyielding. Drifblim sweated a little but she persisted.

"You are right, being scared is no excuse. I'm sorry. Nosepass, you are very responsible, mature and brave for choosing this honorable path. I'm so sorry. All of this is my fault. I shouldn't have persuaded you to steal Mr. Stalk. If anyone is the coward here, it is me. Nosepass, the truth is…" Drifblim paused, arranging together a convincing argument. Nosepass pressured her with his critical stare.

Drifblim sighed. "I didn't try to paint you as some sort of monster by making you steal Mr. Stalk. I just want to create drama for the viewers. Something to keep them engrossed with the show. I just want to be remembered. I want to build my own legacy before I never get the chance to compete again. There are many superfans, Nosepass. Most of them are the same. Crazy, obsessed fanatics that can't stop talking nonsense about the show. I don't want to be like them." She took a short breather.

"That's why I take the role of the antagonist. However, I'm a cowardly villain. I can't bring myself to directly hurt others like those heartless monsters you see in these types of shows. This is why I only pull the strings behind the scenes. I can only manipulate villains like Skrelp and Grovyle to hurt others indirectly. I'm well aware that I'm not absolved from my wrongdoings. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a sadist but only for the entertainment of the viewers. I never want any real harm like the Lucario's incident." Drifblim gave it her all. Her voice was genuine. Her eyes were sincere. "However, this isn't all about me…"

Nosepass widened his eyes. What she said at the end reminded him of what Rhydon wrote.

"If you confess without Mr. Stalk in your possession. Farfetch'd will definitely accuse me, Aromatisse and Darmanitan of being the second thief. I'm definitely not that thief. If you throw me under the bus and get me eliminated, I can't magically summon Mr. Stalk and return it to him. Farfetch'd will inevitably accuse the other two. It will be a chaotic mess. _You need to put all the blame on yourself and lie by saying that you lost Mr. Stalk._ " Drifblim emphasized.

Nosepass was blown away by her reasoning. He never thought about that before. Drifblim was right. He nodded, agreeing with her.

Drifblim mustered a small, encouraging smile.

"Nosepass, after the game is over and the winner is decided, I'll accept the responsibility with you." Drifblim reassured, enlarging her soothing smile.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Nosepass:** "Even if she causes this whole mess, Drifblim is one of the nice few to me…"

 **Drifblim:** She breathed heavily, relieved. "That was… close."

* * *

Nosepass walked over to the Crazy Crawdaunt boys' cabin with confidence. He inhaled, sucking his cowardice into his nostrils before opening the door courageously.

He saw Farfetch'd swinging Ms. Stick around as if he was preparing for a battle. Nosepass steeled himself.

"Ha, hya, hyak!" Farfetch'd made a series of sounds and slashes.

"Farfetch'd, w-what are you doing?" Nosepass stuttered a little but he still looked confident.

"Preparing to punish Drifblim. She is the thief. I'm sure of it this time." Farfetch'd told with confidence.

Nosepass took a deep breath. "Farfetch'd…" His lips quivered a little. "I'm the…"

"Hmm?" Farfetch'd raised his left eye.

"… thief." Nosepass finally confessed. Guilt celebrated, jumping around with Relief. Fear dreaded the worst.

Farfetch'd gawked, betrayed and backstabbed. He pointed Ms. Stick at Nosepass hostilely with murderous eyes.

"Where is he right now?" Farfetch'd tried to remain calm. However, anger was preeminent in his voice.

"I lost him." Nosepass averted his eyes.

"You *beep* lost him?! You *beep* sloppy thief!" Farfetch'd lifted Nosepass up threateningly. "Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." (Don't worry, he exaggerated.)

Nosepass' eyes turned watery. However, he suppressed his tears. He fought against the fear.

"I'm sorry, Farfetch'd. I stole Mr. Stalk because I just wanted to win the immunity challenge and impress Hickery-o. You are a strong opponent and I wanted to weaken you. I planned to return it to you after the challenge but I accidentally lost it. Hopefully, Skarmory will be able to find it for you after the game ends. Regardless, I'm an impulsive idiot that deserves to be punished so… do your worst." Nosepass shut his eyes, tears leaking out in the end.

Farfetch'd despised Nosepass for what he did. His hatred actually couldn't be described in words. Stealing Mr. Stalk was like stealing family. The punishment would be severe.

Farfetch'd should be able to punish Nosepass easily but somehow, he froze in place. Instead of a dirty thief, Nosepass looked like a misguided coward in front of his eyes. A sympathetic coward that messed up really badly but still had the conscience to confess.

Darmanitan's words rang in his ears. _Don't repeated what happened with Lucario and Rhydon. Please._

Farfetch'd dropped Nosepass down before leaving the room out of disgust. He slammed the door shut loudly.

Relief helped Nosepass back to his feet. Both sighed, glad that they survived this life-risking ordeal.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "You got lucky, Nosepass. Leave this island and suffer in penitence."

 **Aromatisse:** "Nosepass, I can't believe you did that. That's so not fabulous." She glared angrily.

 **Darmanitan** : "I can't believe the nose homie did that. He needs to chill out in Loser Island."

 **Nosepass:** "At least I made it out alive." He looked optimistic.

* * *

In the elimination ceremony…

Everyone sat far away from Nosepass, constantly flashing him dirty looks. Drifblim sat far from him to conform with the others. However, she gave him a sympathetic look instead.

Loneliness patted Nosepass' back, consoling him.

"Well, it's unanimous." Skarmory said, feeling awkward. "I won't delay this. The contestants know it, the viewers know it. You know it, Nosepass. Everyone gets a Leppa Berry except for you. You are eliminated."

Nosepass got out of his seat, giving Farfetch'd one last apologetic look.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Well, I wouldn't say I've made a great time here. The challenges aren't Nosepass friendly and most of the contestants get the Nosepass seal of disapproval. However, I get to meet Rhydon and Hickery-o so I guess it is worth it at the end. I just realize something. I need to go and get my wrapping paper before I leave!

He hurried out of the confessional

* * *

Nosepass boarded his Lapras. Only Drifblim came to see him off.

"Nosepass, I'm very sorry that it has to come to this…" Drifblim looked guilty.

"It's okay, Drifblim. I stole Mr. Stalk willingly. You just gave me the opportunity." Nosepass lessened her guilt.

"Nosepass, you are very brave. I'll write good things about you in my blog. I hope you know that… friend." Drifblim widened her eyes. Did she just call Nosepass a friend?

"I guess we are friends now." Nosepass smiled, pleased to receive a compliment. It was a rare feeling. Drifblim returned the smile. Yes, they were friends now. After all, she showed her true side only to him.

As the Lapras departed, Nosepass watched the soft, blue ocean waves. They appeared all of a sudden and crashed all of a sudden. Kind of like his impulse. Nosepass wondered if the things he did today were impulses.

No. They weren't impulses. Nosepass finally took that step forward just like Tyrunt. He finally faced his fear, conquered his consequences and accepted his responsibility. Finally, Nosepass was someone that could be proud of himself. He was sure that Hickery-o and Rhydon would feel the same way about him.

Nosepass earned something instead of the million. Something truly priceless that he would treasure eternally.

Courage.

He stared into the distance… This was only the beginning. He smiled confidently, knowing his next goal.

Be there by Rhydon's side again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Final four… I promise Aromatisse that I would bring her to the finale. However, she didn't take something into account. She became the new Nosepass now. Everyone wanted her in the finale. Tomorrow will certainly be interesting." She smirked.

* * *

Skarmory landed on the dock for the closing part.

"Viewers, what do you think about this electrifyingly sharp episode? Comment on our official website. We listen to our viewers' feedback. It will help us make Season 2 even better. Do you like our two guests, Triple G the battery god and the whiteboard strategist Bisharp? Personally, I like them. They just bring so much to the show. Funny moments, strategies and deep interactions. Anyways, see you in the next exciting, exhilarating episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

 **Votes**

Farfetch'd: Nosepass

Aromatisse: Nosepass

Darmanitan: Nosepass

Drifblim: Nosepass

Nosepass: Nosepass

Nosepass: 5 (unanimously eliminated)

Grovyle & Bisharp: Revenge Failed

* * *

Two males, two females, two Crazy Crawdaunt members, two Feckless Flygon members. Two returners and two non-returners. Coincidence again? Yes, pure coincidence. I don't make my elimination list based on insignificant trivia.

I love Bisharp and Grovyle. The two are my favorites. I just can't have enough of their epic moments. The challenge is extremely fun to write. Bisharp and Grovyle are smart like bosses are supposed to be, using the contestants' equipment and strength against them. More bosses in video games should be like this. I'm looking at you, Bowser. Just press the switch and drop Mario down to the lava already! Geez.

For those curious about the tier list for girls. It's here. I don't discriminate.

Top Tier: Shiinotic, Aromatisse

High Tier: Skrelp, Archeops, Jumpluff, Ledyba

Middle Tier: Duosion, Drifblim, Cryogonal, Dedenne

Low Tier: Helioptile, Meowstic, Snorunt, Oddish

Bottom Tier: Miltank, Heracross, Feebas

This is the list for boys without Bisharp's bias.

Top Tier: Decidueye

High Tier: Bisharp, Grovyle, Magikarp

Middle Tier: Everyone Else

Low Tier: Nosepass, Machoke, Tyrunt

Bottom Tier: Rhydon, Larvitar

These lists are subjected to my opinion. Don't get offended. I know how they look as humans, so take that into consideration as well.

For example, Lucario looks like Kim Jong Kook of Running Man. He is a bit more muscular. However, he got this barbaric caveman look to him with red, devilish eyes. This is why he belongs to middle tier. If beauty equates to muscles for you then, he will probably be top tier alongside Miltank, Heracross and Darmanitan.

In this episode, I personify Nosepass' feelings to help you understand him more. Feel free to imagine them however you want. In a sense, they resemble Fafetch'd's imaginary friends. Nosepass never notice them, however. Neither do they have any tangible effect on the world.

Nosepass originates from Ji Suk Jin of Running Man. He was actually supposed to be fodder at first with his unluckiness, inability to understand challenges and pathetic physical strength. However, I change this since Nosepass is young and I don't find JSJ to fit him well.

Next, I take inspiration from Dark Ampithere's Bellsprout and Zubat. I want to merge the two of them together into Nosepass. However, I find this to be a bit of a rip-off. I soon overhauled his character.

The version of Nosepass I use is based on Luigi and he looks like Luigi in his human form, just younger.

I tone down his unluckiness and make my own interpretation of the coward archetype. He is a pretty complex coward and I think I explain him well enough this chapter.

I don't think Nosepass is based on anyone anymore. He got his own identity as a character. I'm proud to create him.

What are your opinions on revenge specials? Review and tell me.


	29. Chapter 29

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

I actually accidentally spoiled the fact that Nosepass isn't the winner by saying he will return in Season 3 for one of my replies. Winners won't return. Yeah, your final four is unexpected as well.

 **Parousia45**

Thanks for appreciating Nosepass' character. He is one of the contestants I spent the most time to create and develop so this is a relief for me. Thank you for reassuring me that taking inspiration is fine. I'm kind of crazy about originality so the line between ripping off and being inspired is pretty blurred for me.

Haha. I'm glad you like the revenge specials. This is one of my show's unique selling point. It allows for eliminated contestants to get development so, I don't need to force all the plot lines on them before their elimination.

Running Man is good. I recommend episode 74 and 130 to start things off. Don't worry about your review, it is great!

 **Fallenstreet01**

Are you sure you are right? Only time will tell…

 **Honesty**

I appreciate your honest criticism. However, I find it vague. In my opinion, the best criticism isn't the most brutally honest one but the most specific and detailed one. Your review seems rushed with spelling mistakes so I don't know how to actually feel.

I agree with your criticism about the redundancy. I will totally make changes about that. I will admit that sometimes I just want to be intentionally annoying by stating the obvious. Since no one complain about it for so long, I thought they might find it comedic.

About the dialogue, I know how Dark Amphithere and the others write theirs. However, I have no intention of copying them. I want to set my own unique identity and will strive forward with this style. I will just try my best to polish it. Please understand that this stems from the fact of how I was taught in school.

To me, my characters are never monotone. Their voices are very vivid and real with fluctuations all around. However, I get why you see them that way. This is because of the detail omissions. In Season 2, I will try to be more descriptive. Maybe I will even do a voice sample on Youtube.

Please don't take offense to the fact that I won't follow every of your suggestions. I can't base my story on a single person's views. I need to take into consideration what others think as well. That includes myself.

* * *

 **Episode 29: Ministers and Moles**

The red carpet was rolled straight onto the dock. The fanfare started, trumpets flourishing. The extravagant cheers echoed with the help of sound effects. These three things were indicators of a monarch's visit.

Majestically, no one other than Skarmory graced the carpet himself. He wore a golden royal robe with silver Skarmory and Furret embroidered in a circle. Furret's stripes and Skarmory's feathers were bronze. The Furret wrapped herself around the Skarmory's neck. In addition, Skarmory wore a silver crown that fitted his crest perfectly. Diamonds were lodged around the crown.

"Welcome back, my loyal subjects. Last time, our ministers fought hard and valiantly against two rebels. Only Minister Farfetch'd successfully drove them back to Loser Island, out of our country. I bestowed immunity upon him as reward. On a different subject, Minister Drifblim manipulated Minister Nosepass to put the blame only on himself for the weapon supply sabotage scandal. In the end, Minister Nosepass got exiled for good. What kind of fortune will bless our land in this new age? May the historians record the events of today in the name of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory recapped royally.

* * *

Drifblim woke up with a wide smile on her face. She made it to the final four. Just a couple more marvelous moves and she would win this game for sure.

The thought of being crowned as the winner of Total Skarmory Island kept her antsy. She couldn't stay still or think still. While her arms fiddled around with her bed, her mind began to strategize.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I have three candidates to boot: Darmanitan, Farfetch'd and Aromatisse. If I eliminate Darmanitan, I'm removing a huge physical threat from this game. This will increase my chances of winning challenges. In addition, it isn't hard to convince everyone to vote him out. The next option is Farfetch'd. He is extremely volatile and unpredictable. Arguably the biggest threat in this game besides me." She smiled with self-satisfaction.

"It won't be that hard to eliminate Farfetch'd either, considering what he did in the past few days. Now, here comes the interesting choice. I can choose to eliminate Aromatisse instead of the boys. Everyone wants her in the end and this might spell disaster for me. However, orchestrating her elimination won't be easy. It is extremely risky and I'm not sure if I want to wager my entire game when I'm this close to the finale." She pinched her fore right arm to add extra emphasis.

"Then again…The viewers probably want an attractive appetizer before the finale course. I think I know who I'm going to desert in Loser Island now." Drifblim smiled mysteriously, her voice showing desires to impress the viewers.

* * *

Drifblim floated to check the Feckless Flygon boys' cabin. She peeked through the window. No one was inside. She headed to the Crazy Crawdaunt boys' cabin instead, looking pleased to see Darmanitan meditating all by himself.

Drifblim knocked on the door politely, hiding her excitement.

"Come in, homie." Darmanitan allowed, sounding friendly and inviting.

Twisting the doorknob opened, Drifblim entered casually with approachable eyes. She tried to make Darmanitan feel at ease, refraining from door infiltration and suspicious facial expressions.

"You look very chill today, Darmanitan." Drifblim started off with a nice, little compliment. Darmanitan grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks, homie. I'm always chill like a chill cone." Darmanitan felt flattered like a fawning, foreign frozen yogurt. "Like, you look chill too, homie." He returned, giving a thumb up.

"Here is the thing, Darmanitan…" Drifblim sat next to him, placing her right arm on his left shoulder. "Lucario will probably be disappointed to see you like this."

Darmanitan sighed. "Yeah." He furrowed his brows. "The homie is probably disappointed to see me so uncompetitive like this. I mean I try to be competitive but I can only do so much." He slammed his hands against his lap lightly.

"What's stopping you from doing more?" Drifblim enticed with her questioning look. "You can please him without being unchill and uncool."

"Really? How?" Darmanitan asked, scratching his head.

"Show him that you are a real thinker. Strategize. Instead of blindly bringing Aromatisse to the end in a pitiful attempt to please Lucario, don't. Aromatisse and Lucario aren't close. In fact, they are enemies. Lucario despise traitorous teammates like her." Drifblim reasoned.

Darmanitan frowned deeply upon hearing the words 'traitorous teammates'.

"I need some time to think, homie." Darmanitan replied with a brooding expression.

"Take your time, Darmanitan. Take your time…" Drifblim's tone was a bit sinister at the end.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Part one complete." She smirked.

 **Darmanitan:** "Maybe the homie is right, maybe not. I know Lucario the best, don't I?" He sighed, "Maybe not."

* * *

After another search and rescue Mr. Stalk session, Aromatisse and Farfetch'd dropped down to rest under the giant tree.

Farfetch'd was muddied with sweat, panting. Aromatisse brushed some dirt off her hands before sitting down on the enormous root.

"Mr. Stalk, why the hell can't I find you?!" Farfetch'd pounded his fists against the ground out of frustration and impatience.

"I'm sure-" Aromatisse got cut off.

"It's all my fault! I'm just too dang incompetent to do anything!" Farfetch'd shouted in a harsh tone.

"That's not true. You won immunity yesterday." Aromatisse pointed out.

"All because of Ms. Stick." Farfetch'd added, averting his eyes. "I nearly lost her too because of my own stupidity. *beep* the cube brothers." He bared his teeth at the end.

"Yet, you saved her! Farfetch'd, Mr. Stalk or not, you should have faith, forgiveness, and a fabulous face for yourself." Aromatisse alliterated, eyeing him consolingly. "No one is faultless and most aren't friendless. You still have Swanna, Ms. Stick, and me."

"You don't u-understand. Mr. Stalk is more than just a father to me. He is an eternal, forever-lasting companion that always stay with me no matter what. This is the first time I have lost him…" Farfetch'd sobbed a bit before continuing.

"My mother has always been cold and distant toward me. All the kids I know think I'm some sort of delusional, crazy freak, which isn't true. I'm perfectly fine the way I am!"

"I guess." Aromatisse went along with it, nodding awkwardly.

"Mr. Stalk has always been my inspiration, my hero, my father figure and my only true friend!" Farfetch'd recalled passionately, words overwhelmed with feelings. "He taught me many professional skills that my teachers couldn't. He genuinely conversed with me unlike all the fake friends that tried to suck up to me for discount coupons. He kept me warm at night when I shivered because of my mother's frigid glare."

Aromatisse couldn't utter a word. She could only look at him sympathetically.

"Even if I have Swanna, Ms. Stick, you and Bisharp…" Aromatisse's left eye twitched as Farfetch'd mentioned Bisharp. "…Nothing will ever be the same without Mr. Stalk."

Farfetch'd got up and turned his back on Aromatisse. However, he turned his head back shortly.

"Thank you for spending so much time to search for Mr. Stalk. I really appreciate it, and I consider you a friend." Farfetch'd smiled gratefully before he left. Aromatisse had an incomplete smile on her face.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Ms. Stick, where could Nosepass have dropped Mr. Stalk? It couldn't have been far, right?" He shook her a little, "As I expected. We just need to endure this pain a bit longer, Ms. Stick. We will reunite with Mr. Stalk soon. I'm sure of it."

 **Aromatisse:** "Even though we are competing for a million, I wish the best for Farfetch'd. Will I bring him to the finale? I'm not so sure." She positioned a claw on her left cheek, "I like everyone in the final four. Although, I did promise final two with Drifblim. I kind of like the thought of just us two girls in the finale."

* * *

"Ministers, report to the first intersection. I require your attendance." Skarmory spoke regally.

The contestants soon arrived, shocked by the royal sight. Interns knelt in reverence from both sides of the red carpet that led to the throne with daïs underneath.

Skarmory sat on a golden throne with silver seat. The footrest was bronze. Furret wrapped herself around his neck. She wore the same royal robe, just tailored to fit her body size. Instead of a crown, a small tiara fitted her head perfectly.

"My loyal ministers, kneel before the king and queen." Skarmory gave an absolute royal order.

Darmanitan didn't mind it, kneeling respectfully right away. Aromatisse saw their serious demeanors and did it as well. Farfetch'd consulted with Ms. Stick briefly before kneeling alongside her.

Drifblim giggled in amusement. "Kneeling before you two? Seriously, Skarmory? Who is this Furret next to you anyways? I find it unlikely for you to be married." She scoffed disrespectfully. Skarmory and Furret scowled, greatly offended.

"Insolence! Uncouth minister, do you want to be flogged for your gauche breach of etiquette? Furret threatened in a serious tone.

Drifblim gulped and apprehensively knelt before them. She was just joking. She didn't expect them to be this serious on such a weird occasion.

Skarmory smiled with satisfaction. Minister Drifblim finally learned her place.

"Ministers, I entrust our land and its Pokemon to your care. Rise and tell me your desire. Which land do you wish to rule in our stead? Beware, your choice will affect the responsibility you must bear. First to decide gets priority over the land." Skarmory instructed.

"Your Homily Highness, I wish to chill in the snowy area." Darmanitan picked with no hesitation. Both monarchs looked a bit irked as Darmanitan used 'Highness' instead of 'Majesty'.

"Your Fabulous Majesties, I wish to rule the beach area." Aromatisse said in a courtly manner, addressing both of them. Skarmory smiled slightly before returning to his solemn and dignified expression. Furret seemed to have taken a liking to her.

"Your Majesties, we prefer the desert area." Farfetch'd chose this option to expand his search vicinity for Mr. Stalk. Skarmory nodded while Furret started looking at the interns, thinking about which minister to assign them to.

"Haunted area for me." Drifblim didn't show any manners. Skarmory gave her a curt nod.

"Ministers, I shall appoint a title to each of you. Minister Darmanitan, you shall be known as Minister for Foreign Affairs. Minister Aromatisse will be granted the title of Minister for Transport. Minister Farfetch'd and your trusty weapon will rule the desert area as Minister for War." Skarmory spoke formally.

"Minister Drifblim…" Skarmory sighed. "You are the Minister for Education. Please raise the next generation well." He gave her the title reluctantly. Drifblim was about to make a snappy comeback, until she realized her powerless position and remained quiet. It didn't help that Ursaring was polishing a wooden paddle, staring at her intimidatingly.

"Ministers, I shall assign subordinates under your control. Rest assured, they will obey all of your commands." Furret showed badges that had the exact same designs as the circle of the royal robes. "These are royal badges. Possessing one of these gives you absolute authority over them. In addition, they will naturally be induced by the 12,500 P reward from your victory. I expect my cultured ministers to refrain from stealing them illegally. Take extreme care for it needs to be returned." She explained, beckoning the ministers to collect one.

Darmanitan bowed politely before accepting it. Aromatisse performed a curtsy, before handling the badge with delicate care. Upon observing the two, Farfetch'd groveled over to collect the badge in the most submissive manner as possible. Furret grinned, amused by his excessively courteous display. Drifblim just took it with no manners whatsoever. Skarmory and Furret gave her critical looks of censure. If history was anything to go by, Drifblim would sooner get flogged, water boarded and branded by hot iron.

"The following will be assigned to Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Snorlax, Lurantis and Wimpod." Furret started announcing.

Snorlax had a bone to pick with Darmanitan after what he did to those poor, innocent chili dogs. Lurantis made her way over to him, giving him weird looks. Wimpod skittered toward him, looking obsequious.

"The following will be assigned to Ministry of Transport: Ursaring, Abomasnow and Shiinotic." Furret continued.

Ursaring carried his paddle over and behind his shoulders, holding with both hands. Abomasnow walked calmly, greeting Aromatisse politely. Shiinotic folded her arms, feeling neutral about working for Aromatisse.

Aromatisse looked pretty pleased with the two masculine men. Shiinotic…Not so much.

"The following will be assigned to Ministry of War: Smeargle, Palossand and Drilbur." Furret kept her expressionless face and formality throughout.

Smeargle looked pretty excited. Palossand rushed over to squeeze Farfetch'd, to the duck's dismay. Drilbur shuffled his feet slowly and lazily over.

"The following will be assigned to Ministry of Education: Druddigon, Raticate and Chef Drapion." Furret finished.

"Oh, great and invincible monarchs, may I please ask why we can't choose our own interns?" Drifblim asked in a disingenuous manner to lighten up the dry mood.

"Minister for Education, I'm deeply disappointed in your ignorance despite your title. Please study the history of monarchy reign in Skarmory Island before you ask such inappropriate questions in front of your sovereigns." Skarmory reprimanded.

Ursaring smacked her left hand lightly with the paddle, silencing Drifblim for good.

Druddigon glowered at Raticate, crossing his arms. Raticate grumbled as he dragged his feet. Chef Drapion got a call and soon traveled to the intersection grumpily.

"Ministers, perform your tasks dutifully. The one who contributed the most to our country will be rewarded with immunity from exile for one night. All of you are now dis-" Skarmory paused abruptly as Advisor Alakazam teleported to them. He held a scroll in his right hand.

"Your Majesties, pardon me for the sudden entrance. I have discovered a shocking piece of information." Alakazam delivered the scroll to Furret and waited with a lowered head. She unfurled it for Skarmory to read.

"You may be dismissed, advisor." Skarmory ordered and Alakazam obeyed instantly.

"Ministers." Skarmory returned his attention back to them. "Among the three subordinates each of you have been given, one mole is hiding." He revealed.

Suspicions and distrust filled the atmosphere immediately. Many casted doubtful and distrusting looks at each other. Some like Drifblim started observing body language. Some were very nervous like Wimpod. Drilbur sweated as many eyed him accusingly.

"I swear I'm not the mole." Drilbur raised his hands defensively.

"That's a lie and you know it." Farfetch'd narrowed his eyes, pointing Ms. Stick at him.

"I didn't mean it that way. I mean a mole like a spy, a saboteur, not a literal one." Drilbur corrected.

"It is a widely known trope that the most obvious culprit is the true culprit." Smeargle stated.

"I will keep my eyes on you." Farfetch'd performed the first few dance moves of 'I see you, thief. I give you, grief.' Drilbur groaned, facepalming himself.

Stakes were high as the mole would receive 25,000 P if they manage to prevent their minister from winning and stealing their badge successfully.

The ministers each received a scroll detailing their duties and split off alongside their subordinates.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "What's wrong with Skarmory today? I know he tries to fit his character and all but… The challenge explanation is colorless, boring and too uptight. I don't think the viewers will find it enjoyable. Also, awful of them to threaten to flog me. Just because I'm a ghost type doesn't mean I'm invulnerable. Moves like Odor Sleuth exist, duh."

 **Darmanitan:** "I'm not too worried about this mole thing. Stay calm and I'm sure I can do my job well."

 **Aromatisse:** "If either one of the boys is the mole face then I'm sure I'm in serious trouble. I need to apparently transport a special guest from here to Toucannon Island with a wooden raft. An ugly, unstylish wooden raft." She said with disgust.

 **Farfetch'd:** "You better believe it, I'm watching you, Drilbur…" He danced.

* * *

Ministry of Foreign Affairs was obligated to take care of two foreign envoys. Feed them, entertain them, do whatever it takes to strengthen diplomatic relations were the things expected out of Darmanitan. He would be rigorously watched by Alakazam, who would judge and decide his score.

The minister had an easy time plowing through the snow with his big hands and radiating body heat. Snorlax rolled to move, his body fat kept him warm. The two faced no difficulty whatsoever.

On the contrary, Wimpod faltered and trembled. Darmanitan offered kindly to carry him, which he accepted. For some apparent reason though, Wimpod constantly avoided eye contact with the minister. He also glanced a few times at the badge. Perhaps, he had good intentions, watching out for the minister. However, the exact opposite was just as likely.

Lurantis shivered horribly, hugging herself. Understandably, she distanced herself from Darmanitan, seemingly uncomfortable and weirded out by his chill mentality.

Eventually, they arrived at the mansion. The envoys were already inside. Darmanitan opened the door, gaping in disbelief. He covered his mouth and widened his eyes, pleasantly surprised to see Infernape and Greninja.

"Yo, yo, yo, frozen yogurt, yogurt, yogurt, brotha." Infernape spoke in Yogurtese, the ancient foreign language. He seemed overly excited and outgoing, judging from his voice.

"Cone, cone, chill. Chill, chill, cone. Chill cone fella." Greninja spoke in Chilliconish, the legendary dialect only a few could comprehend. He looked thrilled.

"Zen, zen, homie, chill, chill, chilly." Darmanitan used similar chill terminology. He shared hugs and smiles with them.

"Hot, light, solar, hot, hot, sun!" Lurantis joined in. Upon hearing those profane words, the envoys and the minister gasped. They glared at her with appalling revulsion.

"Homie, don't swear in front of the envoys. Stop being a potty mouth." Darmanitan chided.

"What? I didn't swear! If anyone is swearing, you three are the ones." Lurantis felt attacked, degrading their language and culture in return. The three gasped again.

"Cone, cone, chill, chill, freeze!" Greninja shouted furiously.

"Brotha, yo, yo, gurt." Infernape pointed at Darmanitan's badge then at Lurantis in a hostile manner. Darmanitan nodded, turning to Lurantis with cold eyes.

"Homie, you must be the mole to insult the envoys so rudely. You will be punished in the name of chilliness." Darmanitan raised his badge up. "Get out."

Lurantis looked through the window, a snowstorm was cooking outside. This sent a shivering chill down her spine.

"What if I don't?" Lurantis folded her arms, refusing disobediently.

The camera transitioned to outside and immediately the door opened. Lurantis got kicked out, face planting on the snow. The door slammed shut.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "The sun homie is like really, really rude. She needs to chill out."

 **Lurantis:** She shivered, snow collected all over her body. "I h-hate those c-chill guys. Brrr!"

 **Wimpod:** "I'm s-so scared. Did you see what happened to Lurantis? Not c-cool, Darmanitan."

 **Snorlax:** "I'm going to do some cooking for them. Unlike Lurantis, I know my way around those chill guys. Gotta cook up something cold like frozen packaged meat."

* * *

Ministry of Transport needed to carry the guest safely and swiftly over to Toucannon Island. Speed and safety were two major criteria in deciding the score.

Aromatisse and company soon reached the beach area. Upon seeing the guest, the transport minister widened her eyes and smiled.

"Feebas, it's fabulous to see you return, girl!" Aromatisse exclaimed, waving at her to gain her attention.

"Aromatisse, you are the transport minister? Such great luck. You are my first pick to win this game." Feebas said openly.

"Thanks for cheering on for me. Anyways, how did you get here?" Aromatisse asked curiously.

"Well-" Feebas got interrupted.

"Excuse me, minister. We got a challenge to win here. Please be considerate to your interns that need the bonus." Shiinotic cut the reunion conversation short. Aromatisse frowned at her while Feebas looked down on the ground.

"We haven't seen each other for a while. Can't we just have a short conversation? No need to be so competitive and serious." Aromatisse argued.

"Well, talk on the raft. Raft first then, talk." Shiinotic retorted. Aromatisse was about to speak her mind until Feebas held her back with her fins.

"Aromatisse, she is right. We can talk later." Feebas assured, smiling softly. She didn't want to be a distraction to interns' bonuses and Aromatisse's victory.

"Girls, hop on!" Ursaring called from the raft, beckoning. The raft was made out of wooden logs, tied together tightly for safety. A sail settled in the middle. Abomasnow already got on, holding multiple leafy fans in his arms. They resembled Shiftry's hands.

Aromatisse smiled at the boys' productivity. "Shiinotic, instead of rudely cutting off someone else's conversation, you could start helping straight away like Ursaring. You look like the mole the most to me." She reproached.

Shiinotic rolled her eyes. "So much gratitude for helping to get your head back in the game." She muttered sarcastically.

Aromatisse walked to the edge of the dock with Feebas. Ursaring reached out a helpful hand and helped both girls to get on the boat safely. Abomasnow then handed the minister a Shiftry fan.

"Thank you, boys. What is this? Don't we usually use paddles and oars to raft? How can a leaf get us anywhere?" Aromatisse queried, raising her left eye.

"You never raft before, don't you? Paddles and oars are old-fashioned. These Shifty fans are simpler to use and much more effective." Ursaring explained. Aromatisse nodded slowly with a skeptical look on her face. The bear chuckled inwardly at her inexperience.

"Ursaring is right. He has a lot of experience in rafting so you can trust him, Minister Aromatisse and Miss Feebas." Abomasnow reinforced reassuringly. Shiinotic boarded the raft just now, gaining the others' attention.

"I see. Glad to have you boys on our team. Shiinotic, can you actually do something useful?" Aromatisse questioned in an attacking manner.

"For your information, I can read the map. What about you? Other than ogling my ex-boyfriend obsessively, I seriously doubt you can do much. He isn't even that attractive to begin with." Shiinotic degraded, shaking her head huffishly.

"Take that back right now!" Aromatisse yelled, face heating up.

"Why? It is the truth. I can find better guys than him easily." Shiinotic said nonchalantly.

Abomasnow put his right hand forward to intervene only to pull it back quickly.

Feebas took a step back, frowning at Shiinotic in disapproval.

Ursaring leaned back against the mast and watched expressionlessly. He folded his arms, gripping the fan energetically and tightly.

"Take this, ugly mole face!" Aromatisse snapped, grabbing the paddle and thrusted it against Shiinotic's face, sending her off the raft.

"Ow!" Shiinotic closed her eyes in pain, sinking under the shallow sea.

"Ditch her now!" Aromatisse commanded demandingly at the boys.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ursaring saluted and fanned forward in an instant, moving the boat at a high speed, leaving Skarmory Island for good. Abomasnow didn't say much of anything, he simply obeyed the order given to him. As a guest, Feebas wasn't allowed to help Aromatisse.

Feebas nudged her friend. "Aromatisse, are you sure that what you are doing is right?" She asked worriedly.

"Even if she isn't the mole, she got what was coming for her." Aromatisse didn't sound regretful or guilty one bit.

"Okay." Feebas gave a faint reply.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shiinotic:** She was soaking wet, holding an ice pack near her left eye. "*beep* Aromatisse."

 **Abomasnow:** "Losing a member certainly isn't good unless Miss Shiinotic is the mole. One thing I know for sure, I'm not the mole." He stressed at the end, looking serious.

 **Ursaring:** "Meh, who needs Shiinotic anyways? I remember the whole way to Toucannon Island. As long as Aboma doesn't sabotage, we will be there in no time." He looked confident.

* * *

The Ministry of War was tasked with finding ten missing weapons across the desert area. Time and smart searching methodology would successfully wage the war.

"Smeargle and Palossand, you two can search independently. I will stalk this mole 24/7, no breaks, no snacks." Farfetch'd made it clear who he trusted and who he distrusted.

"Minister for Privacy Perversion and Stalking Supervision, that's fine and all but I'm digging underground. It will just be a waste of your time trying to catch up to me. Trust me and we all win." Drilbur pleaded his case.

"You have lied again. You said we all win. However, the mole doesn't win. Ha, you got caught!" Farfetch'd pointed with Ms. Stick accusingly straight at his face. The literal mole facepalmed.

"You are a bad actor, Drilbur. Seriously, you are making this too obvious for the viewers." Smeargle criticized.

"I don't give hugs to a mole. Go away, shoo." Palossand gestured.

"See? My trustworthy teammates agree." Farfetch'd nodded in satisfaction.

"Ugh, fine. Do whatever you want. When you lose, I will laugh in your face and say that I told you so." Drilbur threw his arms up, giving up on trying to reason with the fault-finding Farfetch'd.

Smeargle and Palossand headed out on their own while Drilbur got stuck with a stalking Farfetch'd, who hummed his hit single.

"If anyone is the mole, it's probably Farfetch'd." Drilbur muttered to himself before entering Chef Drapion Grill.

The supposed mole searched under all the tables first. Nothing was under any of them. Getting his head out of the last table, Drilbur got spooked by Farfetch'd's psychopathic stalker look.

"Ah! What the- Are you seriously still stalking me? Ugh, fine." Drilbur sighed. "I suppose I need to prove my innocence, right?"

"Yes, but can you really do it? I don't think so." Farfetch'd scoffed.

"Well, I have a plan." Drilbur grinned conspicuously, rubbing his hands together. Farfetch'd raised his eyes in wonder.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drilbur:** "We are going to bait the mole out and catch that sucker."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Hah, as if his plan is going to work. I'm pretty sure he just wants to waste my time. Whatever, I will entertain his little ploy."

* * *

The Ministry of Education must teach a group of college ghost students for a day. The creativity of the curriculum and usefulness of the content would grade Drifblim's worthiness of being awarded immunity.

Drifblim and the other three eventually arrived at the haunted house, where three ghosts were waiting: Haunter, Gengar and Dusclops.

"Ho, good morning, afternoon, evening and night to you teachers. What are we going to learn today?" Haunter greeted enthusiastically.

"Heh. Schools are only for dweebs and nerds. I quit school the first chance I got unlike you losers." Dusclops mocked.

"Dude is that why you are a janitor? Must be great to get paid minimum wage." Gengar teased sarcastically. "I hate to be you, man. Have fun cleaning those smelly toilets, smell ya later!" He fanned his nose before laughing with Haunter. Dusclops muttered a few inappropriate words to himself, hissing.

"Attention, class!" Drifblim shouted, emphasizing authority in her voice. "As the education minister, I take pride in promoting the education of the next generation." She paced around. Dusclops yawned.

"I expect everyone to conduct themselves properly and obey my rules, no questions asked. First, never interrupt me when I'm talking." Drifblim faced them directly with a strict look.

"Boring." Dusclops drawled. His eye grew drowsy. Drifblim shushed him.

"Second, follow the instructions given in class at all times." Drifblim continued.

Haunter and Gengar nodded while Dusclops fell asleep, snoring. This ticked Drifblim off.

"You, wake up! What's your name?" Drifblim snapped him awake. Dusclops rubbed his eyes and groaned.

"Want my name? Fine. It's Drifblim is stupid! Hahaha…" Dusclops disrespected and laughed. Drifblim fumed.

"He has done it now…" Gengar whispered to Haunter, who nodded with a fearful expression.

"I have given you enough chances… Time for you to learn the last rule the hard way. Don't disrespect me or else you will be punished! Haunter, Gengar, beat him up and I will give both of you A grades." Drifblim bribed demandingly.

"As if those- Argh!" Dusclops got hit by a Shadow Ball to the face.

"Ho, ho, ho. Christmas is early this year. Halloween can wait." Haunter grinned, chuckling darkly. He spammed Shadow alongside Gengar, punishing Dusclops whole-heartedly.

Druddigon enjoyed the show, pointing and laughing at Dusclops with occasional snorts.

Raticate and Chef Drapion showed complete disinterest and detachment from the show.

Drifblim listened to his screams, cries, whimpers like music. Eventually, she motioned for the two to stop shooting. She floated over to Dusclops and lifted his tattered face up, whispering soft but superior words inside his ears.

Dusclops was dazed for a second before he trembled.

"I s-swear I will listen to you from now on. Don't h-hurt me please." Dusclops submitted apprehensively to Drifblim's deadly eyes. Gengar grinned and Haunter cackled. Drifblim left in the direction of the entrance door, looking satisfied.

"Students, your classes won't take place in this kindergarten. All of you are big boys now. I know a much more suitable place for you all." Drifblim smirked.

"Is it the ruined hotel? Do we get to play in the arcade?!" Gengar asked excitedly with high expectations.

"No, that's primary school." Drifblim shook her head. "We are going to middle school."

"Um, I'm in col-" Gengar suddenly shut up after Haunter threw him a disapproving look, reminding him that they must not question the minister's decision.

"Anything else to say?" Drifblim fiddled threateningly with her badge. The other ghosts replied with silence.

"Good, because we are going to the prison." Drifblim revealed. Gengar and Haunter glanced at each other worriedly. This couldn't be a good sign.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Today is going to be a fun day… for me."

 **Dusclops:** "*beep* school, teachers and especially the education minister!"

* * *

Aromatisse multi-tasked, chatting with Feebas and fanning the raft forward. However, she couldn't properly focus on both. Also, it was revealed that Feebas returned because of random draw, similarly to Magikarp. To the ugly fish, it was a sign that god himself endorsed their love.

"Really?! You and Magikarp are an item now? I'm happy for you, girl. I still have a lot to work on." Aromatisse congratulated with slight envy. She stopped fanning for a moment.

"I'm sure you will get your man soon, Aromatisse. If an ugly fish like me can, anyone can." Feebas said with low self-esteem.

"Feebas, I know that your species usually got looked down upon and all but to me, you are more beautiful than someone like… Skrelp. I really mean it. Milotic or not." Aromatisse cheered her up, seeming a bit concerned.

"Thanks, Aromatisse. However, evolving into Milotic alone won't undo the humiliation of getting the first boot." Feebas looked down on the raft, anger and disappointment clearly visible. "Magikarp and me got a lot to prove." She clenched her fins lightly.

"I'm sure you two can." Aromatisse nodded. She soon widened her eyes in sudden realization.

"Oh no, agh! I got so distracted that I forgot to raft. Sorry boys, I know the bonus means a lot to you two." Aromatisse apologized, frustrated with herself. She tried to make up for it by shaking the fan up and down as fast as she possibly could.

"I honestly don't mind, minister. Feel free to talk with Miss Feebas." Abomasnow allowed formally in a polite tone.

"Nah, it doesn't matter. No offense but, you aren't helping much anyways." Ursaring spoke bluntly.

It was a well-known fact that any monetary rewards meant a lot to interns. Both of them seemed strangely forgiving, lenient and careless. Could one of them be the mole instead of Shiinotic?

"None taken, Ursaring. Still, I want to help even if it doesn't mean much. This is still my challenge after all." Aromatisse replied, resolved.

"I will just stay quiet so none of you will be distracted." Feebas told, feeling like a burden.

"Miss, you can talk. What kind of transportation business limits your free will like that?" Abomasnow assured.

"Yeah, you two can talk. Aromatisse, just make sure you keep your eyes ahead and sailing while speaking like us." Ursaring advised.

"Great advice, Ursaring. Fitting that you are the ace of the interns." Abomasnow complimented, thinking highly of him.

"Ace of the interns? I'm flattered. How come you call me that? Have I gotten a secret admirer that I don't know about?" Ursaring questioned, grinning.

"Ursaring, all the interns know that you are one of our best. Skarmory selected you to guard the advantage after all. You failed but I'm sure many of us would have done worse in your situation. Unlike Druddigon who was a vengeful brute, you got more than your brawns. Besides, how many interns can say they beat Lucario?" Abomasnow held the ace in high regard. Ursaring's grin grew, nodding complacently.

"I agree with Abomasnow, Ursaring. Except I find the title face of the interns to suit you better. You are the first intern we saw, the public image of Skarmory's staff. You don't even look bad yourself. Handsome, grizzly style." Aromatisse complimented. Ursaring looked shocked, never expecting to be showered by praises. He tightened his grip on the fan determinedly.

"Hrmph! So motivated right now. I will fan until I break both of my arms for my fans!" Ursaring exaggerated, fanning at an extremely fast speed.

The raft moved so quickly that the others barely managed to hold on. Water splashed torrentially all over. The incoming rush of water tilted the raft off-balance.

"Slow down, Ursaring! Otherwise, we will all drown!" Abomasnow appealed, holding Aromatisse with his right hand. The other hand held the mast securely.

"I can swim but still, please slow down!" Feebas pleaded, hugging the mast with her fins.

"Just hang on. At this rate, we will reach Toucannon Island in no time." Ursaring refused stubbornly.

"Speed alone won't make us win, Ursaring! Safety matters as well!" Aromatisse reminded exigently.

"Aish! Just trust me, I know what I'm doing!" Ursaring scowled, frustrated by their lack of faith.

"I can't hang on anymore… Aromatisse, do something." Feebas strained her fins.

"Ursaring, this is an order." Aromatisse showed her badge, sounding very serious.

"Fine!" Ursaring snarled, dropping the Shiftry's fan down. "I could have won you the immunity and us the bonuses." He shook his head in disapproval.

"Or you could have won all of us a trip to the hospital." Abomasnow added an alternative.

"Sure. A little water is going to kill us all. Swimming apparently doesn't exist." Ursaring retorted sarcastically.

"Boys, stop arguing. What's done is done. Can we just move on?" Aromatisse asked, discouraging them with the badge. The two glared at each other for a moment before settling their differences temporarily. Aromatisse smiled in satisfaction.

Moments later, Abomasnow pulled Aromatisse closer to him. "Ursaring is the mole." He whispered. The minister had a look of doubt.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Abomasnow:** "Because I personally know that I'm not the mole, it's either Ursaring and Shiinotic. After what Ursaring did, I'm inclined to believe he is the mole."

 **Ursaring:** "Those weak-arms better not come and cry to me when they lose."

 **Aromatisse:** "To me, actions speak louder than words. While Ursaring works really hard, he is reckless. On the other hand, Abomasnow is very careful. However, he is also suspicious. I really want to believe Shiinotic is the mole. I really want to."

* * *

Lurantis limped lonelily to the Delibird Workshop for warmth as the three chill guys sat on the dining table. Snorlax was cooking up something in the kitchen. He soon walked out, carrying a tray of food. Wimpod gave everyone napkins, that was all he did.

"Food, food, foodie, food, yum, tasty, taste, delicacy." Snorlax came up with his own language to fit in. The three chill guys all looked baffled. In particular, Darmanitan scratched his head.

Snorlax smiled, perceiving their confusion as a good sign. They were intrigued by his language. He could already imagine the amount of Pokemon paying expensive tuition fees to learn his language.

"Foody food, yum, cold, yum." Snorlax served frozen meat to each of them, making an eating gesture. He then gave them a smile and thumbs up.

"Stop talking gibberish homie, stick with Unown. Like I don't understand a thing you said." Darmanitan requested, perplexed.

"You call my language gibberish?" Snorlax sounded offended. "Your language is gibberish as well."

The three all gasped. Darmanitan frowned, raising his badge up.

The camera instantly transitioned to outside, showing the three chill guys trying to force Snorlax out of the door. The big guy spread his arms and legs out to the four edges of the door.

"Choke, food, choking, no chill, no chill!" Snorlax cursed, resisting successfully… for now.

The three chill guys glanced at each other, nodding. They took several steps backward before tackling Snorlax all at once, forcing him out successfully.

Wimpod looked completely terrified after he witnessed how merciless they were.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Wimpod:** I will admit it now. I'm the mole. However, how am I supposed to do my job when those guys are so freaking scary?" He trembled, looking hopeless.

* * *

Upon entering the prison, Gengar and Haunter floated excitedly over to the jacuzzi tub and Monopoly board game respectively.

"Can we use the jacuzzi tub, minister?" Gengar asked, trying to make an irresistible face.

"Oh, we can study business through Monopoly, minister." Haunter suggested.

"No, no fun allowed." Drifblim disallowed, shaking her head. Both ghosts frowned and Dusclops snickered.

"Instead, all of you will go through rigorous training. It will be hard, tough and exhausting." Drifblim clenched her arms. "Before we start our first challenge, can anyone tell me why we are in prison?" She glanced around at the three ghosts.

"Because you want to lock us up?" Haunter answered apprehensively.

"Because we did something wrong?" Gengar answered with uncertainty.

"No, you are both wrong. You see… this is a rebel school." Drifblim revealed with a rebellious smile.

"R-rebellion school?" Haunter stuttered.

"Are we learning how to be rebels?" Gengar dreaded, anxiety written all over his face.

"Yes, here is your first lesson. I will just teach you one word and we will move on. It is a very important word. I hope you keep it inside your heart. Regicide means the action of killing a king." Drifblim taught, expanding their evil vocabulary.

"I guess knowing that is… useful." Haunter commented with hesitation.

"Woo, a new word! Rebel school is awesome." Gengar faked enthusiasm.

Dusclops was disturbed by Drifblim. She was a crazy, sadistic lunatic in his eyes.

"Good, I'm glad you like the word. Up next, you will learn how to poison the king. Chef Drapion will pretend to be a royal chef. You need to sneak poison inside his food without getting caught. Understood?" Drifblim explained, looking around for any questions.

Haunter raised his hand. "How do we poison Skarmory? He is a steel type."

"Easy. We use Salazzle's corrosive poison. It penetrates through steel types' poison immunity in case you don't know." Drifblim clarified.

Since there were no more questions, the three ghosts began their rebellion practice.

Haunter and Gengar waited patiently, allowing Dusclops to tread the dangerous territory first. The dusty janitor turned invisible and crawled on the ground, avoiding detection. He soon hid under the table, looking for the right opportunity.

As a dark type, Chef Drapion could easily detect invisible ghosts. With a frying pan equipped, he was ready to give those ghost types hell.

Suddenly, Gengar blasted a Shadow Ball against Dusclops, sabotaging a fellow rebel.

"Argh! You jerk!" Dusclops yelled angrily. He soon gulped as a dark shadow consumed him. Chef Drapion hammered his head with the frying pan, grinning darkly.

Because Chef Drapion was busy beating Dusclops up, Gengar and Haunter easily added the poison inside. Drifblim nodded, pleased with their performances. They would receive high marks. Unlike them, Dusclops failed this class.

Afterwards, Druddigon took over the combat training class in the work station. The ghost students got handed a shovel each. They must match Druddigon's moves.

Druddigon thrusted the shovel forward with a grunt and the ghost students followed. The weapon instructor then performed a vertical slice. The ghosts imitated with no problem.

After a series of basic moves…

"Sand Attack!" Druddigon shouted out the shovel's specialty. He flicked sand at the wall as a blinding projectile.

Gengar got a playful grin and decided to prank Dusclops by flicking sand at his face.

"Ah, my eye." Dusclops rubbed his eye. "You are going to regret it!" He started chasing Gengar, who smirked mischievously.

Gengar lured Dusclops over to Drifblim and fell through the floor in a ghostly manner. The janitor ended up flicking sand at the minister, directly hitting her eyes.

"Ah!" Drifblim's eyes watered. She immediately left to wash her eyes in the restroom without rubbing it foolishly like Dusclops.

"Oops, sorry. I thought flying types are immune to all ground type attacks. H-ha, ha…" Dusclops apologized and laughed nervously to himself. Drifblim didn't hear any of this.

Once Drifblim returned, her eyes flared with anger and irritation.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. Only little kiddies play with sand. It was Gengar's fault." Dusclops blamed, raising his hands defensively.

"Excuses! Druddigon, send him into solitary confinement!" Drifblim commanded with the royal badge.

"Yes, minister!" Druddigon carried out the command immediately, dragging Dusclops away.

"Hey, I said it was Gengar's fault! Why don't you listen to me? You know what? *beep* you! You will regret this! You hear me?! You will regret this! Rahhh!" Dusclops roared in rage before being thrown inside solitary confinement.

Chef Drapion eyed the situation with interest.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Gengar:** "Man, pranking Dusclops is fun. The dude got what's coming for him."

 **Haunter:** "Don't look at me like that. Completely Gengar's idea. He got a sick sense of humor. First the toilet water trick against Nosepass and now this."

* * *

Drilbur placed the pocketknife they found in the kitchen just outside of Chef Drapion Grill and hid with Farfetch'd under a table. It was pretty much a bait for the mole.

"Are you sure this is going to work? Seems like a waste of time to me and Ms. Stick." Farfetch'd seemed skeptical.

"It will sure work. I have seen it in movies. The good guys place a valuable object and then the bad guy fall for the trap." Drilbur sounded confident. Farfetch'd suddenly smacked his head with Ms. Stick.

"Ow, what's that for?" Drilbur held his head in pain.

"Just to make sure you aren't Smeargle in disguise. You don't seem to be the type to watch movies." Farfetch'd explained.

"Hey, just because I'm not a Pokestar studio trainee doesn't mean I don't watch any movies. By your logic, anyone that isn't a chef can't cook food." Drilbur pointed out. Farfetch'd smacked his head again.

"How dare you make that kind of assumption? Stop twisting my words and logic around. I didn't say anything about only chefs can cook." Farfetch'd felt unfairly accused.

"Aish, you just don't understand a damn thing." Drilbur looked really frustrated. Farfetch'd was about to smack him in the head until he heard sounds of… sand moving.

Palossand emerged out from underground to pick up the pocketknife. He immediately panicked once he saw Drilbur.

"Mole, go away! Don't steal my item again." Palossand fled quickly, sinking down into the sand.

"Yes, figurative mole, run! The literal mole is here to take back what you steal." Drilbur dived under the sand, digging rapidly.

"Ms. Stick, should we follow them?" Farfetch'd asked, unsure. Suddenly, Drilbur popped out of the ground and snatched the badge away from Farfetch'd.

Farfetch'd gaped. That was… unexpected.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "I know I shouldn't have trusted that mole!"

* * *

Darmanitan brushed his hands clean after another successful eviction. In the corner of his left eye, he noticed Wimpod shaking in frigid fear.

"Homie, are you okay?" Darmanitan went to check on the little guy. However, Wimpod scurried away for his life.

Darmanitan lowered his head. The others came to check on him.

"Fella, freeze, cone, chill?" Greninja asked in concern.

"Brotha, yogurt, chilly? Infernape said roughly the same thing as Greninja.

"Zen, chill, yogurt, cone, slush." Darmanitan basically replied saying that he was okay but he needed to go to the restroom.

"Fella, freeze, chilly cone." Greninja hoped to eat with Darmanitan soon. Darmanitan smiled at them before heading to the restroom.

Once inside there, Darmanitan turned on the faucet so that cold water would flow out. He washed his hands, enjoying the cold sensation. It only lasted for a short while…

Somehow, his hands heated up regardless of the cold water. Darmanitan turned the tap water off swiftly, startled by this strange occurrence.

"What's going on?" Darmanitan gawked at both of his hands before rubbing them together. The burning sensation soon faded away to his pleasure.

Looking up at the mirror…

Darmanitan couldn't believe what he just saw. His reflection transformed into a specific Lucario. Staring into the devilish red eyes of his so-called role model, guilt struck faster than the legendary express.

"What have I done?" Darmanitan regretted. He felt ashamed to kick Lurantis out into the cold just because of their language barrier. He felt disgusted with himself to force Snorlax out when he cooked for the three of them.

What happened? How did it come to this? He became… competitive. He did those horrible things to Snorlax and Lurantis just to please the envoys so that he would win the challenge.

Darmanitan actually had no reason to win this game. He came here to chill out, have fun and make a few friends. Until… Lucario left. His departure was so emotional that it gave Darmanitan a reason to win the game, a reason to be competitive.

He would win for Lucario. He would make the homie that he idolized for so long proud. However, how could he like someone who contrasted so much with his chill mentality in the first place? Was he secretly violent and ruthless all along?

Darmanitan got possessed by Lucario's competitive spirit now. He felt conflicted about this. Should he give in to his fanboy desires and be just like Lucario during the final few challenges? Or would he quit, fearing that he might violate his zen principles and chill identity?

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "Am I more of being the Lucario fanboy or the chilly zen practitioner?"

* * *

The Ministry of Transport faced their final obstacle. There was a whirlpool in front of them.

"I suggest we just challenge the whirlpool head on. With enough speed, we should be able to get across safely." Ursaring prioritized speed.

"I beg to differ. We should take the long way around. If the whirlpool damages our raft, we are done for." Abomasnow prioritized safety. "What is your decision, Minister Aromatisse?"

The two interns anticipated Aromatisse's decision. The minister considered both sides, each had valid points.

"I will go with Abomasnow's suggestion. We have sailed fast enough already. Time to take a step back and play it safe." Aromatisse made her final call.

"Fine." Ursaring accepted her decision unwillingly. He navigated the raft around the whirlpool, blowing wind sharply to the right.

Aromatisse could feel the tension between both interns as Toucannon Island was in sight, alongside countless other boats and water Pokemon transportation services.

Ursaring and Abomasnow showed distrust toward each other in their eyes. They seemed close at first, especially when Abomasnow placed Ursaring on a pedestalize. However, that all changed suddenly. Aromatisse wondered why.

She eventually realized it. The answer was as simple as the clear sky.

Money changed them. At first sight, Ursaring seemed pretty unfriendly and brutish. However, that was because money was on the line. During instances where no financial incentives were on the table, the interns were actually nice and easy going. Well, most of them.

This raised a very important question in her mind. Was she simply being too nice? Sure, she didn't reach Houndour's level of niceness. But, she was simply not being strategic and cutthroat enough. This late in the game, she needed to give it her all for the million. If these interns worked their butts off for 12,500 or 25,000 P then she had no excuse to not work her face off for 1,000,000 P.

After queuing up behind other boats, their little raft reached Toucannon Beak. Some stall owners and visitors sneaked giggles and looks of derision at their pitiful excuse for a boat. The Ministry of Transport didn't mind it though. Those fools probably never raft a day in their lives.

"Aromatisse, thank you very much for bringing me over here safely. I say you got a decent chance of winning. See you, girl!" Feebas waved, smiling gratefully.

"See you and stay fabulous, girl!" Aromatisse waved back before departing.

During the returning trip, everyone looked much calmer and more at ease. If was as if burdening weights got lifted from all of their shoulders. At some point, they even took a break.

Abomasnow placed a hand on Ursaring's shoulder and looked at him with reconciling eyes.

"Sorry for distrusting you, Ursaring. After thinking about it, your actions speak really loudly about how much you want to win this challenge for all of us. I should have more faith in our ace." Abomasnow apologized, offering a hand.

"Sorry for not really listening to you, Abomasnow. Should have known that you always thought of the best for others. A nice guy like you can't be the mole. You are the coffee prince, always politely brewing coffee for cranky interns early in the morning." Ursaring apologized, shaking his hand.

"Aw, touching." Aromatisse commented, beaming. "How fabulous to see you guys making up maturely like this. I'm pretty sure Shiinotic is the mole at this point."

"Yeah, she is for sure." Ursaring agreed.

"I agree. Wait, look at that!" Abomasnow pointed at the approaching pirate ship in the sky. It headed for Toucannon Island. The three of them were amazed to coincidentally find Trumbeak.

"Trumbeak, Trumbeak…!" The three shouted in unison, waving up. It was hard to tell whether Trumbeak noticed them or not. However, judging by the fact that the ship blasted fireworks off, chances were likely.

"Starting to miss him now. We aren't close but we share a few drinks, man. We also play table tennis and sword fight in the sport facility together." Ursaring recalled. Aromatisse listened attentively.

"He is a nice fellow but, he has a hard time fitting in with the rest of the interns though." Abomasnow remarked.

"Yeah, but at least we like him more than a filthy rat like Raticate." Ursaring pointed out.

"Boys, sorry to interrupt but I'm curious. Where do you even live? I have always imagined that Skarmory put you inside some rathole in this dirty island." Aromatisse assumed, showing interest. She expected to be wrong, however, she didn't expect the two interns to laugh at her uncontrollably.

"Did she say rathole, seriously? Hohohohoho…" Ursaring made it sound ridiculous. Abomasnow patted Ursaring's back and stopped laughing before him.

"Sorry, Minister Aromatisse, what makes you think that? Mister Skarmory provides top notch accommodations for all interns. We-" Abomasnow paused as if he nearly slipped something out. "Ursaring, are we allowed to talk about that area?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. The contestants are only two days away from the finale. Skarmory won't mind." Ursaring assured. "Just don't spoil the challenge or talk too much."

Abomasnow nodded, turning back to Aromatisse. "Alright, minister. We live in a place called Skarmory Area, at the end of the island. There are many recreational facilities for sports and entertainment. You can never get bored there." He informed.

"Yeah, it isn't all work for us. Sometimes, we play games, have fun, talk, do whatever we want. Skarmory is like the best boss ever. Much respect for him. He isn't just a host looking for money and ratings, you know? He genuinely likes his job. I'm pretty sure that even if the show explodes in popularity, he is probably still making a loss at the end of the day." Ursaring said admiringly.

"Mister Skarmory isn't required by law to pay us interns but he does so anyways." Abomasnow added. When mentioning Skarmory, you could sense that Abomasnow didn't use mere formality. It was filled with gratitude instead.

"Except for Raticate." Ursaring reminded, raising a lone finger up. Abomasnow chuckled.

"Wow, I didn't know Skarmory was this fabulous." Aromatisse was taken by surprise, widening her eyes.

"You need to be an intern to see it all… to see it all." Ursaring repeated inaudibly.

The Ministry of Transport finished their break and returned to Skarmory Island safely.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "It is fabulous talking to the interns. It feels much different than a normal conversation between contestants. No need to worry about strategy, your social game or anything. You can just relax and free your mind."

* * *

The Ministry of Education had a small break as well. The next class would involve Raticate taking the ghost students (excluding Dusclops) down into the sewer for a tour. There were many routes the rebels could use down there to infiltrate the castle and assassinate the king.

Thinking about Raticate, Druddigon's blood boiled. The reason for his hatred against the rat wasn't just pure envy. It was partially his attitude as well. Always calling others 'ugly kids', even those older than him. Always trying to steal others' stuff like the filthy thief he was. Always secretly smoking and polluting the environment.

Druddigon had seen it all. If he had any gripe with Skarmory, it would be the fact that the host didn't kick the rat out yet. Skarmory didn't even hire the sewer intern, Chef Drapion did in reality.

Druddigon knew very well that he wasn't the mole. Either Chef Drapion or Raticate was. This really made him feel demotivated, knowing that even if he wins, one of them would get a slice of that bonus pie.

Druddigon lifted his head up once Drifblim entered the work station, lying down next to him.

"Druddigon, I trust you the most out of everyone here. I have a feeling that the mole will attack me when I'm down in the sewer. Can you guard me?" Drifblim requested, pleading with her worried eyes.

"Are you sure that I'm not the mole? And, why should I?" I don't want the chef or Raticate to get the money. I lose and one of them get more but still, I won't do it." Druddigon denied, turning his face away.

"If you are the mole, you wouldn't reject my offer. Rather, you would take it and backstab me later. If you don't want Raticate or Chef Drapion to win then I can help you with that…" Drifblim smirked, raising her badge. Druddigon widened his eyes.

"You can use the badge to give me the win alone?" Druddigon said with disbelief.

"I can try, can't I?" Drifblim wagged the badge temptingly. Druddigon's eyes followed it.

"Deal." Druddigon grinned.

On the other side, Chef Drapion offered a tempting deal to Raticate in the boys' restroom.

"Raticate, I'm the mole. If you help me win, I will split the money with you. I'm sure you rather win with me than Druddigon." Chef Drapion said with confidence.

"I will smoke those ugly kids for you, chef!" Raticate shouted, motivation lighting up in his eyes again.

Chef Drapion wasn't done yet. He unlocked the solitary confinement room. Dusclops sat in a corner lonelily, staring into emptiness. He slowly lifted his gaze at Chef Drapion.

"Want your revenge?" Chef Drapion offered. Dusclops rubbed his hands together and smirked.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "The mole is going down. I want my first immunity win. It is in my checklist of things to do here."

 **Chef Drapion:** "Stupid blimp, prepare to suffer. This isn't dart throw anymore. This is a real fight."

* * *

Palossand resurfaced near the oasis. Drilbur popped up soon after him.

"Mole, prepare to- Argh!" Drilbur screamed in pain as Palossand squeezed his body mercilessly.

"Mole, give the sword that you have stolen from me back!" Palossand demanded, hugging him harder.

Drilbur expressed pain and confusion. He didn't steal any sword… Oh no…

Farfetch'd chased after Smeargle, who used Transform to change her appearance. He couldn't catch up as she traveled underground at a high speed with Dig.

Farfetch'd panted before collapsing due to exhaustion. He wouldn't win immunity today for sure.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "I will make that mole pay."

* * *

Darmanitan returned to the dining table, enjoying his chill conversation.

The viewers might not know this but the chill language was real. However, only true chilly geniuses could comprehend the sophistication and complexity of it.

Unfortunately, Wimpod wasn't a chilly genius and couldn't understand a thing. He relied on Darmanitan to translate for him. The longer he stayed with these crazy chillers, the crazier Wimpod felt. He gave up on his mole mission. It wasn't worth going insane for it.

Wimpod exited the kitchen and crawled dejectedly toward the door. Darmanitan saw this and excused himself to check on him.

"Wimpod, where are you going?" Darmanitan blocked the door.

"I'm the m-mole and I'm leaving. You three guys are crazily s-scary. I'm not staying her anymore!" Wimpod vented.

"Homie, I'm not scary." Darmanitan scowled.

"Then why did you k-kick Lurantis and Snorlax out?" Wimpod asked, mentally preparing himself to flee any second. Guilt burned through Darmanitan, making him question himself.

"I-I… am so sorry. Please take this as an apology, homie." Darmanitan reluctantly handed the badge to Wimpod with a flustered face. The cowardly intern looked astonished.

"Why?" Wimpod asked, baffled by his move.

"Just go before I take it back. J-just… go!" Darmanitan yelled, his eyebrows flaring up. Wimpod immediately fled for his life.

Darmanitan dropped down to the ground, covering his face. Nobody knew whether he cried or not.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Darmanitan:** "One moment I feel hot, the other moment I feel cold. One moment I feel competitive, the other I feel chill. I'm so confused. What's wrong with this homie boy?"

* * *

Shiinotic tapped her feet impatiently, glaring at the three that ditched her.

"What do we have here? A bunch of backstabbers." Shiinotic said bitterly.

"Ursaring, blow her away." Aromatisse ordered and Ursaring immediately obeyed with pleasure.

"Ah!" Shiinotic screamed as the wind blasted her off the dock. Aromatisse giggled. Served her right.

Ursaring landed on the dock first before offering a hand for the minister. Aromatisse accepted the hand…

Unexpectedly, Ursaring seized the royal badge and pushed her back to the raft at Abomasnow. The ace whipped a gust at the raft, sending it backward so they couldn't catch him.

"Haha, the money is mine!" Ursaring shouted victoriously as he ran away successfully.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I can't believe the face of the interns is so greedy, manipulative and selfish. I hope moles grow on his face." She crossed her arms.

 **Abomasnow:** "Props to the ace. He played us all excellently. Very wise of him to prioritize speed. Since the mole needs to get back safely with the badge, no one would suspect him to be the mole."

* * *

Raticate led Haunter, Gengar, Drifblim and Druddigon down the sewers. The rat beckoned Haunter to come closer.

"Hoho, what is it, teacher? Anything I can help with?" Haunter asked with a smile.

"There is one thing that you can do… Get smoked, ugly kid!" Raticate suddenly used Crunch on Haunter, biting his student like a savage.

"Ah, help me!" Haunter tried to shake Raticate off him to no avail.

"Filthy rat, stop infecting others with your disease!" Druddigon charged Dragon Claw and targeted Raticate. The rat positioned Haunter like a meat shield, putting Druddigon in a difficult situation.

"So, you are the mole." Drifblim assumed, preparing an offensive stance.

"Nope, that's me!" Chef Drapion jumped down the sewer and slapped the vulnerable Drifblim to the ground with Knock Off, unequipping her badge.

"Augh!" Drifblim extended her arms toward the badge but Dusclops dropped down from the ceiling and stole it with a gratified grin.

"Dusclops? Give that back!" Drifblim sounded shocked and furious, hiding hints of exhilaration in her voice.

"Only dumb and gullible teachers expect their students to return stuff to lost and found. Oh wait, I'm the janitor. I sweep stuff away to the trash." Dusclops hurled the badge to where no one could get it.

Drifblim clenched her fists, getting up slowly due to the major damage she received.

This turn of events created three separate battles. Raticate vs Druddigon and Haunter. Chef Drapion vs Gengar. Drifblim vs Dusclops.

Chef Drapion landed the first hit, a nasty Night Slash.

"Ouch." Gengar yelped. Chef Drapion swung another Night Slash at him. Gengar parried it with Lick. However, he was overwhelmed by Chef Drapion's superior strength.

"Ah, my taste buds. Your pincers taste as bad as your food." Gengar insulted, holding his long tongue. Chef Drapion seethed.

The angry chef gripped the ghost's neck with his right pincer and slammed him down before finishing him off with consecutive uses of Night Slash.

The camera cut to Druddigon and Raticate circling around each other. The dragon tried to find any opportunity to get a clean hit on Raticate only. Unfortunately, Haunter got stuck inside the rat's mouth.

"Please brush your teeth." Haunter was about to faint because of the smell. Raticate bit deeper out of anger.

"Haunter, are you okay if I take you down with Raticate?" Druddigon asked, running out of options.

"Really? You have no other way around? You should learn new moves. Ow, ow, ow…" Haunter advised, agonized.

Druddigon facepalmed as he realized what he could have done ages ago. Use a fighting type move.

"I should use my brains more often…" Druddigon mumbled before glowing red with energy, rushing at Raticate.

Raticate looked horrified as Druddigon obliterated him with Superpower. The attack was so effective that Raticate fainted in one hit.

Haunter gave Druddigon a thumb up, slowly recovering. Unprepared, Chef Drapion leached his energy from behind with Fell Stinger, boosting his attack sharply.

"Chef, that's dirty." Druddigon glared with disapproval.

"If that's dirty then this is poisonous." Chef Drapion jumped up and slashed with an X motion using Cross Poison.

Druddigon took massive damage. Fortunately, Chef Drapion also received some damage from Rough Skin. The dragon still had a fighting chance.

The two traded blows using Dragon Claw and Cross Poison. Chef Drapion was in much better shape than Druddigon, who got cut marks all over. The two eventually pushed each other's limbs with their own.

"Hargh!" Druddigon grunted, giving it his all. Despite his tremendous effort, Chef Drapion slowly pushed him back before sneakily striking Druddigon with his stinger.

"Ugh… my energy." Druddigon felt weakened as Chef Drapion sucked his energy with Fell Stinger, powering up himself even more.

Chef Drapion discarded Druddigon's body after he fainted. Only Drifblim remained…

"Ha, I will mop you on the floor if this is all you got." Dusclops dodged Drifblim's Shadow Ball easily and vanished.

Drifblim looked around, trying to detect his presence to no success. Dusclops reappeared from her shadow and punched her with an unavoidable Shadow Punch.

"Ah!" Drifblim fell down to the ground. The writing was already on the wall since Chef Drapion destroyed her with that insanely powerful Knock Off. Fighting was no longer an option for her.

"Dusclops, please listen to me. Helping Chef Drapion to win has no benefit for you. You will get nothing." Drifblim tried convincing him instead.

"No, there is a benefit. Revenge." Dusclops slammed his fists together, stepping intimidatingly to her.

Chef Drapion appeared and pinned Drifblim in place with his right pincer. "Finish her off." He gave the honor to Dusclops.

Drifblim was in big trouble, anxiety and distress written all over her face. What could she do? Was it possible to do anything at this point? Drifblim felt… hopeless. However, there was one thing she knew for sure.

She wouldn't give up.

Just like the Nosepass situation, there must be a way. Manipulating and persuading others had always been her strong suit. She excelled in analyzing others and finding ways to move them into action. She had proven herself time and time again and she would do it again with Dusclops.

"Drifblim, you are a crazy psychopath in my eyes. I still remember clearly the words you whispered. Sorry, suck it up for the viewers." Dusclops mimicked with resentment, charging up Ice Punch.

"I really am sorry, Dusclops." Drifblim said in an apologetic tone, avoiding eye contact.

Dusclops chuckled. "Saying sorry isn't going to work. You see me as a joke, don't you? A toy, existing only for the viewers' entertainment. You don't know how I feel!" He snapped in rage.

"I know how you feel! You have always been looked down upon by others because of your occupation. You are constantly stereotyped as a dirty, uneducated man that can only clean toilets. That's why you begin to develop a stereotypical mindset." Drifblim paused, arranging her next few sentences.

Dusclops widened his eyes. Drifblim's description was pretty accurate. But that wouldn't change anything…

"Even though you hate your occupation, you got no other choice. Change your job and chances are you will get a worse one. You feel like the world has destined a path for you. A path filled with nothing but indignation and shame. However, you don't understand one thing, Dusclops. This path that the world has given to you isn't all bad." Drifblim continued.

"Why isn't it all bad? Who the hell wants to live a shitty life like me?!" Dusclops yelled, baffled.

"That's why! You said it. No one wants to live like you. It makes you special. No one wants to be like me or you. No one wants to clean toilets and antagonize others. Everyone wants to be a prince or princess in their own perfect fairy tale! However, they and you don't realize the beauty of our struggles…" Drifblim conveyed her message with a much more passionate and emotional voice.

"Beauty, what *beep* beauty?!" Dusclops pulled his fist back, close to punching Drifblim.

"What makes us stand out is the fact that we aren't just mere villains. Dusclops, you know this very well. You are bullied and pranked by others. You are the victim here. You become who you are due to the effects of this crappy society and the flawed education system. It isn't entirely your fault that you have ended up like this." Drifblim voiced sympathetically.

"Even if you understand me, you can't help me change a dang thing!" Dusclops clenched his icy fists.

"I can't but you can! Here is your chance to change your fate. The viewers, they won't remember Gengar and Haunter for long, but right now… The entire world got their eyes on you! Show them that you aren't just a vengeful janitor. Show them that you aren't just Chef Drapion's minion. Show them that you can seize your own destiny!" Drifblim used the last of her strength and voice, praying that her persuasion would work once again. The superfan shut her eyes tightly, imagining the worst-case scenario in her mind.

"Enough!" Dusclops sent his fist flying at Drifblim's face… only to stop a mere inch away. The words she spoke… were terrifying true. He was amazed that she could get an accurate read of him in such a short amount of time.

After listening to their goddamn long conversation, Chef Drapion ran out of patience. He hadn't said anything for so long out of respect to Dusclops. However, this was no longer the case.

"Dusclops, I see that Drifblim has completely manipulated you. Let me break this *beep* witch's spell!" Chef Drapion charged up a Night Slash. He could already taste his victory until…

Dusclops activated Destiny Bond and took the blow for her. Chef Drapion froze as an ominous energy knocked him out.

Drifblim opened her eyes, sighing in relief. She did it once again. That was close.

Too soon to say it…

"You will be punished, rebel!" Ursaring shouted, teleported to the sewer alongside Smeargle. Drifblim was completely stunned by this.

Smeargle used Odor Sleuth on Drifblim and Ursaring flogged the rebel minister with a paddle until she fainted.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Skarmory:** "How dare the education minister nurture my people into rebels? She shall be severely punished so no one dares to follow her example."

 **Drifblim:** She looked really messed up and in pain. "That literally came out of nowhere. Ow… Skarmory, since when did you promote unnecessary violence?"

* * *

Smeargle, Ursaring, Druddigon and Wimpod knelt before the king and queen in order. Drifblim and the other rebels got tied up behind them. Alakazam stood on the side, holding a large scroll. The other contestants were presented behind the advisor, watching the rebels awkwardly.

"The king and queen were greatly pleased with all of your performances. As a result, they have decided to bestow each of you a gift of 25,000 P." Alakazam announced.

"We are eternally grateful, your majesties. Long live the king! Long live the queen! Long live…" The four chanted and bowed endlessly.

"Goddamn Skarmory." Chef Drapion muttered, stinging the rope in a futile attempt to escape. The ropes were extremely resistant and restrictive. Raticate failed, despite gnawing persistently. The ghosts had no luck either.

"Now, onto the next matter. The rebels will be punished harshly. They will be flogged, tortured and exiled." Alakazam read, closing the scroll.

"What?! No *beep* way!" Drifblim shouted, shocked beyond words. Would she be eliminated out of nowhere like this… for real? How unfair!

"My royal word is law and this is final! Your inability to understand the grave consequences of setting up a rebellion is what dooms you in the end." Skarmory explained his verdict.

"Not *beep* fair! This isn't an automatic elimination challenge!" Drifblim refused to accept her fate, crying continuously. The three contestants spectated with sympathy and relief. Having Drifblim eliminated would increase their chances of winning.

"Since when did I say this isn't an automatic elimination challenge?!" Skarmory said adamantly. It appeared that he wouldn't change his mind. Drifblim felt hopeless once she saw how extremely serious he looked.

"R-really? I'm o-out of the s-show n-now?" Drifblim sniffled, completely broken. Even the interns looked at her with sympathy, except for Raticate. Chef Drapion didn't care either.

Skarmory walked over to Drifblim slowly with indifferent eyes and lifted her face up with his right wing, scrutinizing her agonized face. Furret followed behind.

"I'm s-sorry for my insolence. I d-didn't know that I'm s-supposed to treat you two like royalties literally." Drifblim apologized miserably. The tears flowed out like a stream of rapid water.

"Now you know." Skarmory said, grinning. Drifblim nodded depressingly.

"Secret…" Skarmory paused to build suspense.

"W-what?" Drifblim sounded confused.

"Revenge…" Skarmory continued. Drifblim looked dumbfounded.

"Special… Success!" Skarmory revealed the ultimate surprise. Drifblim was still processing what's going on.

"Foolish minister, do you seriously believe my just husband would automatically eliminate you for no good reason?" Furret giggled.

"So… I got tricked? I'm not eliminated, right?" Drifblim asked for confirmation, still unsure.

"Obviously! I can't believe you out of all Pokemon fell for it. My wife, I did it! I got my revenge!" Skarmory celebrated, throwing Furret into the air. She squealed, landing safely in his embrace.

Instead of feeling anger, Drifblim laughed and cried cathartically in joy instead. Most of the interns and contestants were happy for her. They knew how much this show meant to her. The powerful atmosphere of serendipitous felicity was shared throughout contagiously.

Darmanitan clapped slowly and intensely. The palm of his hands burned as an unsettling feeling lurked inside his heart.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Thank you, Skarmory. Thank you, Furret. Thank you… everyone." She was still crying.

 **Dusclops:** "Huh, never believe that I'm happy to get manipulated by her. The education minister is something special." He blushed. Once he realized this, he quickly vanished.

 **Darmanitan:** He breathed heavily with unstable eyes. "What's wrong with me?"

* * *

Drifblim won immunity so only three contestants were up for elimination. The superfan locked her sights on someone. She would execute her master plan shortly.

Drifblim invited Darmanitan and Farfetch'd inside the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin.

Surprisingly, it was extremely easy to convince Darmanitan. It seemed like the homie boy already had Aromatisse up for elimination in mind.

Farfetch'd, on the other hand…

"Drifblim, I won't eliminate Aromatisse after all the things she has done for me! I thought she is your friend." Farfetch'd refused, slicing Ms. Stick horizontally.

Drifblim flinched. "Farfetch'd, think about this carefully. Everybody will bring Aromatisse to the end. If you don't eliminate her, you will be eliminated instead." She warned.

"I don't see why I will be eliminated." Farfetch'd folded his wings definitely.

"Farfetch'd, Darmanitan will vote for you and I will also vote for you after all the drama you created regarding Mr. Stalk. You will be rolled over as Aromatisse will vote for you too as an easy out. She isn't that close to you, you know?" Drifblim made it sound more like a warning than a threat.

"I will leave." Farfetch'd wanted to hear nothing else, turning to the door.

"Think about this carefully, Farfetch'd. You are this close to the finale." Drifblim emphasized, her fore right hand pinched. Farfetch'd stopped momentarily before exiting the cabin.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "My plan is going smoothly." She smirked.

 **Farfetch'd:** He sighed. "I hope this ends well for us, Ms. Stick."

* * *

The elimination ceremony started and everything returned to usual… sort of.

Skarmory removed his royal robe and reverted back to being an actual host. However, he held a large scroll in his wings.

"Demoted by your wife to the advisor position?" Drifblim teased.

"Haha." Skarmory laughed sarcastically, amused. "You still never learn your lesson, don't you?" His eyes turned threatening.

"It won't be as fun if I learn my lesson, don't you think?" Drifblim tilted her head slightly.

"True." Skarmory admitted. He stopped trying to look threatening and started the explanation. "Anyways, things will work differently this time. There will be no berries. If I say that you are exiled, you are eliminated. I won't narrow it down to the final two either."

Skarmory fixed his eyes on the scroll's content.

"Minister for Foreign Affairs, you have always been the odd one out. Even though you are strong, you aren't really accepted into the macho club consisting of Lucario, Heracross and Miltank. The likes of Duosion and Scolipede aren't fond of you either. As a result, you are like a lonely foreigner in a distant land. With no one that could speak your language, you rely on your chill convictions to survive each scorching day." Skarmory spread the scroll out a bit more.

Darmanitan looked confident. His skin enjoyed the cold wind of the night. In contrast, his heart beat blazingly, dreading something that resided deep in.

"Minister for War, you are half of who you once were. Without your legendary weapon, you are only a war minister by name. Reduced to use an ordinary weapon like everyone else, you are humbled and exasperated. Threatening and accusing those you believed to be the thief falsely, you ended up causing a lot of troubles. Will the long-awaited reunion come before your exile? Or vice versa?" Skarmory summarized the recent nature of his game.

Farfetch'd gripped Ms. Stick in a steadfast manner, glancing around at the other contestants before focusing on his trusty partner.

"Minister for Transport, you have listened to your passengers well, always satisfying their demands to the best of your ability. Never once did anyone vote for you after your fabulous return. However, you lack control of others. Not many will listen to you if any at all. You rather listen to them instead. In the end, you might find yourself blown away by a sneaky ace." Skarmory lifted his eyes from the scroll, scanning their reactions.

Aromatisse rolled her eyes at what Skarmory said. Sure, she got betrayed by Ursaring but that didn't mean the other contestants will, right?

"The minister that will be exiled is…" Skarmory paused to build suspense.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Minister for Foreign Affairs, you are exiled." Skarmory snapped the scroll closed stylishly.

Darmanitan widened his eyes in shock as Drifblim and Aromatisse glanced at each other, both with a smile on their faces.

Flashback

Drifblim approached Aromatisse after the challenge.

"Girl, have you made up your mind yet? Will it be Darmanitan or Farfetch'd?" Drifblim asked, waiting for her response.

"Um, er… I don't know." Aromatisse was very indecisive.

"Well, if you can't decide, how about this? I will invite both of them into the Crazy Crawdaunt girls' cabin while you hide secretly in the back. I will throw your name out and see if they take the bait." Drifblim suggested.

"That is ingenious girl." Aromatisse was impressed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Aromatisse:** "I'm sure I will be in the finale no matter what. Everyone wants me there because they think they can beat me. When they all least expect it, I will take them down fabulously."

 **Drifblim:** "All according to the plan, my true target is Darmanitan. This is why I planted a seed inside his head and set him up in the morning. My curious viewers, do you want to know why I have targeted him? First, it gives me Aromatisse's full trust. I'm pretty sure she will bring me to the finale in case I don't win immunity tomorrow. But here's the most important reason, I want all of you viewers on my side, cheering for me in the end. I'm now the only non-returner left. Even if you don't like me, do you really want contestants that already got eliminated to win? I deserve the victory much more than them honestly."

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Well, I heard everything from those two homies. Serves me right for being a no-chill sport today. I let Lucario's beliefs invade through my chilly heart. Because I'm so clingy and fanboyish, I have made my worst fear into reality. I have lost control of myself. Time for me to chill out in Loser Island and hopefully the burning pain go away.

* * *

Darmanitan walked with a bittersweet feeling to the dock, his skin was irritated by the burning sensation even though his heart and mind cooled down.

Chillily, Greninja placed a chill cone in his right hand and Infernape placed a frozen yogurt cup inside his left hand. The power of the chilliness conquered the competitive spirit, curing Darmanitan's burning sensation completely.

"Fella, freeze, chill cone, cold. Cone-na-cone, chill?" Greninja said that there would be a cruise with a karaoke machine picking them up soon. He hoped that the homie boy would sing with them.

"Too-cold, ice land, chilly night?" Infernape said that the boat would visit Toucannon Island. He wanted Darmanitan to stay with them for a night. "Yogurt, free-chill." There would be free frozen yogurt there.

"Chill, zen, homies!" Darmanitan accepted both offers with the biggest smile he ever had in the entirety of the show.

Skarmory landed on the dock for the closing part as the three chill guys departed, draping their arms over each others' shoulders.

"After Minister for Foreign Affairs got exiled, only three ministers are left. Who will win? Will it be the brainy Drifblim, the beautiful Aromatisse or the brawny Farfetch'd? More importantly for the present, which two will enter the finale? Find out in the penultimate episode of Total Skarmory Island!"

* * *

The show wasn't over yet. The screen transitioned to a dark deep corner somewhere in Skarmory Area. The camera zoomed and focused on Raticate, who was pitching bottle caps glumly. The stickler for no spoiler camera blurred the surroundings out.

"Stupid Druddigon, getting the money all alone even though he isn't the mole. Stupid Skarmory…" Raticate grumbled and complained incessantly to himself.

"Hey." Chef Drapion greeted, raising his pincer up slightly to gain Raticate's attention.

"What's smoking, chef? Are we going to quit now?" Raticate stopped pitching coins, looking inquisitively at the chef's malicious eyes.

"No, I have a better idea in mind. We will-" Chef Drapion paused abruptly, noticing the security camera. He scowled before breaking it with Knock Off.

Alakazam was alerted once one of the many screens in the control room showed static. He played back the footage and got anxious. What could Raticate and Chef Drapion be up to? The psychic rubbed his chin.

Truth to be told, Alakazam wasn't a mere intern. Frankly, he was a professional Skarmory hired to provide essential functions and convenience to the show. Without him, the show would flop from the start.

Alakazam was about to contact Skarmory until he experienced a strong dark disruptive interference.

"Argh." Alakazam fell from the chair, suffering from a major headache. The door to the control room opened, showing Chef Drapion holding some sort of dark energy gun. It was shaped like a megaphone.

"Good night." Chef Drapion grinned darkly, finishing Alakazam off with Night Slash. Raticate soon entered with a trash bag. The rat threw the psychic inside and tied it tightly.

"You are a genius, chef. Without Alakazam, the show is ruined. Skarmory will pay us a huge ransom for sure. How about ten million P, chef?" Raticate threw the number out there greedily.

"Sounds good. Although, you need to make sure we get the battery in order to escape." Chef Drapion reminded.

"No problem, chef. I can do it easily. I have stolen a lot of smoking stuff before." Raticate assured smugly.

Chef Drapion nodded. Before the two exited the control room, the chef turned to the camera with a creepy, hate-inducing smile. It was as if he was watching the viewers instead of the other way around.

The chef slapped the camera with Knock Off and the credits rolled.

* * *

 **Votes**

Drifblim: Darmanitan

Aromatisse: Darmanitan

Farfetch'd: Darmanitan

Darmanitan: Aromatisse

Darmanitan: 3 (exiled)

Aromatisse: 1 (safe)

* * *

Everyone, I have an announcement. After I finish TSI, I can't promise to post Season 2 or any of my other stories soon. I will just tell you the simplified version. I'm tired… Writing takes a toll on my health, social life, family and a lot of things. I feel like I'm digging myself into a hole by promising Season 2 or Season 3 even though they are far off into the future. Don't worry, the finale will still come out before Odyssey. This is a promise I intend to keep.

This chapter actually got a deleted scene. Originally, I plan for Chef Drapion and Raticate to get publicly flogged to give them more of a motive to ruin the show. However, I don't think it fits Skarmory's character to do that for no good reason, especially after the Bisharp cardboard gag and the implications it had with Bisharp's parents. The scene is very awkward anyways so I think it is good to remove it.

The last two episodes will be amazing. I hope you look forward to them.


	30. Chapter 30

**Reply to Reviews**

 **Fallenstreet01**

Well, your prediction is accurate so far. But will it continue to be accurate? 'Almost thought', huh? It's good that you're paying attention. It'll be very out-of-character for Skarmory to eliminate Drifblim with a bad reason.

 **Parousia45**

Drifblim is probably the best villain I've created so far. It'll be hard to top her in Season 2 or any of my other stories. Deaths? Well, I wrote Desire Tunnel after all so anything's possible. We're similar. When I submit reviews, I tend to be positive and a bit nervous as well.

* * *

 **Episode 30: Poisonous Pilferers**

The camera turned on with low resolution and terrible sound quality. A red dot flickered on the top left corner of the screen. The panicked host was seen setting up the camera in a hurry, anxiety predominant on his face.

"Viewers, this is an emergency! Chef Drapion and Raticate have kidnapped Alakazam! Those rebels-" Skarmory got cut off by a loud explosion in the distance.

"Oh no… What should I do? What should I do?" Skarmory darted back and forth between the camera and the rising smoke.

"I need to caution the contestants!" Skarmory ditched the camera in a hurry, flying fast to the camp.

* * *

A storm of black clouds was brewing above the mountainous pinnacle. Green electricity flashed across the firmament as those mere mortals that called themselves 'interns' assailed their puny projectiles (Moonblast, Shadow Ball, Ice Shard and etc.) at the airship of atrocity.

The machine of terror swerved around the attacks elusively. The powerful propellers on top of the three masts kept the airship airborne and mobile.

Standing on the bowsprit cockily was Raticate, who snorted at their pathetic attempts. He looked down the bowsprit, staring at the Raticate head shaped cannon with tempted eyes and a hand on his lips.

The airship was given to him by Skarmory for use in the finale against the contestants. It looked ordinary, but came fully equipped with weapons. In addition to the main cannon, three mini cannons were installed to each side of the ship.

One intern had enough. He stopped spamming Focus Blast.

"Release Alakazam, you *beep*! You ain't getting a damn P off Skarmory!" Druddigon despised with fervor. He scaled the mountain with Rock Climb, rising toward the airship's altitude.

Raticate yawned. Enough toying around…

"Smokerich, blast those ugly kids into hell!" Raticate 'voice-commanded' his airship. In reality, Chef Drapion controlled the entire thing in the captain's control room.

The main cannon charged up a gigantic electric orb. It was very reminiscent of Godly Guy Grovyle's meteors. The ball of divine punishment began its holy descent, shocking all of the interns with electrifying fear.

"Run, *beep* run!" Ursaring urged, amplifying his loud voice to reinforce the urgency.

The interns all scrambled, screamed and scrammed. However, it was too late. The meteor moved like a flash of lightning. Unavoidable, unstoppable and unquenchable. Only Druddigon was lucky enough to not be in the vicinity of the attack. The lucky brute gritted his teeth as he heard his friends' cries and shrieks.

"You'll *beep* pay! Is this how you express gratitude after all Skarmory has done for you?!" Druddigon yelled questioningly. He soon reached the summit.

"Gratitude for what? I got no smoking debt to pay." Raticate had an irritating look of ingratitude.

"*beep* rat! I should never expect any more than backstabbing from a _sewage savage_ like you." Druddigon spat. He leaped onto the airship and prepared an offensive stance.

Raticate hopped to the forecastle deck and lifted up a bucket, hiding a grin.

"Bucket boy, bring it." Druddigon taunted.

"Dumb dragon, you ask for it." Raticate retorted, tilting the bucket slightly. One hand on the handle, the other at the bottom.

Druddigon fumed and rushed toward the rat ragingly with Superpower senselessly. Raticate sloshed the ground before Druddigon with Chef Drapion's delicacy and he slipped.

"Ow." Druddigon tried to recover only to slip and fall again. "What the *beep* is wrong with my balance today?" He seemed flustered.

"Ha, this is all you got? I met stronger opponents in the black market. Chef, smoke this ugly kid." Raticate held the mast securely as the ship rotated 90 degrees. The rat cackled as Druddigon desperately clawed the boat to hang on like a pitiful cat. In the end, he slid off, screaming in the process. The ship quickly rotated back immediately after. Raticate smiled smugly as he headed to the captain's control room.

The control room was designed to suit Raticate. Therefore, it had a low ceiling despite being a sizable room. Chef Drapion bent his back down a little as he overlooked the operating panel and the wooden steering wheel. The window in front curved off to the sides a little, allowing the captain to look left and right a bit more freely.

Peculiarly, there was a rug made out of Houndour fur, an ashcan, a large container of Chef Drapion's special delicacy, a frying pan and a picture of Raticate pointing with the quote 'You're an ugly kid' inside.

Once Raticate entered, he was greeted with a scary surprise. Chef Drapion rotated his head 180 degrees to look at him.

"Ah, what the hell, chef?!" Raticate got a jump scare.

"Just a Drapion thing. I'm checking to see if you'll stab me in the back." Chef Drapion told before rotating his head back.

"I won't betray you, chef. If I owe any one in this smoking island, It's you." Raticate assured, sounding slightly sincere.

"Good, you better not. Otherwise, I'll make a skewer rat out of you." Chef Drapion threatened, turning on autopilot temporarily to check on his delicacy container.

Raticate nodded neutrally. "Is that your new recipe, chef?" He asked.

"Indeed, Chef Drapion's Deadly Delicacy, this will burn holes through their stomachs… literally." Chef Drapion replied proudly, opening the lid. The container released a puff of smoke in a form of a purple skull.

"Time to get our pay." Chef Drapion grinned and Raticate shared the sentiment.

* * *

Skarmory and the contestants arrived at the mountain area, witnessing the mass number of fainted interns. They decided to come here as reinforcements. However, judging from their looks, their courage vanished completely.

The interns sprawled in sufferable shapes around the giant crater of godly destruction. Fortunately, none of them took the direct impact of the meteor or else…

Druddigon looked the least injured. Still, he took massive fall damage and lay motionlessly on the ground.

"How is this… possible? The airship alone shouldn't be able to cause this much damage." Skarmory stared in disbelief and despair.

Drifblim noticed green sparks flying off from the crater. "Skarmory?" She nudged. "Could they possibly use the battery?" Everyone shared a petrified moment of silence upon the realization.

Chef Drapion and Raticate laughed at the four, taking joy and delight in seeing their miserable and hopeless faces. The chef soon worked on setting up an auto-pilot route for their escape.

"Wait!" Skarmory widened his eyes. "If they've used the battery then how did ground types like Drilbur and Palossand faint?" He raised a baffling question. Everyone seemed perplexed except for Ms. Stick.

Farfetch'd listened to her explanation and nodded. "I got it, everyone! Ms. Stick said that the cannonball fused with the electric meteor to deal dual type damage of steel and electric." He cleared up the confusion.

"This means we all take super-effective damage." Aromatisse indicated. "We should run away as far as possible! I've a feeling that things are about to get really dirty."

"Great use of common sense, Aromatisse. However, I'm afraid we can't outmaneuver the airship." Skarmory said pessimistically. "This is all my _fault_." Regret filled his voice.

"Skarmory, this isn't the time to give up yet. Call the police or something!" Drifblim shook him infuriatingly.

Suddenly, Chef Drapion made an announcement using the microphone from the operating panel. "Attention, losers! Here is the deal. Skarmory, pay us 10,000,000 P in cash and we'll free Alakazam. Don't think of calling the police unless you want to cut his life short. Alright?!"

"Cash? Who the hell holds that much? I might be rich but most of my money is in the bank. Release Alakazam first and we'll talk." Skarmory refused.

"Are you sure?" Chef Drapion asked again. This time, the airship turned to face them. The cannon charged up another ground-breaking blast of electricity.

"Skarmory, I know it's a lot but I'm sure your fabulous life worth more than that. Please save yourself and us." Aromatisse pleaded.

"Think about your show, your fans and your viewers. Skarmory, please save this show and all of us. I beg you!" Drifblim held his right wing desperately, bowing.

Skarmory was caught between a rock and a hard place here. Paying first meant that Skarmory had to rely on those two filthy traitors to honor their end of the deal. The other way would be fighting them. However, they stood barely any chance if any at all.

Skarmory appeared extremely stressed out. "I don't know. If we do this, if we do that… Gah! We might be screwed either way! This is all my fault!" Skarmory felt remorse.

"Skarmory, what's wrong with you? This isn't the time to…" Drifblim expressed her disapproval. Her voice turned into inaudible murmurs as the camera shifted its focus to the war minister.

Farfetch'd clenched a rock in his right wing and lifted his half-determined, half-unconfident eyes at the atrocious airship. He wanted to believe in himself. However, he was nothing but a disappointment to himself and others. His mother couldn't accept the fact that she gave birth to an abnormal son like him.

Farfetch'd never had any self-esteem to begin with. No matter how hard he tried, the society had no place for the delusional anti-social freak with an imaginary friend. Because no one loved him genuinely until he met Swanna, he had to always imagine that he was loved.

By deluding himself, Farfetch'd grew strong, confident and honorable. He followed his father footsteps, successfully becoming a multi-talented professional. However, there was a price to be paid for his extraordinary talents.

Eventually, Farfetch'd had fallen to insanity. He started hearing voices, unaware that his brain created them as a defensive mechanism. He didn't want to admit that he was insane, no one would.

Without Mr. Stalk by his side, Farfetch'd questioned the spiritual existence of his father in the first place. Even worse, he suffered from an identity crisis. Was he still the same multi-talented professional with a strict code of honor or was he a pitiful pervert now? Luckily, all hope wasn't lost.

Insightfully, Swanna had the foresight to plan ahead and left a cure with Farfetch'd all this time.

Ms. Stick was that cure.

* * *

Back to the airship…

"Chef, why didn't you fire yet?" Raticate questioned, frowning.

"Do I look like a murderer to you? I just throw an empty threat to scare them. Our objective is to steal the money, not to kill. If we put our dirty hands on even the tip of Skarmory's tail, we won't get a single P, trust me." Chef Drapion answered. His tone was strangely melancholic.

"I'm a thief, not a murderer. I'm a thief, not a murderer…" Chef Drapion repeated inaudibly with sorrowful eyes.

"Chef? Something smokes your eyes?" Raticate cocked his head.

"No, nothing. Just forget it. Once we get the money, we escape." Chef Drapion avoided the question. Raticate looked really concerned.

The rat intern stared at the red firing button. It was so hypnotizing to his greedy and destructive eyes. His hungry hands naturally moved toward it until Chef Drapion slapped them away.

"What did I say?!" Chef Drapion scolded in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry, chef." Raticate averted his eyes. The waiting game continued and Raticate folded his arms.

* * *

"Ms. Stick, your brother has taught me how to play baseball professionally. I might not be as good as him but… I'll prove it to you that he's a great teacher. Let's do this!" Farfetch'd resolved, hurling the rock up. Farfetch'd locked his sights on the main cannon and swung with all his might.

Ms. Stick connected with the rock, begging it to help them.

Drifblim, Skarmory and Aromatisse all prayed, anticipating with hope.

The rock fixed its direction toward the cannon since Ms. Stick asked nicely.

Chef Drapion gawked while Raticate scowled.

The rock jammed the main cannon, rendering it useless for the time being.

"Tactical retreat, tactical retreat!" Chef Drapion panicked and fled. Raticate shook his head in disapproval before heading out to remove the rock.

"You did it, Farfetch'd!" Skarmory felt elated.

"Nice shot, Farfetch'd!" Drifblim praised.

You save our lives!" Aromatisse was overjoyed.

"We, not me." Farfetch'd sounded annoyed. "Right, Ms. Stick?" He shook her a little. "See?" The three glanced at each other before they all nodded, going along with it. Farfetch'd smiled.

A shadow departed, another arrived.

The four looked up with fear initially. However, they all shared a sigh of relief when an old friend returned. Trumbeak parked his airship on the crater and soared into the sky before diving down. He landed coolly with both wings touching the ground with the pirate costume on.

"Yarr! Ye all board me timbers and we be rescuin' our ol' psychic." Trumbeak maintained his pirate accent.

"Glad to see you again, Trumbeak. Feel free to talk normally. Did my wife request for your help?" Skarmory assumed, smiling brightly.

"Indeed, old boss. She has reported everything to the police as well. They'll be here soon, hopefully." Trumbeak informed. Skarmory nodded, before turning to the three contestants. Their ears perked attentively.

"This is today's challenge. Save Alakazam at all costs even if it means letting Raticate and Chef Drapion escape. Do _not_ sabotage or fight each other. We're all in the same boat. Understood?" Skarmory emphasized collectivism. The three all nodded and held each other limbs, eventually forming a circle. Today, they would push immunity back deep into their minds and focus on saving the show.

Farfetch'd held Aromatisse's hand securely, who shook a little. Drifblim eyed both of them emotionally, pleading them to prioritize saving the show before anything else. Aromatisse gave both of them encouraging smiles.

Skarmory smiled, touched. "I'll take care of the injured interns. Trumbeak, please protect them in my place. Take care of yourself too."

"Worry not, Captain Big Beak never abandons his crew to die." Trumbeak assured with confidence.

The four climbed up the airship and it soon set sailed. Skarmory watched them proudly, waving with faith as they left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "We'll make Mr. Stalk proud, Ms. Stick. When those thieves see us, we'll give them grief." He hit his right wing with Ms. Stick lightly.

 **Drifblim:** "There's no point getting the immunity if they show gets cancelled. Imagine the public uproar if a murder occurs. I don't think Skarmory can handle the responsibility."

 **Aromatisse:** "I'll admit that I'm scared to fight those dirty thieves. However, I won't run away like a coward. Even though Alakazam is an intern, he's still one of us. I need to do anything I can to help."

* * *

Raticate finally managed to remove the rock from the main cannon as the Smorkerich was making its way to the Outcast Islands.

"Who is the owner of this airship? Smoking me or chef? I deserve better." Raticate complained, crossing his arms. In the distance…

Hearing sounds of a fiery engine, Raticate became alert. He looked around, shocked to see Trumbeak tailing behind them.

"Chef, activate our smoking defense! Quickly, Trumbeak is catching up!" Raticate shouted urgently.

All six mini cannons blasted the Kamikaze Rats at Trumbeak's airship. Pretty much, they were a group of Rattata toys driving black bullet-like vehicles with eyes and teeth drawn. The rats wore red scarves and black shades.

"Enemy crew approaches. Fire, crew, fire!" Trumbeak ordered, positioning the ship slightly above the rats to match the trajectory of the cannons.

The three contestants hurriedly lighted up their cannons and fired. They might not be experts at aiming but the blast radius of each explosion eased up the difficulty. Moreover, the rats traveled in a linear manner. They weren't programmed to dodge.

"Anyone who designs these rats has no taste in fashion. Black shades and red scarves are so last generation. The bullets look ugly as well. Ew." Aromatisse criticized before firing off another cannonball.

"Looks pretty cool to me but that's not the point. Keep up the pressure!" Trumbeak maneuvered the airship closer and closer to the Smokerich every time a rat bullet got destroyed. Sometimes, the captain would make sharp turns to avoid unnecessary engagement with the enemy. Their goal was to rescue Alakazam, not blowing those rats up for fun.

"More rats, chef! Cook up smoking more for them!" Raticate asked for reinforcements, watching worriedly from the crow's nest. The Smokerich popped out rats like a vending machine, swarming our heroes with an army of them.

"Quality over quantity, everyone. They're no match for us." Drifblim rallied up another wave of fire. Since the rats were so crowded together, a few shots took down several of them out of twenty or so. The rest remained, rocketing at them for revenge.

"They're getting dangerously close!" Aromatisse braced for impact, closing her eyes.

"Ms. Stick, time to show Mr. Stalk our cooking skills. We'll start off by making rat kebabs." Farfetch'd declared, mincing the air into small slices with countless Air Slashes. Then, the wooden chef chopped some unions to make the Kamikaze Rats cried. Afterwards, they were forced to rub their eyes with their scarves. Next…

Short version, they all exploded a long time ago from the blades of air.

"Great job, Farfetch'd. Your aiming skills doesn't suck like a certain whiteboard strategist." Drifblim complimented and threw shade at the same time.

"Yeah. Thank god, you save our lives again." Aromatisse sounded grateful and indebted.

"No problem, we all did it." Farfetch'd hi-fived both girls with two wings. Morale was very high for our heroes.

"You know what I'm both surprised and relieved about? Why didn't they just finish this battle already with the battery meteors?" Aromatisse brought up a good question.

"Ms. Stick said that they didn't want to murder us. They're just thieves. Don't worry about dying." Farfetch'd assured.

"Farfetch'd is right. From my analysis of them, I don't think they'll kill us. They must know that this is a losing battle for them, considering the police are coming. As long as we don't push them too far into the corner, they'll eventually submit to their defeat." Drifblim agreed, adding to the discussion.

"Watch out, crew!" Trumbeak alerted, pointing at the D-Type Raticate Bullet, the boss of the Kamikaze Rats. The smoking boss smoked a cigarette and wore a blue scarf. He was already edgy enough so he didn't need the black shades, replacing it with cinema glasses.

"Blast this cinema complex owner wannabe back to the circus, everyone! We need to protect the fashion industry and Total Skarmory Island." Aromatisse aroused. The other two listened to her cause and fired their cannons. Unfortunately, the boss was immune to their pathetic firepower.

"Haha… Ugly kids, you'll get smoked by my dark cousin for sure! He got grilling style and fashionable clothes unlike you naked bums." Raticate mocked hypocritically.

The contestants couldn't figure out how to penetrate through the boss three-dimensional defense. However, Captain Big Beak never disappoints!

"Takin' care of the wheel for me, mateys! I be slaughterin' a scallywag!" Trumbeak embraced his inner pirate and flew off the boat, leaving Farfetch'd to pilot the ship. The contestants cheered for their captain as he darted at the rat boss and gripped his scarf firmly with both wings, redirecting it toward the Smokerich.

"*beep*! Cousin, why did you betray your own blood?!" Raticate cried out loudly before the bullet blasted him off the crow's nest. The contestants all celebrated and exalted Trumbeak for his fantastic feat.

* * *

"Chef!" Raticate banged the door opened. "We have run out of rats. All of them got smoked!" He delivered the grim news. Chef Drapion's eye twitched and he kicked the wall out of frustration.

"What are we going to do, chef?" Raticate asked but there was no reply. Chef Drapion reached for the microphone.

"Since all of you're so persistent, I'll reduce the ransom fee to 5,000,000 P. How does that sound?" Chef Drapion negotiated. Raticate widened his eyes and glowered.

As an act of rebellion, Raticate dashed for the red button and pressed it. Chef Drapion gaped before gripping the rat by the neck.

"What the *beep* have you done? Do you want to spend the rest of your life in prison?!" Chef Drapion panned furiously.

"Chef, if there's one thing I've learned from working for Skarmory is that you either go big or go to the sewers. Finish your job and get paid or fail and live with nothing." Raticate resisted disobediently.

"You fool! That attitude will get you jailtime. Mark my words." Chef Drapion angrily threw Raticate against the wall. "Clean up your mess and fight." The chef pointed toward the door. Raticate recovered and hissed at the chef before he exited the control room with a filled-to-the-brim poisonous bucket. The door was slammed shut.

Chef Drapion pinched the bridge of his noise before sighing. A rainstorm was cooking outside, accompanied by the thunderous orchestra.

* * *

Trumbeak and company witnessed true terror as Godly Guy Grovyle appeared before them. Something was off about the gecko god this time around. His halo was red and he got this devilish smirk of his. Seemingly, he was mind-controlled.

Drifblim and Farfetch'd were especially astonished and speechless once Godly Guy Grovyle activated his electrifying meteor cannon.

It was a near death experience as Trumbeak plummeted the airship down in an instant. The meteor of destruction barely missed, nearly giving everyone a heart attack.

The gecko god summoned rain and covered the clear blue sky with black, thunderous clouds to demoralize them.

Aromatisse held her heart before collapsing down. She hyperventilated.

Farfetch'd slumped down, leaning on the mast. He held Ms. Stick close.

Drifblim was frightened out of her mind. However, she felt fortunate more than anything.

Trumbeak wiped the nervous sweat off his face and turned to his crew. Autopilot was also turned on.

"Staying here is dangerous. We need to get out! I don't want to leave Alakazam but, we have no choice." Trumbeak said hopelessly, looking down in shame.

"Yeah, I'm sure the psychic will l-live. Skarmory will pay the ransom and we'll all forget about this." Aromatisse agreed, traumatized.

Drifblim frowned but she said nothing.

Farfetch'd sighed. After that life-threatening experience, he could understand and empathize with the two. He wasn't mad at them. However, he felt a burning ambition inside his heart.

Farfetch'd couldn't tolerate the injustice. Alakazam might just be a stranger to most of them. However, that didn't mean there weren't those that truly care about him like his friends and family. He would rescue the psychic like he would rescue Mr. Stalk.

"Everyone, you can all escape but we won't. We'll take those thieves down, in the name of Mr. Stalk!" Farfetch'd emitted a powerful sense of determination.

"Don't be reckless! You think you can take both of them by yourself? You're outnumbered. Reconsider now before it's too late!" Trumbeak objected strongly.

"Consider it a group of three. Me, Farfetch'd and Ms. Stick. We now outnumber them." Drifblim joined unwaveringly. Farfetch'd smiled.

"Aromatisse, will you go as well?" Trumbeak hid his disapproval with an inquisitive look.

Aromatisse glanced around to check everyone's reaction.

"Your choice, girl. No pressure." Drifblim gazed at her reassuringly.

Aromatisse took a few deep breaths. "I'll probably regret this and this is probably the dumbest thing I'll ever do in my life but… I'll go as well. I don't want to be a hindrance. Either we all live or we all die I guess. Hopefully, Decidueye will see this." She blushed a deeper shade of pink.

Trumbeak inhaled, closing his eyes. "All in agreement then." He opened his adventurous and bold eyes. "Skarmory entrusts me to protect you all. Even though I don't want to die since I just recently reconciled with my family, a captain never abandons his crew. Although, do you have a plan?" He mainly addressed Farfetch'd.

Farfetch'd took charge as the war minister. "Yes, a good one devised by Ms. Stick herself. Drifblim, since you're a ghost, you should be the one to rescue Alakazam. Trumbeak, you stay here and watch out for our safety. Once Drifblim got Alakazam out, collect every crew member and escape. Aromatisse, you should take on Raticate since he isn't a poison type. Lastly, we'll take on the chef. Clear?"

Everyone seemed to understand the plan very well. Trumbeak even provided helpful equipment to Aromatisse with rain resistant boots and the Inkbrella he got as a support item from one of his pirate fights.

The rain-resistant boots were self-explanatory enough. However, the Inkbrella was kind of a novelty. It could shoot out Octillery's ink and act like a shield at the same time. Press the trigger normally to shoot out ink. Press and hold to activate the shield. Press and hold for a very long time to launch the umbrella shield out. Apparently, lightweight users could also glide if used properly. Aromatisse read the wet instruction manual and understood the general idea of it.

The war preparation phase was over. Trumbeak drove his airship above the Smokerich and dropped the three contestants down.

Farfetch'd landed in front of the control room. Drifblim vanished for the time being. Aromatisse jumped off with the umbrella shield activated to glide and land in front of Raticate gracefully.

"Ugly kid, ready for your smoking spa?" Raticate insulted, lifting his bucket up.

"Ugly? Oh, you're going to regret calling me that." Aromatisse seethed.

The battle began and Raticate made the first move. He sloshed the deadly delicacy straight at her. Aromatisse opened the umbrella shield and positioned it around 45 degrees to block the attack.

Aromatisse attacked back by squirting out Octillery's blinding ink at Raticate's eyes. The sewer rat turned his head sideways and closed his eyes before jumping back into the offense with a mid-air slosh. Aromatisse blocked the attack again with the Inkbrella before blasting Fairy Wind in the direction of the traitorous intern.

Raticate took the weak blow and slid to the side, flanking Aromatisse with the sloshing bucket.

"Ouch!" Aromatisse took heavy splash damage on her flank. The deadly delicacy burned through her skin painfully. Fortunately, the rain alleviated the pain a little. She covered her flank with her right hand, positioning the umbrella awkwardly with her left hand. She was left vulnerable.

Raticate ran with great balance, soaking her entire back with poison. Aromatisse cried out in agony, dropping to the ground as Raticate smiled with triumph.

"Any last words?" Raticate asked carelessly, feeling superior.

"Fight, don't talk." Drifblim spoke in Aromatisse's stead. She suddenly turned visible and wrapped Raticate with Constrict before throwing him against the mast, hard. Raticate winced, rubbing the back of his head.

"Drifblim, I thought you're supposed to rescue Akakazam." Aromatisse accepted Drifblim's hand, getting up from the ground.

"Well, you're clearly in need of help. No point saving Alakazam if we need to save you afterwards. Anyways, enough talking. I've heard that Raticate called Decidueye ugly, you know?" Drifblim made it up. Upon hearing this, Aromatisse reddened with rage.

"Liar! When did I say that?" Raticate denied, slowly moving his eyes to the enraged Aromatisse. He gulped.

Aromatisse propelled to the sky through the combination of the Inkbrella and Fairy Wind. She sniped Raticate's eyes with one precise shot and dropped down. Upon landing next to him, she smashed his face with the umbrella, knocking him away. As a fabulous finish, Aromatisse blasted the umbrella shield out, pushing Raticate off the Smokerich to his drowning demise.

"That's awesome, girl! Skarmory should replay that in the Best of Aromatisse Moments." Drifblim was impressed.

"That's why you never call us ugly." Aromatisse seemed proud of herself.

The two soon made their way into the control room, hoping that Farfetch'd would still be fine.

Did Raticate actually drown and die? Of course, not. Let's say a certain dragon with a jetpack just happened to 'rescue' him.

* * *

Farfetch'd marched inside the control room bravely. His eyes were unyielding. His body language showed a strong sense of seriousness. This wasn't a challenge, a game or a battle to the death. Rather, it was the confrontation of two clashing ideals. The culinary conflict of chefs. The showdown between the thief and the grief-giver.

Chef Drapion stared at Farfetch'd with empty eyes. Behind him was a trash bag. The war minister could sense Alakazam's presence inside.

"I look so pitiful to you, huh? A low-ranking chef, a short-tempered scorpion and a poisonous pilferer. What's else to add? Probably many more but, do you even know why I hate you so much? Why I despise Skarmory, his damn show and everything that lies in it?" Chef Drapion questioned with a lifeless tone.

"I figure that you just envy his success and ours." Farfetch'd assumed, looking indifferent. Chef Drapion chuckled in amusement.

"Why should I envy a delusional freak like you and an unprofessional, incompetent, crybaby of a host?" Chef Drapion defended. "I know we aren't here to talk so why don't you try to get past me and rescue Alakazam?" He challenged with cold confidence.

"Oh, we will!" Farfetch'd whipped up Air Slash. The chef used his frying pan to block the attack effortlessly.

Farfetch'd charged straight at Chef Drapion and struck rapidly with Ms. Stick. Chef Drapion parried all of the blows and grabbed Farfetch'd with his stinger before throwing the duck against the wall.

Farfetch'd bounced off the wall and charged up Ms. Stick with normal type energy, using Slash.

Chef Drapion smacked Farfetch'd's face powerfully with the frying pan before slapping him away with Knock Off, disarming Ms. Stick. Immediately, Farfetch'd reached out to retrieve Ms. Stick before preparing a defensive stance.

Farfetch'd panted and huffed heavily as he was clearly outmatched.

"Not so strong without your stalk, huh? You're clearly worthless and pathetic. If I'm you, I'll put your skills into good use rather than wasting it all on some imaginary friend." Chef Drapion degraded.

"Mr. Stalk is real! Rahhh!" Farfetch'd shouted furiously, roaring as he struck back with Revenge. Chef Drapion merely responded with a mighty Cross Poison. Trading blows, Farfetch'd took a lot more damage than Chef Drapion. He had fallen down, just a few steps away from the trash bag.

Chef Drapion kicked him back to the door, erasing his progress.

"I won't give up just yet. For Mr… Stalk." Farfetch'd tried to get up with the support of Ms. Stick but he failed.

"Take awe and inspiration from my power for I gain it through effort alone, not delusion or birth." Chef Drapion opened his arms wide, voicing with influence.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you try to kill us for money?!" Farfetch'd asked accusingly.

"Murder? Sure, I'm a thief but I'm not a *beep* murder! Don't associate me with them." Chef Drapion's eyes suddenly lit up with years of suffering. He speeded at Farfetch'd and throttled him.

"I'm only taking what rightfully belongs to me. What this world owes me. You've no right to judge!" Chef Drapion was triggered.

Suddenly, the door opened and Drifblim rode the Fairy Wind, colliding against Chef Drapion with Fly. Even though Drifblim took some damage, this move combination was very effective.

"Gah!" Chef Drapion got knocked away and Farfetch'd was freed. Aromatisse quickly helped him back to his feet.

"It's three against one, chef. Surrender now." Drifblim advised.

"Heh, no way. I'll take you all down!" Chef Drapion refused stubbornly. He hastily grabbed Aromatisse and Farfetch'd with his pincers and stabbed Drifblim with Fell Stinger. The chef threw the weak Farfetch'd at Drifblim, knocking them both out of the room.

Chef Drapion got an easy opportunity to power himself up now. He singled out Aromatisse with Cross Poison before draining her strength with Fell Stinger.

"I'm s-so sorry, every… one." Aromatisse said before she lost her consciousness. Chef Drapion tossed her body out and confronted the other two in the rain.

Godly Guy Grovyle started playing the piano, pouring his sweat and tears into the music. It conveyed the feeling of an adventure's end.

Farfetch'd moaned in pain but he still had the strength to fight. Drifblim looked much better than him. However, she looked quite unconfident.

"Farfetch'd, keep your distance. Don't let Chef Drapion suck your energy with Fell Stinger or else we're done for." Drifblim warned and Farfetch'd nodded.

Farfetch'd walked backwards as the chef slowly stepped toward him intimidatingly. He whipped up another Air Slash. Sadly, it barely dealt any damage at all.

Drifblim charged at Chef Drapion with Fly. Seemingly, she headed straight for him. However, she changed her direction sharply at the end to strike him from the side. Chef Drapion was prepared for this and struck her down with Night Slash.

"Aurgh!" Drifblim clutched her wound. She was now in the same condition as Farfetch'd.

Trumbeak watched from above, contemplating if he should take measures into his own wings. He waited for a right opportunity if there was any to begin with. Worse case scenario, he would quickly swoop down and rescue the contestants, escaping without Alakazam.

"Hah, this is all you got? I'm sorely disappointed. It seems only Lucario can be my match." Chef Drapion looked bored until a sneaky smirk appeared abruptly on his face.

"Farfetch'd, you know what? It's time to tell you the truth. It was no one other than me. I stole Mr. Stalk from you the entire time. Bad news for you, I cooked him up good. He's now no longer with _us_." Chef Drapion made a grand reveal. "Show me your rage, show me, _grief_."

Drifblim gasped, astounded. She eyed Farfetch'd with sympathy and anxiety. There was a hint of guilt.

Godly Guy Grovyle slammed his fingers on the piano and thunders wailed deafeningly.

Farfetch'd's eyes were consumed by the green light. The thunderous clouds swirled above him. He compressed Ms. Stick and indescribable hatred controlled his movements.

"Why the *beep* hell did you kill him?!" Farfetch'd moved as fast as lightning itself, disappearing and appearing behind the chef. Using both hands, Farfetch'd's Slash made a nasty bleeding cut mark.

"Argh! This is more like it. You don't need that stalk after all, you see? He's useless. Better throw him away and accept reality." Chef Drapion tried to grab him. However, Farfetch'd's swift movements made him uncatchable.

"I'll throw you away and accept your blood!" Farfetch'd turned into a ferocious beast. He enchanted Ms. Stick with Revenge. The red bloody energy crested her. With one strike, Chef Drapion got sent crashing through the wall of the control room, colliding against the operating panel. The system malfunctioned, activating its last resort.

The self-destruction system.

Red lights flashed all over the airship as the gecko god prepared his curtain song for anyone in the proximity of his life-ending performance.

Absolute fear overwhelmed Drifblim. It wasn't just the red flashing lights and the fact that the battery was about to blow itself up.

Farfetch'd terrified her.

At the time, she couldn't think clearly. She didn't try to get Alakazam and escape. The fact that Chef Drapion's 'thievery' was unexplained didn't cross her mind either.

"Catch!" Farfetch'd snapped Drifblim back to reality, throwing the trash bag at her. The ghost girl caught it and fled, expecting Farfetch'd to do the same.

Trumbeak promptly carried Aromatisse's body to the ship and glanced around quickly to check if all of his crew members were presented.

Farfetch'd re-entered the control room instead of escaping rationally.

"Farfetch'd, escape now! For the love of god!" Trumbeak implored.

"Revenge isn't worth your life! Please escape! *beep* escape!" Drifblim made her voice as loud as possible. Farfetch'd ignored both of them.

"He won't listen! What are we going to do?" Trumbeak looked extremely stressed. Drifblim wished that she could pull Farfetch'd out. But in this injured state, that was impossible. There must be a way. Think, Drifblim, think!

* * *

Chef Drapion crawled out to the exit, bleeding badly. However, Farfetch'd blocked his way. The thief looked up, whimpering at the deranged face of the devil himself.

"You take Mr. Stalk's life, I take your life. We'll die together. When we're in hell, I'll kill you again, again and _again_. Mwahahaha…" Farfetch'd had completely lost it.

"You don't understand. I didn't actually steal him. It was a lie! Please let me *beep* live!" Chef Drapion confessed, begging.

"You expect me to believe a thief like you? No way, time to give you, _grief_." Farfetch'd refused to listen, grinning madly.

"Don't you have a girlfriend, a loved one, anything?" Chef Drapion reminded. Farfetch'd widened his eyes.

Swanna, Bisharp, all the others and… Ms. Stick. What the hell was he doing?! It was as if he was under the divine spell of Godly Guy Grovyle.

Farfetch'd ran out, forgetting about Chef Drapion. The chef crawled slowly behind him.

Outside, the two witnessed the master of true destruction. Godly Guy Grovyle stopped playing his piano and curled into a ball, charging up tremendous amount of electricity.

It was too late. This would be Farfetch'd's swan song.

Godly Guy Grovyle extended his arms and wings out, releasing a gigantic explosion of electricity. The floor in front of Farfetch'd slowly vanished, turning white.

Farfetch'd gazed into his imminent death, shedding a tear.

"Ms. Stick, we'll see Mr. Stalk now." This was the last thing he said as he held Ms. Stick close to him.

Until a giant cannonball blasted him and Chef Drapion out of the death zone. Trumbeak saved both of them with the airship.

Godly Guy Grovyle was finally freed from the mind-control. Looking around obliviously, he shrugged before flying back to the firmament.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Trumbeak:** "Drifblim will win immunity. Even though Farfetch'd did a great job of destroying our enemies, the challenge isn't all about that. It's about saving lives. Drifblim was the one who gave me the idea to fire off the cannon, blasting them to safety."

 **Drifblim:** "Everything that has happened today… was all too real. I never realize the full consequences of my actions. I know that not everything is my fault but I think I contributed to it. I'm indirectly responsible for what happened to Farfetch'd. He didn't die but, he could've died." She sobbed. "This day sucks! I don't care if the viewers think this is the best episode ever. They don't have the first-hand experience. They won't understand anything! This episode is the worst, followed by the Lucario's medical evacuation one. Drama shouldn't be taken to the extreme. There should be a limit. I'm so _sorry_." She broke down into tears.

* * *

Farfetch'd and Chef Drapion got taken into the infirmary. Chef Drapion recovered first, greeted by Skarmory's cold and disgusted eyes. Furret was next to him, showing a more aggressive and hostile look.

"Chef! What put you over the edge?! Why did you risk the life of the contestants and the interns? If it's just money, you can just ask!" Skarmory sounded the angriest he had ever been.

Farfetch'd regained his consciousness now. However, he kept his eyes close and listened to their conversation secretly.

"Why? You want to know why? Fine, I'll tell you. It's because I hate you! You're born with everything. You can get everything so easily but me, my life is the exact opposite. My parents are *beep* murderers!" Chef Drapion revealed with visceral hatred in his voice.

"No matter where I go, I'm attached with this stigma that I'm a murderer. A *beep* murderer! No one would accept me or give me a job until I erased my identity completely. Even then, I need to work my ass off every single day, doing all the drudgery, begging and even stealing. I've worked so hard. In the end, I can only enroll in a shitty one-star cooking school. I've worked so hard but my life didn't get any better. Why?! But you...!" Chef Drapion pointed at Skarmory with envy under the disguise of hatred. The host flinched.

"Even when you don't know how to host this show *beep* properly, you're still loved and successful. Only if I was born like you, I could've done so much more. More successful, richer, smarter! This world is so *beep* unfair!" Chef Drapion ranted. Skarmory averted his eyes. Furret tugged his wing, giving him a revitalizing look of reassurance. She then turned to Chef Drapion with a critical look.

"Do you seriously think your birth dictates everything? If you believe that, then I seriously doubt the authenticity of your story. I know your work ethic here, Drapion. That alone is a huge red flag. You might think you can manipulate my sensitive husband but, not when I'm here." Furret saw through the surface of his story.

"You!" Chef Drapion extended his right arm to attack Furret. However, she grabbed it effortlessly and compressed mercilessly. Chef Drapion made a series of noises indicating pain. Skarmory gave her a disapproving look, shaking his head. Furret stopped.

"Chef, your life didn't get any better? Really? Here, you get paid. You get to live with above average accommodation. What's so bad about your life now?" Skarmory questioned. He wanted to know if it was really his fault or not.

"Sure, I get a bit more of this and that. Still, you reduce me into a joke. Get lost, Skarmory. I don't want to see your face again. Jail sounds better than here." Chef Drapion said bitterly, avoiding eye contact.

Skarmory lowered his head. He couldn't comprehend why Chef Drapion hates him so much. Did he really treat the chef that badly? Reduce him into a joke? Or was it all the chef's fault and he just twisted the words to make him feel guilty?

"Don't waste any more time with him. He isn't worth it. Let the police deal with the rest." Furret pulled Skarmory out of the infirmary and the host formed a small smile.

A female Scizor and male Mightyena eventually arrived to arrest Chef Drapion. They tied him up with ropes and dragged him away.

"Wait!" Farfetch'd rushed over to the police. "Can I speak to him for a moment? It's something important." He requested. The two looked at each other before they nodded.

"What? Let me guess. Mr. Stalk?" Chef Drapion assumed emotionlessly.

"No, I figure that you lied. How can you be the thief when Nosepass confessed? You denied strongly at first as well." Farfetch'd figured through reasoning.

"Took you long enough." Chef Drapion drawled. "What is it, then?"

"Chef, I really, really despise you for playing with my emotions and my beliefs. However, I feel like I can understand you. The society has no place for us but I've earned my place through perseverance. My mom never gives me the financial support to join a prestigious cooking school or hire sports coaches to teach me baseball and skateboarding. I earned the money through contests and scholarships. I also study on my own. Why can't you do the same? Hard work brings success." Farfetch'd questioned from experience.

"Enough with your treacly platitude! You think everything is that simple? You don't understand me. Get lost. Police, bring me to *beep* jail already!" Chef Drapion scowled, turning away.

Farfetch'd watched as Chef Drapion was dragged away by the two police officers. Another group of police soon joined them with Raticate, who was in a full body cast. As Chef Drapion's figure grew smaller and smaller, Farfetch'd felt that he understood the chef less and less.

His birth might be sympathetic, but not anything else about him. Chef Drapion's negative attitude contributed to his pitiful life. But was it really all his fault? Farfetch'd wanted to know about him a little more. More than he got first place in his one-star cooking school and Garbodor didn't seem to be holding much ill-will toward him. He clearly had put in some effort. Therefore, how did he end up this way? The more he thought about these things, the more he got depressed.

To his delight, however, Drifblim and Aromatisse came to check on him, putting a smile on his face again. The four hugged (including Ms. Stick, of course), celebrating their survival. Alakazam came and gave them his thanks as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "After some clarification, I now know that Chef Drapion isn't the thief. So, who is it? Is there someone really obvious that I miss? Wait…" She had a moment of sudden realization.

 **Aromatisse:** "I'm pretty sure Drifblim will bring me to the finale. We're a lot closer than Farfetch'd's whatever relationship with her."

 **Farfetch'd:** "If I'm eliminated, it's okay. We just hope that Skarmory will tell me what has happened to Mr. Stalk the whole time." His eyes turned watery. "I miss him s-so much." He began wiping his tears away.

* * *

Skarmory called Aromatisse and Farfetch'd over to the snowy area. The host stood in front of the Ice Skarmory Cave, waiting patiently. Once they arrived, he had a huge smile on his face, still grateful for their survival.

"Aromatisse and Farfetch'd, Drifblim wants the final elimination ceremony to be dramatic. Therefore, she told me two locations. In one of these locations, Drifblim will be there. She'll tell you the result. Aromatisse, come with me. I'll show you the path to Skarmory Area. Farfetch'd, head inside the Delibird Workshop." Skarmory instructed.

Aromatisse immediately had a jubilant smile on her face. She was absolutely sure that she would make it to the finale. On the other hand, Farfetch'd already accepted his elimination.

The traffic cones blocking the path to the snowy mountain got removed and Aromatisse walked with light, energetic steps.

Farfetch'd lifted Ms. Stick up and smiled at her with an accepting nod before walking slowly to the workshop.

Aromatisse hiked the mountain enthusiastically. She didn't mind the cold weather and the tiresome journey one bit.

Farfetch'd opened the door of the workshop and absorbed in all of the surroundings. He remembered that Drifblim used to guide him around here.

Skarmory smirked as they reached the resting area. There was a cool-looking black helicopter next to the small wooden cabin.

Drifblim was in the gift shop, gesturing for Farfetch'd to come inside. Farfetch'd widened his eyes in surprise.

"Aromatisse…" Skarmory gained her attention. Aromatisse anticipated the result positively.

"Farfetch'd…" Drifblim built up suspense. Hope started showing itself in his eyes.

…

…

"You're eliminated." Skarmory revealed. Aromatisse was shocked.

* * *

 **Elimination Confessional**

Wow, I didn't see this coming. My girl Drifblim betrayed me. Well, I guess I'll be cheering for Farfetch'd now. Just kidding, I'll cheer for the both of you, my friends. Even though I've lost, I feel like I'm coming out of this game two times smarter, three times stronger, five times more beautiful and obviously ten times more fabulous. I feel like I've grown as a Pokemon and that's what matters the most. Who would expect me to make it this far in a game with the likes of Lucario? My only hope now is that Decidueye likes me…

* * *

"You're safe. I also got a present for you." Drifblim handed him a light green gift box.

"Is it…?" Farfetch'd gaped. Drifblim nodded. Farfetch'd shredded the wrapping paper ridiculously fast and rapidly kissed Mr. Stalk.

"You're back, you're back, you're back!" Farfetch'd repeated, hugging Mr. Stalk affectionately with tears falling from his face. Words couldn't describe his overflowing joy. Drifblim was happy for him. However, her smile soon turned into a frown.

"Drifblim, thank-" Farfetch'd was about to thank Drifblim profusely until she interrupted.

"No, Farfetch'd." Drifblim shook her head. "It's not what you expected. I'm Nosepass' accomplice." She confessed, getting the burden off her shoulders.

Farfetch'd stared at her in disbelief, betrayed. Hatred soon manifested itself into his eyes.

"Why?! Nosepass got his reason but what about you?! Tell me!" Farfetch'd demanded, grabbing her by the collar. However, Drifblim pushed him away.

"You see… Both of us got our own style of playing this game. You're like the hero, challenged and tested by many difficulties and obstacles. Yet, you maintained your values and morals to a certain degree, refusing to submit to the darkness. I'm the villain, I don't care what it takes to reach the end. The method doesn't matter, only the result. If you think that's wrong then, stop me in the finale. You shall be my final test. I give you Mr. Stalk back because I'll beat you at your strongest and prove it once and for all that I'm worthy to win this game!" Drifblim explained passionately.

"Oh, I'll stop you, thief and top you with grief." Farfetch'd adjusted his lyrics. Both of them had an intense staring contest. They will have a showdown in the finale to see which reigns supreme: heroism or villainy. Putting the two together, the line between light and darkness was seemingly blurred.

* * *

Skarmory rode the helicopter with Aromatisse. They waved at the camera.

"See you next time on the finale of Total Skarmory Island!" The two said in unison.

* * *

The credits rolled with the flashback.

Heracross was seen sneaking inside Nosepass' secret base. She changed the location of Mr. Stalk, hiding him under the snowy depths of the Ice Skarmory Cave. She removed her bedsheets and clawed the mattress open. The beetle smirked as she hid a note inside, feeling smart. She would tell Drifblim about it in a subtle manner when she was eliminated.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Heracross:** "See? I'm smart. I can do stuff like this too. In your face, Shedinja!"

* * *

I won't create the votes section in this chapter. It's redundant.

Funfacts: This chapter has the least confessional counts. I've purposefully done this to show the impact of the events that has happened. I'm sure not many of them would be in the mood to use the confessional. Skarmory's actual viewers will get to see Godly Guy Grovyle as well, not just my readers because the cameras couldn't capture all of the footage during the fight. Skarmory would hire animators to make the scenes look humorous and fit the atmosphere. Did you know that there's a secret hint regarding the finalists? The genres of this story are Drama for Drifblim and Friendship for Farfetch'd.

I recommend my viewers to play Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Adventure's End for the Chef Drapion fight. Try to reread the scene with the music. Sometimes, everything can't be described through words.

The next chapter will be the last time I'm replying to reviews. This is your last chance. Feel free to ask any questions about my future projects and such.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and see you next time! Final Destination, 1 vs 1, Skarmory Area, interns and guests on.


	31. Chapter 31

Before I start this chapter, I want to give a special thank you to Roran the Zoroark. He decided to be my editor. There should be less mistakes from here on out. I've made three minor changes. You can check it out now or after the finale.

Chapter 18's Skarmory Cape scene got improved.

Chapter 19's Meowth influencing Lucario's vote scene got improved.

Chapter 24's Lucario Incident scene received a few extra lines to make it more descriptive.

New readers can ignore this. I also forgot to tell you since proof-reading Ch 1-17 that Chapter 12 elimination scene got changed.

Anyways, enjoy the finale!

* * *

 **Reply to Reviews**

 **Worma-Sir**

Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout the entire journey. I imagine that if you weren't there in the first place, I wouldn't be here today.

 **Parousia45**

Thank you as well for reviewing frequently. You are very insightful, I'm sure you can interpret a lot of things in this chapter.

 **Fallenstreet01**

Are you secretly a fortune teller? This chapter will tell if your predictions are all right.

* * *

 **Finale: Final Destination! Go BIG or go home!**

The camera displayed Skarmory Island and all its glory from a bird's eye view. The island consisted of nine differentiable areas. Like normal living creatures, the areas argued sometimes. The composed and chill snowy area couldn't stand the hot headed and impatient desert area, vice versa.

Yet, despite their differences, they could cooperate and co-exist as a unit. During days where the evil roots of darkness tried to suck the desert area dry of its resources, the snowy area came to freeze the ferocious foe. In return, the desert area extinguished the flames of hatred for the snowy area.

Similarly, the contestants all came together from different walks of life. They left many memories here, in this epic struggle of a lifetime that was about to reach its conclusion.

The camera flashed many images across the screen. Skarmory voiced over them.

Contestants landed one after another…

"A month ago, thirty two contestants arrived at Skarmory Island in hopes of winning 1,000,000 P and fulfilling their life-long dreams."

Grovyle and Bisharp formed an early connection.

Darmanitan fanboyed over Lucario.

Helioptile took care of the shy Snorunt.

Tyrunt and Elekid talked about their hobbies and interests.

"Some got along well…"

Heracross bugged Shedinja.

Scolipede exposed Meowstic's tricks.

Skrelp bullied Jumpluff.

"…and some didn't."

Lucario hustled the Flygon statue to the finish line.

Bisharp worked in the darkness of the ruined hotel.

Duosion endured the sports massage.

Drifblim taught the interns to be rebels.

Nosepass went on a fake date.

"They competed in a wide variety of challenges to avoid elimination."

Archeops invited Skrelp into her alliance.

Heracross and Miltank linked arms.

Houndour, Duosion and Meowth jumped, celebrating the creation of the Treasure Trio.

Lucario asked Meowth to be his friend.

Grovyle exaggerated his qualities to Dedenne, Bisharp and the others.

"Along the way, alliances were formed and big personalities emerged."

Bisharp bonded with Jumpluff.

Houndour kissed Duosion.

Scolipede smooched Ledyba.

Cryogonal kissed cardboard Shedinja.

"Love blossomed…"

Bisharp and Grovyle choked each other.

Lucario sold Darmanitan for a single vote.

Meowth confronted Duosion and Houndour in the desert area with his assistant.

"…just like friendships were destroyed."

Meowth schemed with Darmanitan to switch the guns.

Drifblim manipulated Meowth to give his advantage away.

"Tricks were played."

Farfetch'd played his cards down.

Aromatisse threw Larvitar into the mud.

"Two fallen contestants earned their redemption."

Rhyhorn told Nosepass everything on the summit.

Houndour sacrificed himself for Lucario.

Lucario had his emotional departure.

Drifblim broke down into tears after Skarmory faked her elimination.

Farfetch'd nearly died.

"Feelings were felt."

The screen was divided into six squares, showing all thirty eliminations in a span of five seconds.

"After countless eliminations, we're left with our two finalists: Drifblim and Farfetch'd."

Farfetch'd distanced himself from everyone, keeping Mr. Stalk close.

Farfetch'd talked with his partner, weirding others out.

"Farfetch'd started off with a poor social game, isolating himself from everyone."

Farfetch'd struck the meatball at Skrelp's face.

Farfetch'd refused to campaign for any votes or form any alliances.

Skarmory announced Farfetch'd's elimination.

"Because of his strict code of honor, he was eliminated early."

Farfetch'd rode the boat back with Aromatisse.

Farfetch'd cried emotionally after hearing about his girlfriend from Dedenne.

"However, he returned with a vow to win with integrity and honor for his girlfriend."

Farfetch'd saved Bisharp from the baggage boy, Ursaring.

Farfetch'd rescued Aromatisse and Meowth from the spike balls.

Farfetch'd opened his heart, accepting Bisharp, Aromatisse and Ms. Stick.

"Due to a twist of events, Farfetch'd eventually opened his heart to others and reminded the viewers that facing hardships with friends and family is better than doing it alone."

Farfetch'd skateboarded down Loser Island's stair railing.

Farfetch'd jammed the cannon of the Smokerich.

Farfetch'd knocked Duosion out with a powered-up Night Slash.

Farfetch'd destroyed Chef Drapion with Revenge.

"Will the war minister win with his years of experience in the battlefield and a professional music award?"

Farfetch'd danced his hit single 'I see you, thief. I give you, grief.' for a while before the screen shifted to Drifblim.

Drifblim and Meowth had a great time playing Monopoly together.

Drifblim strengthened her ties with Heracross.

Drifblim befriended Aromatisse, earning easy access into Duosion's group.

"Unlike Farfetch'd, Drifblim had a stellar social game."

Drifblim gave Larvitar the idea to sabotage.

Drifblim stroked Skrelp's ego, hiding behind her shadow.

Drifblim flattered Grovyle, puppeteering him sneakily.

Drifblim secretly released Meowth & Co. corrupted files to the public.

"She strategically maneuvered through the game by manipulating other villains. With an impressive record of one vote received throughout all elimination ceremonies, she solidified her status as the best antagonist."

Rhyhorn compressed her head down the sand.

Bisharp froze her down the drain.

Meowth fired the sleeping dart at her.

Drifblim got flogged by Ursaring.

"However, she was by no means perfect. The superfan made a few mistakes that nearly ruined her game."

Drifblim gave Nosepass the Pokepuff.

Drifblim knocked Raticate away from Aromatisse.

Drifblim saved Farfetch'd's life.

"Drifblim also surprisingly showed her kind side. She isn't just a mere heartless villain. Rather, a passionate fan that loves this gameshow more than anyone."

Drifblim made an emotional appeal to Dusclops.

Drifblim teased Skarmory just for fun.

Drifblim addressed the viewers inside the confessional with the utmost desire to please them inside her eyes and words.

"Will the education minister win and pass down her legacy to the next generation of strategists and fans alike? Or will she fail and Total Drama shall forever be plagued by flat cardboard contestants?"

Drifblim bent cardboard Bisharp out of shape, breaking him.

The recap session was finally over. The camera showed Skarmory standing on a garden bridge, smiling with uncontrollable excitement.

"The first finalist to find me wins the million. However, it isn't as easy and simple as it sounds. Stay tuned and keep your eyes locked on the screen to find out the winner on the finale of Total… Skarmory… Island!" Skarmory shouted with fervor.

* * *

Instead of sleeping in their usual cabins, Farfetch'd and Drifblim rested in the small wooden cabin for the night. The cabin had two small bedrooms and a cozy living room by the fireplace.

The bed barely fitted in the bedroom, taking up to three quarters of the entire area already. The other quarter was for the tiny restroom. You would think our finalists were living inadequately, but no.

The Beartic skin bedsheets warmed their bodies up nicely, giving off this strange soothing smell.

The wall between them was very thin, allowing thoughts to be transferred. Drifblim could hear Farfetch'd's beautiful delusional conversations with his two guardians. At the same time, Farfetch'd detected Drifblim's dramatic dreams.

The beautiful silver light on the ceiling wasn't intrusive to their eyes at all. They could leave it on and still sleep peacefully. The light overlooked their safety as they slept.

To describe it simply, cramped but comfortable.

The golden sun rose and the snow shook.

Farfetch'd and Drifblim exited their respective rooms around the same time.

Drifblim got out first. The superfan couldn't control her nervousness and excitement. Every second, she either mentally prepared herself for the challenge or thought about how winning would change her life.

Sitting on the Glalie beanbag, Drifblim was pleasantly surprised to see that the interns prepared a reinvigorating meal on the table for them.

The aroma of the rich coffee energized them, complimenting the Leppa Berry rice with Flygon meat. The coffee mugs apparently featured an Abomasnow.

Drifblim grabbed her spoon and fork but she didn't eat yet. Instead, she fiddled with them as she stared into the fireplace, passion burning in her eyes.

"I can do this. I can win. Don't choke, don't choke…" Drifblim repeated quietly to herself.

Farfetch'd opened the door weirdly, using both Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick to turn the doorknob around. Upon seeing Drifblim, he frowned a little. Although, there didn't seem to be any hostility.

Drifblim noticed Farfetch'd and dropped her eating utensils down on her plate with a clang.

The situation was very awkward for the two, to say the very least.

Farfetch'd felt conflicted about Drifblim. On one hand, she helped Nosepass stealing Mr. Stalk. On the other, she saved his life and returned Mr. Stalk back after all. She was a thief, but a heroic one.

Drifblim felt angst around Farfetch'd. She rescued him, but she was also aware that she contributed to the mess. She feared him after witnessing what he did to Chef Drapion. Deep inside, she regretted bringing him to the finale. However, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Drifblim would achieve total triumph proudly or she rather lose than winning the cowardly way. She hid behind other contestants for long enough. Time to confront karma bravely.

Drifblim mustered up her courage and erased any semblance of fear from her body language: eyes firmed, muscles relaxed and a clear head.

"Sit and eat, Farfetch'd. You don't want the food to go cold." Drifblim spoke first, smiling politely.

Farfetch'd glared at her for a short moment before sitting down. He used his dual weapons to slice and slay the Food Kingdom soldiers skillfully. He ate at a faster pace than normal.

Drifblim took a sip of the coffee, tasting bitter and cold.

Farfetch'd finished chewing and enunciated a few heavy words. "Proud of yourself?"

"Of course, I made it to the finale." Drifblim answered simply, focusing on her food.

"You could have earned our respect. You could have made new friends. Instead, you chose to antagonize others… What made you different from the other villains, Drifblim? Just because you saved us, doesn't mean we'll go easy on you. Don't just say you're a superfan that wants to please the viewers either. Mr. Stalk can list many more ways to entertain the viewing public better than yours." Farfetch'd questioned discerningly. Drifblim's composure crumbled, listening to him.

"No villain can match the love I have for this game. You might think I'm just fueling sadistic television culture but no… I want to break the mold! I want to revolutionize the stale customs and conventions of Total Drama and its perpetual cycle of unoriginality! Same challenges, same twists, same cardboard contestants. I hate all of it!" Drifblim explained passionately.

"By taking Mr. Stalk away from me?! Was that your definition of breaking the mold and pleasing the viewers? Do you even know how much he freaking means to me?!" Farfetch'd countered sharply, banging the table with Mr. Stalk.

Drifblim turned silent temporarily. Farfetch'd watched, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry, Farfetch'd. I must have caused you so much suffering. Too much to forgive… However, please know that I mean no real harm. I'm well aware that I'm only pleasing a niche audience. Most viewers and contestants will hate me. Regardless, I will bear all of the pain without an ounce of regret." Drifblim expressed her emotions substantially without shouting. "Because this is my dream… I won't have it any other way. I will play however I want. At the end of the day, I want to make myself proud." She nearly cried.

Farfetch'd empathized with her, but he didn't show it. His eyes remained critically unwavering.

They're both similar. Both were stubborn contestants that had their own ways of doing things. Both were talented and… flawed.

"Show us then. If you want us to see and believe it, use your own actions. We'll have no mercy though. I'll destroy you, thief." Farfetch'd got up and headed to the door coldly.

"You bet I will." Drifblim resolved.

Farfetch'd's lips moved back down to its normal position as he exited the cabin for his final training session.

Drifblim finished eating her food and prepared herself mentally rather than physically. Even then, she still did a few stretches here and there.

Curiously, the ghost girl floated to the closed curtains and pulled the Ivysaur vine curtain draw rod. She watched Farfetch'd's skillful swordplay with anxiety.

The war minister's movements resembled a deadly dance. He cut a falling snowflake in half with Mr. Stalk before spinning around and slashed another with Ms. Stick. He pursued them like a real stalker, striking them down before they could reach the ground.

Farfetch'd jumped up and sliced one viciously, eyeing Drifblim on his way down. Farfetch'd landed and made a sweeping motion, kicking the snow at the window.

Drifblim flinched as Farfetch'd grinned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "It'll be a three against one, Drifblim. Victory's in our reach, Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick."

 **Drifblim:** She breathed heavily. "Come on, Drifblim. Get yourself together! Think about the viewers, your friends, Ariados, anything to snap you out of your irrational worries. You aren't Scolipede. You need to win. You've done too much to let it all go to waste!"

* * *

Skarmory soon called, instructing them to hike up the summit. Fortunately, it wasn't that far away from the resting area.

Farfetch'd hiked up using Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick like a skilled mountaineer. He was filled with confidence.

Drifblim floated up, looking less nervous. Recalling her past accomplishments and happiest moments helped a lot.

Of course, Skarmory wasn't at the summit to tell them the final challenge. The finalists were greeted with a wooden post in his stead.

"This thing looks more professional than you, Skarmory." Drifblim returned to her more confident self gradually.

The wooden post had the following written:

Total Skarmory Island Finale!

Find Skarmory first to win the million! You're allowed to use moves to attack and everything.

Guest Gates: Find three guests in Skarmory Area and complete their missions to earn a clue. Violence is restricted in those places.

Intern's Intimidation: Interns will hunt you alive. If they knock you out cold, you will be teleported back to the summit for a revival. In return, that intern will receive a 5,000 P bonus.

A fair word of warning, the interns are well-geared.

Break Bypasses: There are safe zones where violence isn't allowed. Enter one of these zones and it will be your new revival point. Use them to your advantage.

Give it your all! From Skarmory.

Drifblim didn't hesitate to attack after finishing the second line, grabbing Farfetch'd. Unfortunately for her, Farfetch'd reacted fast. He freed himself by using Night Slash, targeting her front arms.

"Ah!" Drifblim screamed in pain, retreating backward while clutching her wounded arms.

"Mr. Stalk sees it coming from a mile away. Your dirty tricks won't work against us." Farfetch'd took an offensive stance.

Drifblim clicked her tongue before turning invisible, quickly reading the post and fled.

Farfetch'd chuckled, seemingly amused by her pitiful attempt. He built up speed and jumped, throwing Mr. Stalk down and snowboarded to Skarmory area coolly.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "It seems I can't try anything funny around him. Well, there's gotta be something else I can do." She looked deep in thought.

* * *

"Speaking of the challenge, it 's certainly an interesting choice by Skarmory. A clear and simple objective but very complicated routes and obstacles. The interns won't be a problem if I can manipulate them."

Farfetch'd made grunting sounds as he spun and twirled midair on his stalk snowboard. He skipped all over dangerous rocks and landed like a professional, maintaining great balance.

"Ms. Stick, watch your brother carefully and learn from him. Someday, you can perform those tricks too." Farfetch'd inspired, seemingly a bit too relaxed.

Subsequently, Farfetch'd overlooked a cardboard rock he skipped over.

Snorlax sprang out of his sneaky trap and started using Rollout, snowballing toward Farfetch'd. The duck turned his head back and widened his eyes.

"Ms. Stick, one scoop of Snorlax ice cream, urgently!" Farfetch'd alerted, charging Revenge and bashed the giant snowball backward. Snorlax made a yelping sound.

"Mr. Stalk, time to finish the order." Farfetch'd dismounted Mr. Stalk and picked him up, whipping an Air Slash cream to supplement the dessert. Snorlax's Rollout halted to a stop, with the intern slowly rolling down the mountain harmlessly.

"Where is my ice cream, Chef Stalk?" Snorlax asked dizzily, drooling.

Farfetch'd looked satisfied with the result until…

Drifblim collided against his back with Fly, sending him smashing into a rock.

"Argh! You!" Farfetch'd held his back in pain and pointed Mr. Stalk at Drifblim sourly.

"Enjoy your stalk sundae, Snorlax." Drifblim waved, quickly vanishing.

Farfetch'd got up with the support of his guardians until Snorlax stomped him.

"Sorry, Mr. Stalk. I'm a fan but I need the allowance to buy more desserts. Maybe, Ill teach you my language for free as an apology. Sundae, sweet, sugar, fudge, crush!" Snorlax readied Heavy Slam.

Suddenly, Snorlax moved around unsteadily. He toppled beside Farfetch'd and yawned.

"Must resist the urge… to sleep." Snorlax snored, falling asleep.

Farfetch'd sighed in relief, catching a lucky break. Although, he looked troubled by something.

"What did you say, Mr. Stalk? You notice something's off?" Farfetch'd consulted with his trusty partner before crouching down and inspected Snorlax's face.

He used Mr. Stalk to poke Snorlax's upper lip up, investigating his poor oral hygiene.

Farfetch'd looked baffled when he found coffee stain on his teeth.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Mr. Stalk, coffee is supposed to keep you awake, right? It has caffeine. This doesn't make any sense…"

* * *

Drifblim descended down the entire mountain hastily, gaining a respectable lead over Farfetch'd.

Snow started to clear out as she got closer to Skarmory Area. Heaters were installed all over, melting down all the snow from pine trees.

Drifblim anticipated the aesthetics of Skarmory Area. In just a few moments, the long awaited and hyped final area would be revealed.

Squeezing herself through the last couple of trees, Drifblim finally met a shocking spectacle.

Unfamiliar interns fell asleep all over the place. It was a chaotic mess.

Sleeping bodies cluttered the grand double door entrance to the four-story dormitory…

To the right, the mini cinema got flocked by fallen heavy sleepers. The early-access, featured movie, 'The Hero of Darkness' cried, believing that its boringness was the cause.

To the left, the sports facility was filled with slackers. They had fallen to exhaustion and laziness. The Lucario poster from the cinema didn't punish them for some reason.

"This explains why only Snorlax guarded the way down." Drifblim mused. Was all of this intentional by Skarmory or what?

Drifblim floated to the dormitory first, turning invisible and peeking through the window. The first room was a gigantic mess hall. Tables and chairs varied in all sizes. The kitchen counter to the right opened a huge selection with the finest of foods. Multiple doors connected to the same room on the left side. The room stored props and equipment for challenges. The far end led to elevator and stairs.

Drifblim observed the ongoing commotion secretively.

Apparently, everyone fell asleep except for the following: Ursaring, Abomasnow, Shiinotic, Smeargle, Lurantis, Drilbur, Palossand, Druddigon, Wimpod, Dusclops, Haunter, Gengar and Alakazam (control room).

Shiinotic folded her arms, leaning against the left wall.

"Abomasnow, anything to defend yourself?" She asked accusingly.

"Miss Shiinotic, it isn't me. I would never drug anyone with my coffee." Abomasnow raised his hands defensively.

Ursaring stood next to Abomasnow, making defending gestures.

"Why the sore face, Shiinotic? This is actually good. Less interns means more chances for us to cash in the finalists." Ursaring reasoned. "Don't tell me you hate money." He chuckled, amused by the impossibility.

"Debatable. Less interns also means the finalists have a higher chance of surviving." Shiinotic argued.

Drifblim infiltrated through the left wall to explore inside the storage as the arguments didn't progress or make any interesting developments for a while.

Abomasnow defended himself from the onslaught of accusations. He was the prime suspect.

Ursaring laughed, wondering why they were arguing pointlessly instead of going after the finalists.

Shiinotic (dressed in her casino uniform, reminder: roulette dress and black hat with ace of spades) did most of the accusing, presenting logic for most of her points.

Druddigon (jetpack equipped) tried to follow the conversation, scratching his head.

Lurantis (wearing a floral headband with Heat Rock attached) played with her camera, ignoring reality.

Palossand (wearing an Assault Vest) hugged the sleeping interns, trying to wake them up to no avail.

Wimpod stayed close to the stairs, prepared to flee any second.

Gengar poked Dusclops' face for fun, refusing to listen or contribute to the discussion. The janitor chased the prankster around.

Haunter noticed Drifblim a while ago. He was trying to find the right opportunity to sneak off to catch her without the other interns knowing.

Smeargle brought Drilbur's name up, very much to the mole's dismay.

"I was in my room the entire time. I don't go out early in the morning." Drilbur said very naturally.

"Yes, but you're the mole. This is your type of thing." Smeargle based her entire accusation on stereotypes.

"Seems legit." Druddigon nodded, going along with it. Drilbur facepalmed.

Suddenly, an explosion was heard. Seemingly, it came from the storage.

"Quick! Check inside!" Ursaring shouted, pointing to the storage.

Before they got the chance, Farfetch'd barged through the door and blasted Air Slash consecutively at everyone.

"Mr. Stalk chooses to challenge all of you. Come at us!" Farfetch'd shouted daringly, running up to Ursaring first. The war minister struck him with Mr. Stalk using Revenge then he targeted Abomasnow with the same move. This dealt massive damage to both of them.

"Damn duck!" Ursaring heated up in anger. He charged ragingly with Take Down. Farfetch'd lifted up a sleeping Turtonator intern body and positioned her back as a shield. Ursaring widened his eyes, stopping just inches away from the spikes.

Shiinotic took this opportunity to blast Moonblast at them all with no discrimination. Ursaring jumped back while Farfetch'd held Turtonator as a shield.

Ursaring glared at Shiinotic, who returned an ingenuine sorry face.

Farfetch'd swung Turtonator's body around threateningly, signaling the interns to back off.

"Oh, great. The Minister for Holding Hostages is here. The hero we all need. Yay." Drilbur shook his fists and smiled in 'joy'.

"Ms. Stick, watch. This is one of the most important techniques in battle. Crowd control!" Farfetch'd lectured. He threw Turtonator at Druddigon, blasted Air Slash at Shiinotic, kicked the chair at Lurantis, flipped the table at Ursaring and rushed to Palossand for a powerful Night Slash. He did all of these things in rapid succession.

Abomasnow blasted Ice Beam at the flying type. However, Farfetch'd spun around skillfully behind Palossand, turning him into another hostage.

The sandcastle was frozen solid. Farfetch'd broke him free with a doubling Night Slash.

"Ouch! Meanie, I just want to give everyone a hug. A big, big hug!" Palossand exclaimed, retreating back slowly in fear. Farfetch'd didn't hesitate to finish him off with Air Slash. Even with the Assault Vest, Palossand was in a critical enough condition to faint.

The interns were stunned by Farfetch'd's performance. They all looked at each other anxiously.

Out of everyone, Drilbur looked the lividest, clenching his fists and eyeing Farfetch'd with resentment.

Drifblim blasted Haunter out of the storage with Shadow Ball and fled to the second floor. Most of the interns changed their target and chased after her immediately. The superfan looked terrified.

"Hey, take it easy, everyone. Distribute interns for each finalist evenly. Why are you all going after me?" Drifblim questioned.

"It's even. Just count. Me, Aboma, Shiinotic, Lurantis, Smeargle, Haunter, Gengar and Druddigon are chasing you." Ursaring indicated. "Drilbur and Dusclops are with Farfetch'd. Eight and two are both even numbers."

"Smartass." Drifblim muttered, zigzagging to avoid the interns' projectiles.

As the eight interns chased Drifblim, Farfetch'd grinned cockily at the two interns.

"We outnumber you now." Farfetch'd stated, glancing at both Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick.

"Why didn't I just follow the others?" Dusclops regretted.

"Just use your ghost abilities to escape. Common sense." Drilbur pointed out before digging underground.

"Oh yeah." Dusclops realized, leaving the room before Farfetch'd could completely crush both of them.

"Enemy troops exterminated. How is the experience, Ms. Stick?" Farfetch'd asked, shaking her a bit. "Awesome, huh? Anyways, let's find the guests."

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drilbur:** "I have something big planned for you, Farfetch'd. Time for my revenge."

 **Druddigon:** "With this hot, snazzy jetpack, I think I can get fast and easy kills." He showed off a jetpack with a flame design. "Farfetch'd, *beep* watch out. I'm going all out on you next time."

 **Drifblim:** "I can't fight those interns head on. I need to use my wits to overcome this challenge."

 **Farfetch'd:** "Drifblim, by taking Mr. Stalk away and returning him back, you're only making us even stronger than before. Worse for you, we're now unstoppable with Ms. Stick added to our team. You made a fatal mistake."

* * *

The first floor was visible from the second. The middle area got covered by glass panels. A cleanse tag was attached to it in case anyone's wondering why none of the ghosts tried to float through the ceiling to travel between floors. This would put an unfair advantage on Drifblim's side of things.

The interns' rooms lined up left and right. Altogether, there were ten rooms. Each could fit in six interns. Name tags were stuck on each door.

There was also an infirmary room with a Break Bypass sign in front. Drifblim headed toward the safe zone. She looked back swiftly to see how the interns were catching up.

Druddigon got a jetpack but he surprisingly didn't use it, only smirking. He trailed behind Ursaring and Abomasnow.

Shiinotic was not far behind the three. Although, she looked very dissatisfied. She glared at their backs with agitated lips.

Drifblim was about to reach the infirmary, however…

Druddigon rocketed past Ursaring and Abomasnow, trying to take Drifblim by surprise. However, the superfan already saw this coming. She took a sharp turn to the elevator immediately once Druddigon boosted toward her.

Luckily, the elevator was already on the second floor, allowing Drifblim to enter instantly.

The dragon overshot the elevator by a fair amount. He turned back quickly.

Drifblim spammed the close button. "Come on, come on!"

Ursaring and Abomasnow blocked the infirmary.

"Come and face the ace!" Ursaring gestured.

"Catchy line, ace. I'm psyched to fight alongside you." Abomasnow kept his eyes on Druddigon and Drifblim.

"Yeah, it's awesome. One letter makes a lot of difference." Ursaring nodded complacently.

The doors were about to snap close…

"Gotcha!" Druddigon forced them opened at the last second.

Drifblim was nowhere to be found in the elevator. Deceptively, she turned invisible and sneaked out to the stairs leading to the third floor.

"Dang it!" Druddigon shouted in frustration.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "That was dangerously close. Phew."

 **Druddigon:** "How did she escape right under my nose? Rah!"

 **Ursaring:** "Hah, Druddigon won't be able to catch a slippery contestant like Drifblim. He should just give up now and let the ace take the prize."

 **Abomasnow:** "What happened clearly shows how disorganized we can be. The interns at the back couldn't shoot any projectiles properly because we were blocking them. Perhaps, we should be removed or… the other way around."

 **Shiinotic:** "I have a feeling that Abomasnow and Ursaring got an alliance going. It will be a matter of time before they take down the other interns like the manipulative jerks they are. Aromatisse should have trusted me. Ugh."

* * *

Farfetch'd found nothing significant in the first floor. Therefore, he decided to call Mr. Elevator down from the second floor with Mr. Stalk's help.

Entering inside, Farfetch'd pressed the basement button since he knew that the interns were upstairs. While he certainly didn't mind butting heads with them, it would waste his time.

The elevator slowly descended. Ding! The door opened and Farfetch'd was greeted with hot and cold darkness.

In the distance, a figure wielded dual long swords. One was enchanted with ice magic and the other with fire. Elemental swords were very expensive and rare. Meeting this kind of swordfighter would spell your doom.

Farfetch'd stepped out of the elevator and prepared a defensive stance.

"Who are you?" Farfetch'd asked quite aggressively.

The war minister was replied with the sound of somebody drinking water. The glass was thrown away, shattering in sound suffering.

The obscured opponent dragged both swords on the ground intimidatingly. The fire sword created a trail of fiery revenge while the ice sword left behind bitter spikes of hatred.

Slamming the back of its right fist against something loudly, the lights got turned on creepily. A few flickered before bursting out into sparks. The room was some sort of gloomy, abandoned electrical laboratory with broken test tubes and glass containers. The ceiling got tunneled through. Most significantly, the giant cylinder at the end got completely shattered. The battery would fit perfectly there…

Drilbur revealed himself. His eyes looked very sharp. His body gave off mysterious colored auras: green, blue and red.

"Drilbur?!" Farfetch'd reacted with shock.

"Surprise, Minister for Privacy Perversion, Stalking Supervision and Holding Hostages. It's me, Drilbur. The one you accused irrationally as the mole. You shall pay for subjecting me through your torment!" Drilbur declared determinedly, dashing toward Farfetch'd faster than he could imagine.

Drilbur swung his ice sword first. Farfetch'd parried the blow with Mr. Stalk. Drilbur countered by sliding to Farfetch'd's right and performed a swift fiery slash. Since Farfetch'd equipped Mr. Stalk with his left wing, he was forced to block with Ms. Stick. Unfortunately, she caught on fire and Farfetch'd instantly jumped back, snuffing it out.

Drilbur advanced mercilessly. He took this opportunity to stab Farfetch'd with the ice sword. It dealt major damage as Farfetch'd yelled out in pain. The mole followed up striking Farfetch'd into the air with two consecutive upward slashes.

Drilbur continued the combo, jumping up above Farfetch'd and spun like a drill, piercing him down the underground with both swords.

"Arghack!" Farfetch'd felt agony and dizziness as Drilbur gave him a rough trip through the underground before smacking him out with the hilt of his sword. Farfetch'd staggered away like a tattered mess to the elevator. Choosing the third floor as his destination, he pressed the close button once with faith and trust.

"Mr. Elevator, please help us!" Farfetch'd pleaded, praying.

"Coward, get back here!" Drilbur sprinted toward the elevator.

Mr. Elevator listened to Farfetch'd's prayers and shut the doors immediately.

"Gah!" Drilbur stabbed his swords through the ground, frustrated. The auras disappeared and he panted in exhaustion.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "How did that mole become so strong all of a sudden? We have a feeling he wasn't playing fair."

 **Drilbur:** "I need more power!"

* * *

Wimpod skittered inside the elevator after Farfetch'd invaded the dormitory. He crawled up and chose the second floor as his destination.

"I'll be alright… I'll be safe…" Wimpod consoled himself quietly.

Ding! Wimpod hurried inside the infirmary and retrieved some sleeping pills.

"Sorry, Skarmory and e-everyone. I can't do this anymore. I don't t-trust those c-crazy contestants and insensitive interns. The money isn't worth it." Before Wimpod was about to consume the sleeping pills, he noticed that the stats increasing pills from the infirmary were taken.

"Well, not against the rules. N-none of my problem." Wimpod ingested the sleeping pills. He soon submitted to shameful slumber.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Wimpod:** "I signed up for none of this. I don't want to fight any of them. I'm going to get b-beaten up."

* * *

Drifblim reached the third floor. Looking around, there was a broken window. Drifblim didn't pay much attention to it, unaware that Chef Drapion and Raticate broke through it. Right next to it was the control room. There were a few private bedrooms on the third floor for the special likes of Alakazam and Wimpod. Formerly, Chef Drapion and Raticate as well. Drifblim tried to enter these rooms. However, they were all locked and sealed. Looking a bit disappointed, she floated to the end.

At the far-left end was a restaurant called Cherry Blossom Sushi. Seeing the Break Bypass sign, Drifblim hurried over to her first checkpoint. She viewed the interior for a short while in case something useful was hidden there.

There wasn't much to see. It looked similar to Chef Drapion Grill. There were a few differences, however. The bonsai tree was replaced by a life-size artificial cherry blossom tree. The wallpaper had pictures of the said tree.

Lastly, the slogan was 'Give Interns a Break'. Drifblim showed extra interest toward this.

"I wonder who owns this restaurant." Drifblim mumbled before leaving.

Opposite to the restaurant was a door veiled by purple cloth hanging down. Drifblim passed through it to see the room of the strongest guest in existence. The purple beast that consumed chocolate and jam. The caped psycho that owned a secret society with over one million lunatic members…

It was none other than the bringer of churro filled salvation, Junior the Grumpig!

Grumpig was playing with his action figures in what seemed like a child's playroom. Trading cards and building blocks littered the ground. The room got starry sky wallpapers, posters of cartoons, jigsaw mats, colorful chairs and tables, Ponyta toy and etc.

He flew a Grumpig with a cape around with one hand. The other controlled a Duosion figure.

"Woo, chu-chu-chu-ro. I'm Churro Man, the jelly jammer of justice and chocolate sauce. I love you, please be my girlfriend." Grumpig shook his action figure a bit.

"Churro Man, I love you very much but…" Grumpig voiced in a girly way. "I already got a… b-boyfriend."

"What?! B-but…" Grumpig sobbed, looking at the Duosion figure with heartbroken eyes. He gripped them tightly and threw them both away before crying with a lot of snot.

"This is all your fault!" Grumpig picked a Houndour figure up and threw it down on the ground before stomping it furiously. Churro Man slipped and fell, moaning in pain.

Drifblim watched all of this awkwardly, cringing.

"Grumpig, please just tell me the mission." Drifblim requested.

Grumpig wiped tears off his face and jealousy manifested itself all over his features. He handed the Houndour figure to Drifblim with sadistic intent.

"Rip his head off! Mwahaha…" Grumpig rubbed his hands together excitedly and laughed maniacally.

Drifblim raised her right eye before ripping the head off with ease. Grumpig handed her a churro ring and she quickly left, not wanting to waste any more time with this psycho weirdo.

"Duosion will be mine now! Mwahaha…" Grumpig eyed the ceiling and laughed maniacally, twitching his fingers.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I feel really sorry for Duosion. She must've had a migraine when dealing with that psycho chubby guy."

* * *

Druddigon searched around cluelessly in the library on the fourth floor. Towering bookcases made it hard to navigate with his jetpack. The fact that he couldn't see invisible ghosts didn't help either. Druddigon could have sworn that someone took the pink shades, but which intern?

Unexpectedly, he saw one of Drifblim's arms leaving itself exposed and vulnerable behind the last bookcase row.

"My pay, come to papa!" Druddigon boosted toward Drifblim recklessly.

He prepared Dragon Claw and slashed what he assumed to be Drifblim. His impetuousness would be punished as in fact, it was an explosive Drifblim dummy he struck.

"*beep*" Druddigon swore as the dummy exploded on his face, destroying the jetpack and bookcases in the vicinity.

Ursaring emerged out behind a bookcase and laughed, Abomasnow following behind.

"Seriously, Druddigon? You fell for my dummy trick?" Ursaring mocked.

"Shut the *beep* up!" Druddigon charged Superpower, trying to take down the ace with brute force alone.

"Excuse me, Mr. Druddigon. Please behave appropriately in the library." Abomasnow said in a scolding tone before freezing the dragon by blasting Ice Beam out from his right arm.

Ursaring stared at the frozen solid cave-dragon victoriously. "Druddigon, you aren't seriously worth the effort. Let's go, Aboma." He walked off smugly. Abomasnow bowed with pointless politeness to Druddigon before leaving.

After the two were gone, Drifblim turned visible and freed Druddigon from his icy prison with Shadow Ball.

"Brr. That's better… Why did you save me though?" Druddigon asked, grateful.

"It's boring to see the same guys winning again and again, don't you think? Why don't we work together to usurp them? I know I'm not helping my case by being a manipulative *beep* but, please trust me on this one. I didn't betray you in the education minister challenge, did I?" Drifblim offered, pleading her case.

"Well, have a plan? Because I sure got none." Druddigon asked, seemingly hesitant.

Drifblim whispered into Druddigon's ears and he grinned.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "This challenge is more than meets the eye for sure. For one, this churro ring is a very vague clue. I also notice a few things that I don't think Farfetch'd will be able to figure out. This is a huge gamble that I'm willing to take."

 **Druddigon:** "Drifblim's plan is ingenious. Wish I can borrow her brain for just a moment, heh heh."

* * *

Right now, Farfetch'd just arrived at Grumpig's Guest Gate after checking out Cherry Blossom Sushi. He witnessed a totally different scene. A revolting display of insensitive fantasy.

Grumpig lay on the ground, forcing the two action figures to kiss.

"I love you so much…" Grumpig said adoringly. Abruptly, Farfetch'd confiscated the figures.

"Hey, they are mine!" Grumpig tried to take them back hopelessly. Farfetch'd poked his face with Mr. Stalk, stopping him on his tracks.

"Mr. Stalk said that you're stealing someone else's girlfriend. Do you know what I do to thieves?" Farfetch'd asked threateningly. Grumpig gulped.

"I give them, grief." Farfetch'd revealed with a freaky, terrifying face. Grumpig lowered his face, retreating as Farfetch'd approached aggressively. Eventually, Churro Man was cornered to the wall.

"Don't hurt me, please! Take this Psycho Churro ring and go!" Grumpig handed the churro ring with his trembling right arm. Farfetch'd snatched them and left, taking the figures with him as well. Grumpig cried, rolling on the ground and banging his fists. He kicked his feet like a crybaby as well.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Our threat worked. That psycho freak couldn't remember that violence isn't allowed in Guest Gates."

 **Grumpig:** "That jerk! Where's the justice in this world?! Those are my figures. I bought them fair and square. I have the rights to do whatever I want with them. To all Secret Churro Society members out there, we need to unite against that freak." He raised his right arm, rallying.

* * *

Druddigon followed Drifblim around as she searched through the library. Most likely, he wasn't allowed to help her.

During the beginning of their cooperation, Drifblim was very wary of his movements. She always checked to see if he would betray her. However, as time passed by, he soon gained her trust.

There was one instance where Druddigon hummed a little, fiddling with his claws behind his back. Drifblim turned to see him looking around aimlessly. She looked a bit concerned, observing him more often.

Druddigon didn't do anything suspicious after that and Drifblim dropped her guard a bit.

Eventually, Drifblim found a sneaky room hidden behind a bookcase and signaled Druddigon to stay put.

Rebelliously, he struck her down with dual Dragon claw instead.

"Argh! Why did you betray me? Have you lost the drive to take down Ursaring and Abomasnow? This will only benefit you in the short run." Drifblim scowled. "I guess I see you in the wrong light…"

Druddigon averted his eyes and quickly finished her off with another Dragon Claw, too ashamed to say anything. Drifblim's fainted body was teleported away.

"Finally, you did it. I thought that you were too scared." Ursaring appeared out behind a bookcase once again, clapping twice. Abomasnow stepped out shortly after.

"Scared?! Who's *beep* scared?! Definitely not me!" Druddigon took offense.

"Well, you could have done it a lot sooner. Actually, I'm curious about this 'masterplan'. A shame none of us gets to see it in action because of you. Anyways, you have lost any chance of beating us. Hope the 5,000 P is worth it, Duddigon." Ursaring intentional pronounced his species wrong.

Druddigon reddened. "Who the *beep* hell says I need Drifblim?! I can take you both out right now!"

"A bold claim, Mr. Druddigon. I suppose you forgot what happened last time." Abomasnow reminded.

"I only lost because you *beep* ganged up on me! Where's your pride, Ursaring? Fight me one on one." Druddigon challenged.

"Fine, let the viewers know for real who's the physically strongest intern around here." Ursaring accepted, crackling his knuckles.

"That will be me!" Druddigon charged at Ursaring with Superpower blindly like last time. Ursaring sidestepped and swept Druddigon off balance before slamming against his back with Hammer Arm.

The dragon groaned in pain, rolling away before kicking himself back to his feet. Druddigon charged at Ursaring again with Superpower, determined to hit him this time.

Ursaring lifted up a bookcase and swung it at his face. Druddigon grabbed hold of it and pushed it back toward Ursaring. The ace countered by ducking and smashed his stomach with Hammer Arm, knocking him down once more.

Ursaring stomped on Druddigon rapidly. The dragon took constant damage until he managed to push the bear's foot off.

Druddigon pushed himself back up and roared before charging one last time with Superpower. Ursaring yawned, jumping up to perform a mid-air kick to his face. Druddigon took the full hit and collapsed. He clung onto Ursaring's feet pitifully, trying to get up unsuccessfully.

In the end, Druddigon gave up after seeing the sympathetic looks on their faces. The dragon let go of Ursaring's feet and clenched his fists tightly.

"Fighting you is like watching the same old movie, no fun at all. Learn new moves next time." Ursaring advised, looking unharmed for the most part. He took Rough Skin damage there and then.

"Why can't I beat you?!" Druddigon yelled, questioning himself. He felt completely humiliated and degraded. It couldn't be true that he wasn't strong.

"Mr. Druddigon, no one denies your physical strength. You're strong but, not a strong fighter." Abomasnow answered.

"That doesn't make any *beep* sense." Druddigon seemed confused. "How can I be strong but not strong in something that uses strength?"

"Fighting isn't all about power. Judging from the look of your face, you will never get it. Let's go, Aboma. The viewers will accuse me of bullying if I beat him up too hard.' Ursaring gestured for them to leave.

Druddigon lay motionlessly on the ground once again, broken. Losing to Ursaring wasn't enough to completely crush his pride. He contemplated about Abomasnow's words and remembered how he lost to Raticate.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Druddigon:** "I wonder if things will turn out differently if Drifblim was there. I'm such an idiot."

* * *

The unconscious Drifblim was laid on the sushi conveyor belt, revolving in an oval. How would she be revived? Well…

There's this guy with a sadistic countenance…

He earned his sustenance through making others 'healthy'…

The masseur that asserted his dominance upon his victims. Oops, I meant to say patients.

"Don't worry, you poor, unhealthy ghost. I will make you young and lively again with my revival massage. Heh, heh." Cofagrigus started the unwatchable torture upon Drifblim's body, moving along the conveyor belt.

Drifblim woke up and screeched in pain instantly. The masseur continued the body obliterating operation, making sure she would be permanently disabled-er, healthy. Yes, healthy.

The four arms each had a nickname:

Body Breaker

Healthy Hell

Monster Massage

Organs Obliterator

Drifblim was unfortunate enough to feel it all. After a session of agony, she was freed. The ghost girl limped away, traumatized. Cofagrigus chortled, thinking that she was overreacting.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "I just had a newfound respect for Duosion. How did she manage to survive that? Ow." Drifblim held her back, wincing. "I don't want to get knocked out again, period."

* * *

Farfetch'd reached the library after Druddigon left a short moment ago. What took him so long? Basically, Farfetch'd was healing for a while after his confrontation with Drilbur. It was too boring so it got edited out.

"Mr. Stalk, Ms. Stick, detect anything? Aha, I see." Farfetch'd didn't take long to locate the hidden door. However, a certain intern was blocking the way. The harsh sunlight shone above her through the broken ceiling that seemingly got destroyed by Solar Blade.

"I know you worship the moon. No need for me to talk anymore. You'll be punished in the name of the sun!" Lurantis absorbed sunlight and created two long solar blades.

"I neither worship the moon or the sun. I believe in Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick, for they give me the power to overcome obstacles honorably in life!" Farfetch'd dignified his dual swordsmanship of culinary, sharpening Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick.

Farfetch'd released a wave of endless Air Slashes at Lurantis. The solar freak blocked every single hit with her blades before destroying more of the ceiling for increasing sunlight exposure. These interns were willing to destroy their own dormitory for money seemingly.

"Take this!" Lurantis swung both blades at Farfetch'd with exceptionally great range. The war minister was forced to retreat and blast more blades of air at her, which didn't seem to work. Farfetch'd seemed a bit troubled. He decided to take cover behind a bookcase.

"Books will be burned and papers will be lit on fire!" Lurantis proclaimed like a pyromaniac, slicing the bookcase in half.

Farfetch'd rolled away just in time and focused on dodging and running. Seeing a pile of books on the ground ahead of him, he got an idea.

"Forgive me, family of books. I need to sacrifice your children to protect this library!" Farfetch'd picked up books and batted them at Lurantis. She cut most of them in a fiery, inconsiderate manner.

Yes, most of them.

Farfetch'd batted a book about a legendary Pokemon named Solgaleo and Lurantis immediately halted. Farfetch'd utilized this opening to strike back. He would finish her in one feast of attacks.

Farfetch'd ran up to her and struck her chest with Mr. Stick's Night Slash then continued with Mr. Stalk's Slash. Afterwards, he slid through her legs and used Slash twice swiftly against her back. To end the combo off, Farfetch'd blasted multiple Air Slashes at close range. Lurantis finally fainted.

Farfetch'd smiled but it soon turned into a frown once he glanced around at the severely damaged library.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "We won the war but it comes with a great loss. Everyone, please have a moment of silence for those unfortunate enough to lay their lives on the battlefield." He had a very solemn expression, lowering his head and dual weapons.

 **Lurantis:** "I hate that freak! He plays so dirtily."

* * *

As Drifblim approached the exit of Cherry Blossom Sushi, she found Shiinotic sitting in her table. On it were two champagne coupes and one bottle of champagne made in the city of Champagnex, Piripilon (mainland).

"Come here." Shiinotic beckoned. "I need to talk to you about something. Not a big deal, right? We're inside a Break Bypass after all."

"Interesting." Drifblim floated excitedly to the table, sitting opposite to Shiinotic.

"Champagne?" Shiinotic offered. She held the cork and rotated the bottle at an angle like a true wine expert. This prevented the cork from flying out.

"No, thanks. I got a challenge to complete. I'll appreciate it if you hurry." Drifblim rejected, sounding impatient. Looking at the label, it was called Panchampagne. This oddly reminded Drifblim of someone.

"Your loss." Shiinotic poured champagne while tilting her glass at an angle, letting it slide gently on the side to preserve bubbles.

Shiinotic took a sip and her expression showed sourness.

"Three percent too sour, horrible! No wonder why it's called Panchampagne. Stands for panned by champagne critics." Shiinotic looked dissatisfied, pointing her long finger criticizingly at the label. Drifblim chuckled at how picky she was. Just three percent, seriously?

Placing the glass down a bit roughly, Shiinotic focused her eyes on Drifblim. "I won't waste your time any further. Let's get right to business. Wonder why barely any interns chase you now?"

"I assume they're chasing Farfetch'd." Drifblim guessed. "Judging from your face, I'm wrong."

"Very wrong, it's because of Ursaring and Abomasnow. None of the interns want to mess with them. Since you got eliminated, I'm sure you know by now that they form an alliance." Shiinotic informed.

"Of course, I see where this is going. You want to work with me." Driblim acknowledged with an engaging smile.

"Bingo, I need your help to take them down. You see, I have a very strong suspicion that both of them or one of them drugged most of the interns to sleep. Although, I don't get why they didn't just eliminate everyone. My coffee didn't contain the sleeping drug. This doesn't make any logical sense." Shiinotic stated in confusion. "You know why?"

"I think I do. You don't understand their motives because you're a logician like Bisharp and Skrelp. Rational thinkers with compromised abilities to understand the psychological or social side of things." Drifblim paused to arrange her words with reflective eyes.

"The culprit must be similar to me, I have made irrational moves like giving Farfetch'd Mr. Stalk back. I did it because I want a challenge to prove my worthiness, even though it's probably extremely stupid because I'm risking an easy victory. However, I won't have it any other way!" Drifblim articulated from experience, passion brimming in her voice at the end.

"This confirms it. I 've made a right decision to work with you." Shiinotic nodded.

"Obviously. Here's my plan. We turn them against each other by framing one of them. I would like to do it now but I think I found a Guest Gate." Drifblim suspended their coalition.

"I understand. Go, we'll meet downstairs in the mess hall." Shiinotic didn't object. She stared at her champagne coupe as Drifblim hurried outside.

"You keep impressing me, Drifblim." Shiinotic said to herself before getting off her seat, brushing her dress.

"She doesn't impress me. She needs more pain tolerance." Cofagrigus commented. Shiinotic chuckled as she left.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shiinotic:** "An 'irrational' thinker with governing principles that is also intelligent, huh? Ursaring and Abomasnow seem to fit the criteria."

* * *

Ursaring and Abomasnow were in the male restrooms, washing their faces.

Abomasnow turned on the water conservatively, washing his hands gently. After he finished, he was considerate enough to not shake off water all over the place, unlike Ursaring.

Abomasnow gave off this weird 'Gentleman is Evil' vibe. The way he spoke so politely and innocently all the time made it seem like he was secretly hiding something all along. Renowned as the coffee prince, he brewed coffee for everyone in the morning without asking for anything in return. He just seemed too nice, no doubt intelligent too.

On the other hand, we got our ace of interns. He held his chin and grinned, showing his flashy teeth to the mirror before nodding.

Undoubtedly, he was manipulative and sneaky. The face of interns was full of himself at times, especially after beating Lucario. It didn't help that his words and actions contradicted. He told the others that eliminating other interns was a good thing but spared Druddigon. Another prime suspect.

"Aboma, answer honestly, are you the mole who drugged everyone to sleep?" Ursaring asked with scrutinizing eyes.

"No, ace." Abomasnow gave a short reply expressionlessly.

"If you lie, how about you get publicly flogged as a punishment?" Ursaring tried to get a reaction out of him.

"Well, I didn't lie, mister. Did I do something wrong for you to interrogate me?" Abomasnow wasn't fazed at all. "Are you the mole again?" Distrust grew in his eyes.

"No way, man. I'm the face of interns. It won't reflect well to boss' staff reputation if I'm the manipulative *beep* that ruined the fun for everyone just to get rich. I should get flogged hard in the ass if I'm lying to you and the viewers right now." Ursaring said boldly.

"I trust you, ace." Abomasnow sounded half-genuine. Ursaring flashed his shining teeth.

"Thank you for having faith in me, prince. I plan to spring a trap on those finalists at the library. Can you block the other interns from stealing my bonus? Like Druddigon already got one. I promise to give you the next, man." Ursaring requested.

"No problem, ace." Abomasnow accepted without any reluctance. Ursaring seemed touched.

The two walked out of the restroom together. Ursaring placed a hand on Abomasnow's shoulder.

"I will feel more comfortable if you don't touch me, mister." Abomasnow removed it. Ursaring looked hurt.

Abomasnow slowed down, allowing Ursaring to pass him.

Ursaring turned back, frowning. "I will feel more comfortable if you aren't behind my back. How about we sidestep?" He now smiled mischievously.

"Great suggestion, ace. However, I prefer if we also hold each other's hands if you don't mind." Abomasnow added, reciprocating the smile.

"Fine by me." Ursaring shrugged. The two held hands and sidestepped as if they were dancing together. This looked really funny from an angle. Both of them seemed embarrassed but they weren't so vocal about it. Instead of distrust, it seemed like they were doing it for fun. Unfortunately, they didn't do it for long.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Ursaring:** He combed his fur. "After Aromatisse told me I'm handsome, I start to think about how I should portray myself in front of the camera. I'm no longer just a normal intern. I'm now the ace, the unofficial leader of interns. I'm also the face, the public image of Skarmory's staff. Maybe, I should start wearing a suit." He pondered, tapping his chin.

* * *

Farfetch'd entered the second Guest Gate. He found himself inside an office with rows of computers, documents, files, folders, stationary and etc. It wasn't exactly the best organized place in the world, drinks and food were all over the tables. However, it accommodated small and big Pokemon working environments so that's a plus.

The guest stood next to the whiteboard in front of the room. This individual was the smartest Pokemon in existence. He knew every single word in the dictionary and could spell and pronounce them out perfectly. A true 'Chapmion' with endless craving for unhealthy snacks. Braam, meet Brawk Hawk!

"Braam, your brain's bamboozled when you meet Brawk Hawk, the professional wrestler from Birdsville." Braviary introduced. "Want my autograph?" He offered a cheese fries wrapper with a poorly written signature.

Farfetch'd eyed it with revulsion. "No thanks, proceed with the challenge." He pushed the wrapper away.

"Feel free to change your mind anytime. Anyways, this is your awesome challenge. Complete a multiple-choice spelling test!" Braviary pulled out the test from the printer.

"We don't think you can mark our test. You couldn't even spell champion right. Is this some sort of trick?" Farfetch'd seemed skeptical.

"What do you mean? This is the right spelling." Braviary raised his left eye, placing his wings under the belt. "Even though I might not look like it, Brawk Hawk works part-time as an Unown Language teacher as well." He seemed serious.

Farfetch'd sighed. "Alright, let's see." He took the test and gave it back immediately seconds after.

"Every single choice is the same." Farfetch'd pointed out. Unknown to the wrestler, the computer auto-corrected his mistakes.

"What?! Typos, seriously? B-but, I never make any typos before. I mean look at this certificate." Braviary showed proudly. Seemingly, he made it by himself.

Musterr of Sleling: Brawk Hawk

Scor 10/10

This cerhificate shos that Bawk Hawk is a quilified Unknown Langauge Teachar

Farfetch'd poked his own head with Ms. Stick, having a headache.

"Um, sorry about this. See? I'm the real deal. Well, I guess I need to give you this." Braviary scratched his head sheepishly with one wing, the other reached out a different paper to Farfetch'd.

Farfetch'd accepted it. Apparently, it had the following written in four lines at the top:

Give

Brawk Hawk

An

Insurance

Farfetch'd nodded, trying to figure it out as he walked to the door. Suddenly, Braviary farted and Farfetch'd scrambled out of the door.

"Oops, too many Max Nuts and TNT Drumsticks." Braviary laughed nervously, fanning the gas away.

Outside, Ursaring sprang a sneaky trap, surprising Farfetch'd. He smashed the finalist's head with a bookcase. The ace jumped up on top of it to flatten the poor guy, finishing him off with Earthquake. Farfetch'd's crushed body was warped away.

"Looks like the ace shakes the case! Haha…" Ursaring laughed victoriously.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "That stinking Braviary should eat less gassy food and chew the dictionary on his free time instead. A five-star chef's recommendation."

* * *

Drifblim watched Farfetch'd's defeat from afar, smiling in satisfaction. After making sure Ursaring had left, she entered the second Guest Gate.

Upon entering, Braviary just handed her the clue and gestured for her to go away. He looked really crestfallen.

"My life's over now. I made fricking typos! My career is ruined. Time for me to go back to my old, smelly apartment, eating cheesy fries without any cheese every night." Braviary wailed, letting out a toot. Drifblim quickly left, not complaining about a freebie.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Skarmory, are all Guest Gates the same? Cringeworthy guests and throwaway challenges? I get why you did things this way but still, I want a real challenge and a competent guest for the last one."

* * *

Cofagrigus grinned as another 'patient' got delivered on his plate. Performing the massage of death on Farfetch'd's fragile body, the war minister screamed and kicked his face, trying to escape.

"Feisty, aren't you?" Cofagrigus rubbed his face indifferently before revving up the torture. It was unwatchable, but beneficial to Farfetch'd's health.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** He used Mr. Stalk as a cane to support his shaky movements. "This is true g-grief. I see it and b-believe it now."

 **Cofagrigus:** "The finalists are both crybabies. I can't believe they made it this far. I expect that Lucario and Duosion in their places."

* * *

Drifblim found Shiinotic searching under the table and chairs of the mess hall, dusting her hands off.

"Shiinotic, I'm here. What are you doing?" Drifblim questioned.

"Finding Ursaring's fur." Shiinotic answered vaguely. Knowing Drifblim's smarts, she didn't need to explain in detail.

"I will help." Drifblim looked around. She wouldn't bother with the tables and chairs. Shiinotic already got them checked. Instead, she headed to an air conditioner, examining it a bit.

Widening her eyes, she called Shiinotic over. "Look at this."

Apparently, a green spore-like substance contaminated the air conditioner. It was fake, meaning safe to inhale. Someone must have left it there to frame Shiinotic. Furthermore…

Ursaring's fur was left inside as well. There were many possibilities to consider. Who was framing and who was being framed?

"Is this your doing?" Drifblim addressed Shiinotic.

"No." Shiinotic denied. "I want to frame Ursaring but I don't want to put myself at risk as well."

"Could it possibly be Abomasnow? Maybe, he is trying to turn both of you against each other. This diverts the attention from the coffee to the air conditioner after all." Drifblim speculated.

"Possible. This is very sloppy though. For one, anyone that's intelligent enough knows Spore doesn't affect grass types. It is also hard to control who goes to sleep and whatnot. This doesn't seem believable in the slightest. I don't think Ursaring or Abomasnow could make this kind of rookie mistake." Shiinotic assessed.

"Maybe it's meant to look like a rookie mistake to also frame someone like Druddigon." Drifblim suggested.

"Possible." Shortly after, Shiinotic shook her head slightly. "Although, I'm more inclined to think that Druddigon did this. He clearly fits the bill."

Drifblim had a thoughtful pose. "What if… Ursaring and Abomasnow did this together? It is a matter of having access to the right resources really. Who else can put the sleeping pills inside the coffee but Abomasnow? Who else has Ursaring's fur except for Ursaring? I don't see any fallen fur around here." She sounded convincing.

"You made a good point. Only a few would enter the kitchen anyways." Shiinotic said before freezing instantly, ears on full alert.

Ding! The elevator landed on the first floor. Low pitch voices were heard.

"Hide." Drifblim hissed, pulling Shiinotic toward the storage.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Shiinotic:** "That was close. It's not my time to go all-in on those boys yet. I need to play my cards right…"

 **Drifblim:** "Looks like someone has already done all the framing for us. Perfect." She smirked.

* * *

Gengar and Haunter fled to the library, far away from Abomasnow. Dusclops dragged his frozen feet behind them, rubbing his shivering shoulders and exhaling cold air. He seemed furious.

"Jerks, you ditched me! I thought we are supposed to *beep* fight him together!" Dusclops shouted, face heated.

"Mr. Smelly Toilets, it's not my fault that Mr. Snowman mopped the floor with you. Strategical retreat, get it? Geez, stop giving me the cold shoulder." Gengar mocked.

"Honestly, that pun is lame. Bleh." Haunter stuck his tongue out. Gengar didn't seem to care.

"When will you *beep* give me respect?! I'm tired of being the butt of your jokes, Gengar!" Dusclops scowled, shaking his fists. Gengar didn't seem to take his words seriously, fiddling with his fingers.

Dusclops groaned. "You won't even *beep* listen!"

Abruptly, Braviary stormed out of his Guest Gate, flapping his wings urgently to the library's male restrooms.

"Brawk Hawk can't hold it in anymore. He needs to do his business. Immediately!" Braviary said in third person.

"Great." Dusclops muttered. "My duty to clean his mess." He pinched his nose and walked grudgingly to the restroom. Gengar had a sadistic grin at this.

"Oh god, no. Not another one of his sick, graphic jokes." Haunter dreaded, watching passively.

Gengar sneaked behind Dusclops and pushed him inside the restroom before pulling out a cleanse tag and stick it to the door, ripping the cover sheet off to activate the restricting spell. In addition, Gengar blocked the door with a heavy bookcase, wiping off sweat after the job was done.

"No! Anything but this!" Dusclops screamed, suffocating slowly as loud fart sounds could be heard from inside.

"Enjoy being the butt of Brawk Hawk's jokes, Dusclops. Smell ya later!" Gengar giggled, fanning. Green gas leaked through the door and he quickly scrammed.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Gengar:** "Hey, don't look at me like that. The guy's got what's coming for him. It's supposed to be funny. I'm sure he will live."

 **Dusclops:** He fumed. "Gengar, you won't get away with this!"

* * *

Farfetch'd made a full recovery after the torturous massage of revival session. He ran toward the broken window and jumped through it coolly, landing in a dark, poorly lit corner of the dormitory. There were ashcans and trash bags all over the place.

Close to it was the parking lot. Druddigon's red truck and the green Flygon truck could be seen.

Farfetch'd rushed out, aiming for the nearby cinema complex.

"Mr. Stalk senses something inside. We shall check it." Farfetch'd addressed Ms. Stick.

Intruding without buying a ticket for Ms. Stick, Farfetch'd committed a great sin. He would be punished by the director.

To clarify, Farfetch'd only got two VIP tickets for the Hero of Darkness movie, which he received from winning the couple challenge. Smeargle wouldn't let him watch without paying the price of 5,000 P. What a rip-off. No wondered why the seats were all empty except one.

Smeargle sat on the front row seat with a bag of popcorn. She was engrossed by the final battle scene between Lucario and Raticate. Her joyous look hid something darker. The pain and suffering over the last seven days.

"We'll take you down and clear our path to victory. Fight us!" Farfetch'd challenged loudly with confidence. This was very impolite in cinemas.

Smeargle clenched her bag of popcorn, sending some flying out. She got up from her seat and turned to Farfetch'd with annoyance.

"How rude of you! Do you know how frustrating it is to miss a scene because of a bathroom break or an inconsiderate Scrappy (trope) such as yourself? Missing one tiny, little detail can be detrimental to the entire experience. You might miss a cool action scene or a clever foreshadowing. There's no refund for your loss either. Watching a movie in the cinema isn't like watching one at home or reading a book. You can't pause and do whatever the hell you want. It demands respect!" Smeargle ranted, venting off some steam.

Farfetch'd looked a bit guilty but remained firm on his grounds. "We apologize. However, don't you have a responsibility, an important task or work to do?" He reminded.

"Why you want to fight? Finding Skarmory is your goal." Smeargle seemed baffled. "I suppose you think beating up all interns will give you some sort of special reward, huh? Sorry to break it to you but that's not the case. Stop pursuing pointless MacGuffins like this. I bet Drifblim has already completed all three Guest Gates and is heading to Skarmory right now." She advised, looking at him condescendingly.

"The clues that we have received from the Guest Gates say otherwise. Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick reach the same conclusion. In light of new truth, we change our approach to explore more of Skarmory Area and hunt you all down. Like it or not, we will fight you!" Farfetch'd forced, darting straight for a stab.

"Fine, you leave me no choice!" Smeargle summoned a long bone to block the attack.

Farfetch'd grunted, pushing her back with superior strength. Smeargle sweated, leaping backward to utilize her range advantage fully. She slammed the bone down at Farfetch'd, who parried it away with his dual weapon. The duck tried to strike back with Revenge but Smeargle jumped away.

Smeargle landed on top of a cinema chair, gaining the higher ground. She grabbed her tail, pointing at Farfetch'd and charging Aura Sphere. Farfetch'd slashed thin air to send a projectile of his own flying at Smeargle.

The two range attacks clashed in a smoky explosion. Farfetch'd burst through it, attacking Smeargle with great speed. However, Smeargle already anticipated it. She capitalized on Bullet Punch's speed priority to strike him first. Smeargle followed up with a Bone Rush combo, swinging down vertically first before performing consecutive upward strikes.

Farfetch'd yelped as he got juggled in the air. Smeargle finished the combo with a quick Aura Sphere. Farfetch'd got blasted away, landing on the ground roughly.

"The protagonist doesn't win all the time, Farfetch'd. There are endings where the antagonist reigns supreme. This is one of them." Smeargle told, shooting Aura Sphere at a constant pace.

Farfetch'd recovered, rolling away before gaining proper footing. He looked a bit worried. Truth to be told, Farfetch'd didn't expect Smeargle to be this tough. He had underestimated her. She was clearly going all out. One thing was for sure.

Smeargle did all of this for Lucario.

"Mr. Stalk, Ms. Stick, time to go all out!" Farfetch'd glanced at his partners and speeded to Smeargle, avoiding all Aura Spheres skillfully.

"You won't beat me!" Smeargle decided to go with Bullet Punch again.

Farfetch'd smiled. It was his turn to punish her for this reckless move.

"Ms. Stick, watch this advanced technique." Farfetch'd threw Mr. Stalk away like a boomerang and prepared a defensive stance, holding Ms. Stick with both hands at her ends. He blocked all of the rapid punches and waited until Mr. Stalk struck Smeargle's back.

"Ah!" Smeargle cried in pain. Farfetch'd retrieved Mr. Stalk and charged dual Revenge.

"This's your end!" Farfetch'd struck Smeargle swiftly twice, knocking her against the wall hard. She howled in pain as she slowly slid down to the ground. Farfetch'd widened his eyes, expecting her to fall in defeat.

"Why? Why are you… persisting and endeavoring this hard?" Farfetch'd said with awe and admiration.

"I can't fail Lucario! How do you think he'll feel when watching the finale, with two Crazy Crawdaunt members?!" Smeargle gritted her teeth, struggling to get up. "His agony, none of you can imagine it. True, he might be a huge jerk. Sometimes, even to his fans like me and Darmanitan. However, that won't stop me from loving him and the things he's done." She resolved, getting up with the last sliver of strength.

Even with limping legs and battered body, Smeargle faced Farfetch'd courageously.

Farfetch'd watched with pity. He wouldn't finish her off in this state. That would be too cruel and dishonorable.

Smeargle smirked. He underestimated her again. He would deeply regret it after witnessing her final move.

Smeargle lifted her tail up and pointed at Farfetch'd. Purple, orange, red, blue and yellow paint circled around the green paint on her tail, slowly mixing it into brooding black paint. Farfetch'd prepared a defensive stance.

"Dark Void." Smeargle announced, astonishing Farfetch'd with fear. The beagle summoned a dark void of endless nightmares in the middle of the cinema, sucking everything in its vicinity inside except for the user.

Farfetch'd slid Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick in between chairs, gripping them tightly. This idea worked wonders. Farfetch'd was safe from the void for now.

"As long as we stick together and hold tight, the void can't suck us in. You both can't give up!" Farfetch'd motivated.

Smeargle panted heavily. She put in extraordinary effort to maintain the void. If Farfetch'd won't faint soon, she would collapse in exhaustion.

Interruptingly, the door opened and an interloper walked in. Farfetch'd and Smeargle showed signs of surprise on their faces.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "We don't cook for unwelcomed guests, right Mr. Stalk?" He shook him a little. "That's right. Ms. Stick, let's kick that intruder out of the restaurant."

* * *

Ursaring enjoyed a cup of coffee with Abomasnow. Neither of them realized that Drifblim was secretly eavesdropping their conversation.

"Ace, it's my turn, correct?" Abomasnow asked for reassurance.

"Obviously, Aboma. If we meet Farfetch'd, I will put him on a headlock and give you the finishing blow. If we meet Drifblim, you don't need to worry. Because her types are flying and ghost, I can't do much." Ursaring reasoned reassuringly.

"Perhaps, I'm just being worried for nothing. Thank you, Mr. Ursaring." Abomasnow bowed gratefully, pouring more coffee from the jug to Ursaring's cup.

"Hey, just call me Ursa. I like the politeness and all but tone it down a notch. Alright?" Ursaring asked, sounding sick of it. At first, Ursaring loved hearing the honorifics. Now, he couldn't care any less. Abomasnow overused such words so often that they started to lose meaning.

"Right, Ursa." Abomasnow said with slight difficulty. Ursaring snorted, lifting his coffee cup for a sip until…

Drifblim blasted Shadow Ball at it, spilling the hot coffee all over Ursaring. It wasn't hot enough to hurt him. However, it sure dealt damage to the face of interns' public image.

"Holy *beep*!" Ursaring exclaimed, pulling out a bunch of tissue paper to clean the mess.

"Such insolence!" Abomasnow attacked Drifblim with Ice Beam. But the finalist minimized herself to evade the attack.

"Well, take this as a lesson. Never drink coffee while working. How unprofessional." Drifblim directed the insult toward Ursaring.

"I'll *beep* kill you!" Ursaring got up and threw his chair at Drifblim ragingly. She grabbed hold of it and threw it back at the ace. Ursaring punched it into pieces.

"Excuse me, miss. Don't treat the ace with disrespect." Abomasnow charged Ice Punch with both fists. Drifblim dodged the incoming punches while positioning herself so she would be vulnerable to Ursaring's attacks.

Ursaring fiddled with his claws. Greedy gleams glowed in his eyes. Strangely, the ace warded it off with this foreign feeling inside his heart called 'friendship'. Still, he regretted wasting every opportunity Drifblim left herself prone to danger. He wavered indecisively.

"Hah, is this a two on one battle? I forgot Ursaring even existed." Drifblim tried to push him over the edge. Ursaring boiled.

"Eat this, *beep*!" Ursaring prepared Shadow Claw and struck Drifblim twice, finishing her off.

"Haha, another paycheck for the ace!" Ursaring celebrated, clapping once.

"Ursaring, why?!" Abomasnow yelled, betrayed.

"Come on, Aboma. Don't look at me like that. That manipulative *beep* tempted me." Ursaring blamed.

"Excuses." Abomasnow didn't look at Ursaring in the eye, slowly walking away. Ursaring frowned.

"Aboma-" Ursaring called, reaching his hand out after him.

"Names should be respected, even species name. Please call me formally from now on." Abomasnow said coldly without turning back. Ursaring pulled his hand back, averting his eyes.

"Aish!" Ursaring suddenly had a fit of rage, throwing chairs and kicking tables. Eventually, he slumped down against the wall, fur ruffled.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Well, I sacrifice my body to the masseur for this plan so it better works."

 **Ursaring:** "Don't make me laugh, Aboma-snow. It's Drifblim's fault. You know very well what that manipulative *beep* is capable of."

 **Abomasnow:** "Ursaring submitted to the temptation of greed. It's his fault, no matter how hard he tries to blame Miss Drifblim."

* * *

Dusclops moaned, drowning his face under sink water. His face turned green. A sound of raucous flushing was made and Dusclops pulled his face back up, gasping for air.

Braviary kicked the toilet stall opened, walking out with a bag of nachos. He whistled before snacking like a pig. Upon seeing Dusclops crying, he stopped momentarily.

"I finish my business now. Why do you look so sad? Need some nachos to cheer you up?" Braviary offered cluelessly.

"No! This isn't the time to eat. Don't you get it? We're stuck here." Dusclops uttered a cry of despair.

"Stuck? Why?" Braviary asked obliviously.

"Because there is a freaking bookcase and cleanse tag blocking the door outside. We're so screwed." Dusclops sounded hopeless.

"Don't worry. You got a professional wrestler by your side." Braviary assured confidently.

"I don't believe it! You aren't a real wrestler. You're scared of the dark! You suck at spelling! Worse of all, your entire body is made out of gas!" Dusclops bombarded.

"What does any of that has to do with being a wrestler?" Braviary asked, baffled.

"You idiot! A true wrestler is supposed to be strong, good-looking, cool, attractive and reliable. You're none of-" Dusclops stopped in awe once Braviary kicked the door opened with his mighty talon, removing the bookcase.

"H-how?" Dusclops looked shocked. "Are you really a real wrestler? Then why are you wearing a cardboard belt?"

"Funny story. I won the Grand Annual Birdsville Wrestling Contest last year. However, those dumb officials can't spell champion right. It 's C-H-A-P-M-I-O-N for international Unown and C-H-A-M-I-O-N for Birdsville Unown. As the master of spelling, it irked me. So, pretty much, I traded it away for this cool cardboard belt. What a great deal." Braviary's pronunciation was fine. However, his spelling skills were crippled.

Dusclops facepalmed after listening to his story.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Braviary:** "This year, the spotlights are on me again as another wrestling tournament approaches. If those officials spell champion wrong again, I will slam them down the ring!"

 **Dusclops:** "Maybe… I have a chance after all. If a failure like him can be a professional wrestler. Maybe, I can be something more than a janitor." Something else soon surfaced in his mind.

"Maybe, Brawk Hawk can help me get my revenge…"

* * *

"Drilbur, why are you here?" Smeargle questioned, a fresh coat of anxiety painted her face.

"For my revenge." Drilbur connected the tip of his long swords together. The fire and ice fought, clashing relentlessly. However, they were so evenly matched. Neither side dominated over the other, regardless of type advantage.

Fire admired ice's resilience. In return, ice respected fire's energy.

The two accepted each other, forming a beautiful, sparkling ball of water.

"Take a break." Drilbur blasted the water at Smeargle, finishing her off.

"Lucario." Smeargle called his name sentimentally, watching the big screen. The credits were rolling, memories passing by in the form of images. The movie director closed her eyes, tears flowing out.

The void disappeared. Instead of sighing in relief, Farfetch'd glared at Drilbur.

"How dare you interrupt our battle?! We don't want it to end this way. Smeargle struggled so valiantly but you… ruined it all." Farfetch'd honored her efforts.

"Well, it doesn't matter to me." Drilbur said with indifference, walking down the steps while dragging his sword. The floor sparked with icy flames. Farfetch'd retreated to the other side.

"What matters to you then, revenge?" Farfetch'd abhorred.

"Coming from a hypocrite like you, I won't listen. You nearly killed yourself for revenge yesterday. You've no place to criticize me." Drilbur returned. Farfetch'd looked away, tightening his grip on the dual weapon.

"Farfetch'd, there are things that will never get along no matter how hard you try to force them together. Like fire and paper, you and me. However, there are rare miraculous cases. For example, my swords can combine their elements to create water. Perhaps, a few days ago, a miracle between us was possible. Sadly, your stubbornness foiled any hopes of that." Drilbur didn't just gash a wound on the ground, he also gashed a wound in Farfetch'd's conscience.

"I'm sorry." Farfetch'd apologized solely. "I should've not jumped into the conclusion."

"Well, it's too late. I'm the unforgiving type. Smeargle got what she deserved for framing me. Now…" Drilbur stared at Farfetch'd, who faltered. They were at opposite sides of the middle row.

"It's your turn to pay!" Drilbur jumped up and made his way across by running on top of the chairs, dragging the swords pressingly against the ground.

"We won't stand still and let you defeat us!" Farfetch'd attempted the same, albeit not dragging his dual weapon on the ground due to their mediocre range.

Once Farfetch'd was in range, Drilbur slashed upwards blazingly with a reverse grip. Farfetch'd struck it away with Mr. Stalk and jumped to the left row before thrusting Ms. Stick at his side with Revenge.

Drilbur ducked and dived underground. Farfetch'd glanced around, trying to detect his movements. The war minister threw Mr. Stalk straight away after a sign of ground shaking.

Drilbur jumped out behind Farfetch'd's back, slashing twice with forward grip. Farfetch'd spun around and blocked both attacks with Ms. Stick before ducking. Drilbur reacted quickly enough by utilizing Rapid Spin, performing a powerful spin attack that deflected Mr. Stalk away.

Farfetch'd jumped and fluttered to collect Mr. Stalk before blasting Air Slash with Ms. Stick and threw Mr. Stalk for another boomerang attack. Drilbur was pressured from both sides. The dual swordsman only smirked at this.

Drilbur applied weight on the seat itself, digging his feet down and sprang up. He avoided both of Farfetch's attacked and caught the war minister off guard, gaping vulnerably.

"This is your end!" Drilbur connected his first hit, a downward slice. He landed behind Farfetch'd and sliced his back twice swiftly. Slamming the freezing hilt against his back, the duck was sent flying.

Drilbur drilled underground and popped out where Farfetch'd was about to land, screwing him up. Farfetch'd screamed in agony, receiving major damage.

As a finishing blow, Drilbur drilled Farfetch'd up high, corkscrew crashing him against the ceiling. An explosion of fire and ice resounded before the war minister earned a vacation in the masseur's paradise of pain.

Drilbur landed, exulting in joy until he coughed and dropped down to his knees. The swords clanged. The auras disappeared once again.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drilbur:** "My body can't handle the excessive amount of power any longer. Still, I need to. I'll make sure Farfetch'd loses this. He doesn't deserve to win." He seemed determined and worried.

 **Farfetch'd:** "Is he truly beyond our reach?" He had a moment of doubt, looking at his partners. "No… I won't give up. We didn't come this far by doing that. I will make you both proud."

* * *

The masseur rubbed his hands excitedly as both finalists got delivered on the conveyor belt this time. Even though he started off gently, Drifblim and Farfetch'd still jolted up in pain.

"Aw, masseur. Take it easy on me. I'm sure you like to massage the living with actual flesh than a ghost." Drifblim pleaded her case, eyeing Farfetch'd with an irritating smile.

"Masseur, we're healthy. We exercise often. She clearly needs it more." Farfetch'd reasoned, pointing Mr. Stalk at Drifblim annoyingly close to her face.

"Don't fight, you two. Oh, oh, babies." Cofagrigus cradled them in his arms, belittling them. They seemed very uncomfortable, exchanging a glance.

"Masseur Confer is going to share the love, by giving you both lots and lots of pain! Hahaha…" Cofagrigus laughed sadistically, horrifying the crybaby finalists. He soon conferred the massage of 'healing', breaking their limps and stitching them back together stronger than ever.

It was edited out due to the non-kid friendly nature and brutality.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** She licked a lollipop, crying in agony. "This one is w-worse than the last. Wah!"

 **Farfetch'd:** He sucked a lollipop, tearing out salt to season his massage meal.

 **Cofagrigus:** "Ugh, those crybabies won't stop crying until I give them lollipops as consolation. Do I look like a freaking dentist? Seriously, they are poor excuses for finalists. That Lucario guy and Duosion girl should replace them."

* * *

Footsteps were heard as a figure slowly approached the entrance of the dormitory. Its shadow was slowly revealed to the camera.

This mysterious Pokemon got two small pointed ears, a large head and an oversized body.

Snorlax appeared with an evil grin, holding a giant Awakening spray.

This meant… he faked his slumber.

Could Snorlax be the true culprit the entire time?!

If Drifblim profiled correctly…

Snorlax wasn't a purely logical thinker. At times, he trusted his stomach over his head.

Snorlax was also fairly intelligent. He could create his own language after all.

Snorlax was one of the few that would enter the kitchen…

Snorlax had a motive for all of this.

He would impress everyone so that they would enroll in his language school.

"Wakey, wakey! Time to assemble for the class." Snorlax sprayed interns awake with the blue gas before rolling away to the parking lot.

"Follow me and you all will have an endless supply of caviar to eat at the end of the day!" Snorlax rallied, bouncing on his belly to the top of the green truck, spraying midair.

The interns slowly gained their consciousness and followed Snorlax, who headed to the cinema entrance.

"I see you, students. I give you, orientation." Snorlax imitated Farfetch'd's hit single before waking them up.

Snorlax kept moving around in ridiculous ways all over the place. He arrived at the tennis court and sprayed a few more interns awake before dabbing away. The other interns gave him weird looks, murmuring among themselves.

Soon enough, he got a cult following of his own. Gathering them around the dormitory's entrance, he stood as the center of attention.

"My fellow interns, I know all of you're probably wondering. Why let the fat guy lead?" Snorlax asked rhetorically.

"Because fat guys are the supreme Pokemon race!" A male Mamoswine intern shouted from the back.

"Good answer, good answer." Snorlax chuckled. "Anyways, where was I? Ahem. To answer the question, it's because I possess all the qualities necessary to be a leader. I plan what to eat in the morning. I teach my stomach to make alarm noises when I'm hungry. Also…" Snorlax listed with his chubby fingers.

The interns started looking bored. Snorlax noticed this and quickly changed the subject.

"Um, what I have been trying to say this entire time is that it doesn't matter who leads us, fat or not. Yeah! All we care about is that bonus bread. Everyone, those self-proclaimed famous interns drugged us all to sleep. We shall get our revenge and beat those finalists up until we all become millionaires. Who's with me?!" Snorlax recovered from his rocky start.

The interns all cheered deafeningly.

"Charge, intern, meal, rich, bonus, tuition!" Snorlax raised his fists up, running inside the dormitory with his cult army.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Snorlax:** He held a long toilet paper list. "Dear delicious viewers, I have a tasty offer for all of you. Pay a low price of 9,999 P to get the beginner course for my language. 14,999 P for the intermediate course and 19,999 P for expert. This isn't all Snorlax's scrumptious school has to offer. Pay 30,000 P to learn Snorlax's smooth dance moves. Watch this."

He danced like a robot, impressive for a guy his size.

"There's also a course for basic spelling at a price of 1,999 P. Send your kids to that course if they're like Brawk Hawk. A course for martial arts to protect yourself from crazy chill guys, a course on how to sleep soundly like a Snorlax, a course for…" His ridiculous advertisement got cut short.

* * *

Haunter and Gengar panicked inside the storage room after seeing Snorlax rallied his army outside. They rummaged through the entire place for weapons, throwing useless stuff like Ursaring's baggage boy costume away. Like what could they do with it? Make someone so unfashionable to the point of fainting?

"A box of lighters?" Haunter showed.

"Not good enough." Gengar shook his head.

"How about a different box of lighters?" Haunter picked up a new, but identical one.

"What's the difference? Find something else." Gengar sounded annoyed.

"Just a lighter works, right? Hoho, light our enemies on fire." Haunter insisted, smiling wryly. He tested to make sure it works, which it did.

"Why the hell would you want to use a lighter as a weapon?! It's weak and smelly like Dusclops." Gengar compared contemptibly.

"Well, this room only got clothes and lighters left. What do you expect me to find? Gengar, don't complain if you got nothing better to offer." Haunter began to feel fed up with Gengar.

"Who said I don't?" Gengar got a sneaky grin. Haunter cocked his head curiously.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Gengar:** "I stashed a few things away in case of an emergency like this. Go, me."

* * *

Dusclops left to get something from his room in preparation for revenge against Gengar. Grumpig took his place, talking with Braviary in the meanwhile.

"New recruit, the Secret Psycho Churro Society welcomes you!" Grumpig handed him a purple cape.

"Woohoo!" Braviary accepted happily, shaking his butt to the side.

"I guess I'm now the senior member. My mom will surely be proud of me." Grumpig placed his hands on his hip with pride. Braviary nodded as he tied the cape.

"Wow, I look like a superhero." Braviary touched the cape, fascinated. This gave Grumpig an idea.

"For here on out, I will be known as Churro Man. I will fly around the world at the speed of light, serving justice against those girlfriend takers! Chu-chu-chu-ro-man!" Grumpig ran and jumped, spreading arms widely to fly only to fall flat on his face.

"And I will be known as Spelling Man. S-L-E-L-I-N-G-M-A-N, spelling man! The smartest. The master of fixing typos. The corrector of champion belt spelling mistakes. Braam, those villains will surely be dead meat when they meet me!" Braviary boasted.

"You forgot the P." Grumpig pointed out, getting off the ground.

"Oops, I guess it's S-L-E-P-L-I-N-G-M-A-N for international Unown, huh?" Braviary rubbed his head sheepishly. Grumpig slapped him.

"Hey! What's that for?" Braviary rubbed his face.

"A good 'slepling' to wake you up. You suck at spelling." Grumpig said the harsh truth.

"Fine, I suck at spelling international Unown. However, I'm perfect when it comes to Birdsville Unown." Braviary looked serious.

"I seriously doubt that." Grumpig shook his head.

"Hey, guys! I'm back." Dusclops called, entering the library. He wielded a mop like a weapon.

"Cool, Mop Man. Although, you will look cooler with this cape. Want to join the Secret Psycho Churro Society?" Grumpig invited.

"Aren't society societies only for anti-social losers with no life?" Dusclops seemed hesitant.

"No! It's for cool kids nowadays. I'm deadly serious." Grumpig assured, narrowing his eyes.

"Alright, alright. I guess it isn't too bad to wear that. Throw it to me." Dusclops joined the society for churro lunatics. Grumpig made a bad throw and Dusclops missed.

"Oops. Sorry." Grumpig apologized.

"I could've looked cool…" Dusclops grumbled, crossing his hands.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Grumpig:** "Secret Psycho Churro Society members, unite! Churro Man churns chocolate sauce and churro-filled justice!" He threw a few punches before taking a bite of Psycho Churro.

 **Braviary:** "Spelling Man spells out our victory. W-E-A-K-T-O-R-Y, victory!" He used his wings to spell out each letter.

 **Dusclops:** "Mop Man cleans the competion!" He spun his mop around and thrust it down the ground.

 **Secret Psycho Churro Society Members:** "Together, we're cool and invincible!"

* * *

Snorlax's cult charged into the mess hall, confronted by the two ghosts. Both held knuckle sandwich guns side by side. Gengar wore cinema glasses while Haunter put the pink shades on with a grin.

"What's our menu today, Haunter?" Gengar asked without eye contact.

"Slumber sandwiches with added spices." Haunter informed, pointing the gun at the intruders.

"Don't be scared of them. Attack!" Snorlax commanded and watched lazily afterwards. He wore a black mob boss hat for this special occasion.

Gengar and Haunter rapidly blasted knock-out sandwiches against the angry army of manipulated interns. Some attempted to eat them like Mamoswine, only to quickly fall asleep.

A few flying type interns tried to attack from above but Haunter blasted them down. A sneaky Kecleon tried to attack from the back but Gengar got Haunter's back covered.

Snorlax sweated as his army thinned down. Time to take matters into his own extremities. The terrorizing tutor picked up a table, using it as a shield and marched forward. Gengar and Haunter focused their firepower against the boss. Even though he was a huge target, the interns and the table provided a decent cover for him.

Once he was close enough, Snorlax threw the table at them before pulling out a gun underneath his hat and fired. Gengar and Haunter dodged the table just fine. However, the latter couldn't see the sleeping dart coming and got shot. The pink shades were excellent at seeing ghosts but not three-dimensional projectiles.

"No, Haunter!" Gengar caught his fallen ally and fled. "Ah, don't hurt me!"

"What a coward. If any of your kids are like him, send them to my Cowardice Curing Course. If you're a coward yourself, don't feel shy to pay me 3,999 P." Snorlax promoted, giving encouraging thumbs up.

Because of his carelessness, Snorlax was about to meet a stinky surprise.

Braviary released his gas missile and Snorlax's entire cult army just fainted. The mob boss luckily wore a hat. Using it to protect his nose, Snorlax scurried out.

"Yeah, junior member, you did it!" Grumpig gave Braviary a hi-five.

"Finally, you put your smelly gas to good use. Good job." Dusclops complimented as he walked warily to the rancid area.

"Brawk Hawk does this all the time in the ring. It's no big deal." Braviary said humbly.

Suddenly, the lights were all turned off.

"Now, this is a big deal. I'm going to wet myself!" Braviary squawked, flying away.

"Please don't. I need to clean the mess up." Dusclops pleaded, vexed.

"I'm not fond of the dark either!" Grumpig fled as well.

Dusclops sighed in depression. This reminded him of the time he was ditched to fight Abomasnow all alone. Dusclops hated how he was always treated, here and back in school. Always painted as the bad guy, often publicly humiliated and reduced into a joke. Nobody gave him the respect he desired.

"I will kill the *beep* that turned off the lights." Dusclops muttered. In the darkness, a shadowy blob of energy got sent toward him.

Dusclops felt it coming and reflected the attack with his mop. It was no ordinary mop, rather an energy-based projectile reflector.

"Gah!" Gengar wasn't prepared to get damaged by his own projectile.

"Gengar, is that you? I should've known that only you'll do something like this… Stop playing around and *beep* reveal yourself!" Dusclops shouted with animosity.

"Fine, geez. I thought I'm going to have some fun." Gengar groaned as he turned the lights back on. Apparently, he removed the cinema glasses already, not wanting to look funny in front of Dusclops.

"When will you stop picking on me? Have I done something to piss you off that much?" Dusclops questioned.

"Nah, I got nothing against you personally. It's just that you're an easy target and it's just plain funny to prank you, know what I mean? The others, they either react angrily, try to kill me and all that jazz. You, on the other hand, oh I love your reactions." Gengar explained.

"Oh, I will *beep* kill you like the others!" Dusclops rushed toward him with the mop.

"As if you can, you aren't even fully evolved." Gengar scoffed, sidestepping before slapping Dusclops with his long tongue.

"Ew, disgusting." Dusclops showed revulsion. He charged up Shadow Punch and reappeared behind Gengar with his homing attack.

Gengar stomped on the tail end of purple cape and Dusclops slipped. Taking advantage of this, Gengar struck him repeatedly with Lick.

"Delicious Dusclops." Gengar alliterated before throwing Dusclops away with his tongue.

"I will wash your filthy tongue." Dusclops clenched his mop and ran toward Gengar, swinging wildly.

"Clean this!" Gengar puked out a Sludge Bomb. Dusclops immediately jumped away from the poisonous sludge.

"What's with all the disgusting attacks?" Dusclops gave Gengar a dirty look.

"You're a janitor. It's your job to clean shit." Gengar vomitted out more and more Sludge Bombs. Dusclops floated up high to avoid them before thrusting his mop down, targeting Gengar's head.

The prankster dodged and swung his tongue at the janitor. Dusclops successfully grabbed his tongue and smirked. Gengar looked terrified.

"You're right. It's my job to clean shit like you." Dusclops gripped Gengar's tongue tightly before mopping his mouth clean. Gengar flailed, making incomprehensible sounds as Dusclops did the job for his dentist.

"You thought I'm easy, huh? Well, *beep* think again!" Dusclops threw his mop away and performed a shadowy punch, dealing super-effective damage. Gengar fainted. Dusclops dusted his hands with pure satisfaction.

"Mop Man, you did it!" Grumpig appeared to celebrate. Braviary followed behind him.

"Thanks for not helping, guys." Dusclops said sarcastically.

"Well, we're just guests. Don't expect much out of us." Grumpig reminded.

"Alright, I'll lower my already down in the dirt expectations. Still... thanks." Dusclops felt a bit grateful for they… treated him like an equal.

"Aren't you supposed to evolve now?" Brawk Hawk thought we are wearing Reaper Cloths. "Like I could have sworn I found one before with the exact same appearance and color." Braviary looked baffled.

"No, what makes you think that? These are Leaper Cloths. They make you look like a superhero after jumping off a building. Oh, wait…" Grumpig had a sudden realization and 'slepled' Braviary.

"Ow." Braviary rubbed his face. "I guess I deserve that. International Unown is complicated."

Dusclops facepalmed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Snorlax opened the door after the waft dissipated and fired the three to sleep in rapid succession, blowing his gun and smiling in triumph.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Braviary:** "L-E-A-P-E-R is reaper and R-E-A-P-E-R is leaper, right?"

 **Grumpig:** "Damn it. I want my revenge against Farfetch'd."

 **Dusclops:** "I sure hope Drifblim wins this one." He couldn't eye the camera straight.

 **Snorlax:** "This is how the big boss operates. Hide behind meat shields and reap profit in the end."

* * *

After the excruciatingly painful massage session was over, the finalists were freed. Drifblim continued with the challenge while Farfetch'd sat meditating under the artificial cherry blossom tree, recovering mentally.

Reflecting back at how he played this game, Farfetch'd wasn't exactly proud. True, the fact that he went around accusing everyone baselessly was the worst. However, that wasn't all there was to the story.

Farfetch'd found out just now that he was arrogant. His code of honor and multi-professional stalk made him feel superior to others. It made him feel like he was always in the right. Farfetch'd might be virtuous but he wasn't some sort of flawless hero. He didn't get to where he was today through hard work alone.

Farfetch'd shed a tear of remorse.

Farfetch'd sacrificed family and friends as well. He neglected them, refusing to listen to their side of things. His mother must had suffered miserably to see her son always talking to a 'non-living' object. Farfetch'd never once consoled or tried to patch things up with her. Instead, he expected her to do it instead, believing so strongly that he was perfectly in the right. It wasn't just her or his fault, but both of their fault. Farfetch'd was finally enlightened now.

The anti-social freak learned to loosen up and accepted the likes of Bisharp and Ms. Stick. He would reconcile with his mother after this too, no matter what.

The dual swordsman wasn't the wielder of light or darkness. He possessed both.

Some would only see his light like Bisharp, Dedenne and Swanna.

Some would only see his darkness like Duosion, Drilbur and his mother.

Rarely, one would recognize both with deep understanding of his character. He was now in this category.

Farfetch'd opened his eyes and slammed the tree with Mr. Stalk, dispersing the pink petals. Swinging his dual weapon around faster than the eye could see, he sliced all of the petals before they could reach the ground.

"We're now ready, Drilbur." Farfetch'd awakened the slumbering strength inside him with impenetrable eyes.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** He caressed Mr. Stalk lovingly. "Just because I accept others into my heart, it doesn't mean my love for you is any less, father."

* * *

Snorlax stood in the middle of the football field. He tipped his hat, hiding his smile as Druddigon, Ursaring, Abomasnow and Shiinotic surrounded him from four directions.

Druddigon exited the baseball stadium with fake confidence. His eyes dashed from place to place, intern to intern.

Shiinotic strode over from the trees behind the football field, folding her arms. Despite being surrounded by bulky men, she showed little to no sign of fear.

Ursaring walked out of the indoor sports facility, sneaking a look at Abomasnow. The coffee prince passed him coldly, sipping a cup of iced coffee.

"Did you drug everyone to sleep?" Abomasnow asked, the politeness in his tone disappeared.

"Is there another possible explanation?" Snorlax answered a question with another question.

"Knew it! The coffee prince won't do something like that." Ursaring smiled, turning to see Abomasnow's reaction. The coffee prince returned a cold glare. Ursaring frowned.

"Well, the bigger question now is what's next? Are we all going to hunt the finalists down or eat each other like cannibals?" Shiinotic raised the tension in the atmosphere.

"The second option. I want to taste all of you. Heehee…" Snorlax licked his lips.

"If you want to taste me, you better burn those calories." Shiinotic seduced jokingly, touching her lips. Snorlax swung his arms around, working out. Druddigon widened his eyes before realizing it was just a joke. He remained quiet, out of everyone's radar.

"I can't feel at ease fighting the finalists with a backstabber around here." Abomasnow referred to Ursaring, obviously.

The guilt in Ursaring's eyes vanished. "Stop being so sensitive! It isn't my fault that you couldn't beat her in time." He spoke with hauteur.

"I suppose it was all my fault for being a gullible fool, to believe that the interns would value anything over money. How naïve of me. No more Mr. Coffee Prince for you degenerates!" Abomasnow reached his boiling point at 96 C. The coffee was ready to be served.

Abomasnow aimed Ice Beam at Ursaring right away, initiating the free-for-all. The ace dodged sideways, only to be blasted by Shiinotic's Moonblast.

Druddigon saw an opening and stuck Shiinotic with… Dragon Claw. She laughed it off because blasting Druddigon away with Moonblast. Abomasnow shot Ice Beam at her successfully afterwards.

It was a chaotic mess.

"Viewers, send your kids to my type-match ups class if you don't want them to be like Druddigon. It's only 1,999 P. Basically, 1,000 P." Snorlax kept using psychological pricing. Did he think the viewers were stupid or something?

Ursaring took this opportunity to attack Snorlax with Hammer Arm, dealing massive damage. Snorlax groaned in pain, rolling on the ground. His hat got knocked away alongside the gun.

"Everyone, gang up on Snorlax! He's the mastermind behind all this crap, the odd one out." Ursaring pointed encouragingly. Abomasnow shook his head in disapproval at this.

Druddigon saw Abomasnow still being unharmed. Therefore, he shot Focus Blast at him. It was a direct hit. The cup of coffee spilled all over the ground.

"Beat Abomasnow. He looks the least injured, the true odd one out!" Druddigon switched the target.

"Ah, you dirty bag of coffee beans." Abomasnow 'swore' politely.

Fortunately, Shiinotic didn't follow Druddigon's idea and sent him down to the ground with Moonblast instead.

"Druddigon is obviously the odd one out. He isn't smart like the rest of us." Shiinotic stated.

"Hey!" Druddigon sounded really offended. He soon grinned as Ursaring tackled her with Take Down, receiving some recoil damage. She yelled in pain.

"I change my mind. Shiinotic's the odd one out. She's a girl." Ursaring indicated.

"Sexist." Shiinotic muttered, getting off the ground. Everyone recovered and glared at Ursaring, unappeased with his undamaged appearance.

"Hey, don't look at me like that." Ursaring retreated apprehensively, raising his hands defensively. "Don't gang up on me. Like where's the reason for that?"

"Ursaring, you were the mole, unlike us. Besides, you have a history of playing many dirty tricks. You shall go down first." Abomasnow persuaded, blasting Ice Beam.

Snorlax rolled toward Ursaring, Druddigon charged recklessly with Superpower and Shiinotic maneuvered her way to him.

Ursaring sweated as he was outnumbered. The ace slammed Snorlax with Hammer Arm, redirecting him backward. However, Abomasnow managed to freeze his legs.

"Mr. Druddigon, please send Snorlax back with Superpower." Abomasnow directed.

"Got it." Druddigon obeyed Abomasnow's strategy. Ursaring looked shocked, stuck because of frozen legs as Snorlax steamrolled him with vicious velocity.

Once Ursaring was flattened on the ground, Shiinotic placed a hand on his head. She used Strength Sap to recover her health while lowering his attack at the same time. Ursaring groaned in both mental and physical suffering.

"Miss, may I finish him?" Abomasnow asked politely, concealing the demanding nature of the request.

"Your pleasure. I already suck him dry anyways." Shiinotic moved out of the way and Abomasnow bowed slightly to her before looking down upon Ursaring. The ace stared at him apologetically.

"Ursaring, I looked up to you. Even when you played us all in the mole challenge, I still forgave you. I understand if it's your job to act accordingly to your role but what you did this challenge was unwarranted. I thought we are… friends. How could you betray me in the utmost ungrateful, uncouth and unfriendly manner?" Abomasnow questioned, conveying the pain of betrayal through his voice.

"I'm sorry, Aboma. Looking up to me is like looking up to Lucario. You should have known better." Ursaring expressed regret. "Do what you need to do. I can take it."

"I don't want it to end like this but… sorry, Ursaring." Abomasnow lifted his right hand up and charged Wood Hammer. Ursaring accepted his defeat until he saw Snorlax pointing the gun at Abomasnow's back. He put his hat back on as well.

Bang!

"Careful!" Ursaring warned, sweeping Abomasnow down to safety. The dart narrowly missed him. However, the mob boss pressed the trigger again…

But he ran out of darts. The ace sighed in relief.

"Undercooked, overcooked, frozen, inedible, raw, food poisoning!" Snorlax raged, throwing his hat down and stomped it several times.

"Ace, why did you save me?" Abomasnow looked both shocked and touched.

"Frankly, I have no idea. Maybe, I just want to save my face. Maybe, I really want to make it up to you. Either way, I'm sorry. Can you maybe… forgive me a little?" Ursaring pleaded with a weak, hopeful smile.

"Of course, Ursa! Mister, you earn my trust again." Abomasnow brewed a big smile on his face.

Ursaring's smile widened. "Now, let's teach Snorlax a lesson, shall we?" He got up from the ground and helped Abomasnow back to his feet. The coffee prince nodded, casting a fierce look toward the evil tutor.

"Heh, heh, how about this? I give you two a discount on my dance class. You only need to pay 29,999 P to attend it." Snorlax offered stingily, anxiety written on his face.

"How about you get to join my boxing class for free? As the sandbag!" Ursaring roared and rushed toward Snorlax. Abomasnow followed, activating Grass Knot to trip the heavy guy.

Since Snorlax already ate Superpower and Hammer Arm, his diet was in a critical state. Time for him to eat something 'healthy' now…

"Aboma, let's do this!" Ursaring reached out his left hand.

"Ursa, let's do this!" Abomasnow said the same and grabbed the hand.

They leaped high into the sky and combined Hammer Arm and Ice Punch together to forge a frigid fright for poor Snorlax. The fat guy got hammered hard, fainting as bits of ice scattered all over the place.

Druddigon spectated with awe, blinking in amazement. Shiinotic smiled.

Abomasnow and Ursaring celebrated jubilantly. Ursaring noticed something on the ground and picked it up. It was an ace of spades.

"Wow, this card resembles me. Except for the fact that it lacks a marketable face like this one." Ursaring remarked, rubbing his face. Abomasnow raised his eyes a little. He found it a bit familiar. Where had he seen this before?

The card flashed a mysterious light.

"Ursa, it's-" Abomasnow alerted when it was too late.

The card caused a gigantic explosion and both interns were knocked out.

Druddigon gawked, dumbfounded. He turned to Shiinotic, discerning the missing card that was supposed to pierce through her hat. She seemed very proud of her accomplishment.

"What a twist. Bwahha. This is how I like it. I'm now the only real powerhouse left." Druddigon seemed overconfident.

"Don't underestimate me. You will regret it." Shiinotic wagged her long finger. Druddigon scoffed.

"You should heed her warning." Drifblim ambused Druddigon, propelling Shadow Ball at him. Before he recovered, Drifblim blasted another Shadow Ball against him. Druddigon lay motionlessly on the ground.

"This is for betraying me." Drifblim seemed satisfied.

"Betrayed by Druddigon, seriously?" Shiinotic snickered and Drifblim blushed in embarrassment.

"I guess we lose big from time to time. It happens to the best of us. Certainly not your best performance but I have had worse. Anyways…" Shiinotic pulled out a deck of cards from her dress. The back showed pictures of casino chips.

"Working with me is high-stake gambling. Will you fold under pressure or go all-in?" Shiinotic shuffled the deck of explosive cards, eyeing Drifblim with curiosity.

"Why don't we find out?" Drifblim charged Shadow Ball right away.

"You better be ready to sign that slave contract, girl!" Shiinotic made a throwback to the ruined hotel challenge before dealing out cards like a professional casino dealer. They triggered a chain of explosion mid-air.

Drifblim used Fly to escape from the explosive area, heading toward the goalpost. The superfan wrapped her arms around it, hurling toward Shiinotic's direction.

Shiinotic flicked a card out of the deck with her right hand and caught it between her fingers, shooting it stylishly. The card scored a goal before destroying the entire thing altogether.

Drifblim charged through the smoke at her with Fly. Shiinotic merely tossed a card out to defend herself.

Drifblim widened her eyes, taking a sharp detour to avoid the explosion. Shiinotic bet that Drifblim would turn to the right and dealt out a card early. As a result,

…Shiinotic won the bet.

"Ah!" Drifblim took major magical explosive damage.

Drifblim landed in the center circle. Shiinotic walked over to her victoriously and played around with the queen of hearts.

"You went all-in but I win nonetheless." Shiinotic smiled victiously, prepared to finish Drifblim off. However, her smile faded once Drifblim seemed strangely relaxed.

"Take this!" Druddigon yelled out in a very cringy voice. The S got stressed heavily.

"What the- Ah!" Shiinotic shouted in pain as Druddigon smashed into her back with incredible power, using Rock Climb.

Shiinotic got knocked far away, colliding against the fence and fainted.

"Haha, we did it!" Druddigon raised his arms in celebration. Drifblim got up and smiled knowingly.

* * *

The camera transitioned to a flashback, showing pictures with Drifblim voicing over.

Drifblim told Druddigon the plan. He looked extremely impressed.

"I know that I need to turn the interns against each other…"

Druddigon hummed, fiddling with his claws. He signaled to Drifblim that Ursaring and Abomasnow were neaby.

"...without the others knowing that we're working together."

The screen split into two. The left side showed Druddigon attacking Drifblim with Dragon Claw. The right showed Drifblim shooting Shadow Ball at Druddigon.

"Therefore, I order Druddigon to betray me and pretend to knock him out."

Druddigon clung onto Ursaring's feet, taking strips of fur away and clenched his fists to avoid detection.

"Since I sense ill-will toward Ursaring and Abomasnow from other interns, I decide to frame them primarily."

Drifblim brought Shiinotic to the air conditioner where Druddigon framed the other interns.

"Everything worked out better than expected when Shiinotic decided to form a coalition with me."

Drifblim watched the free-for-all secretly from a distance, smiling in gratification.

* * *

The camera returned to Druddigon celebrating.

"Haha, at this rate I 'll be the last intern standing! Drifblim, maybe I gotta be more like you. Use my brain before my muscles. I imagine if I compete as a contestant, I would have charged randomly all over the place without anyway navigation support to find Skarmory. Drifblim? Where are you, Drifblim?" Druddigon had been talking to himself unawaringly the entire time.

Druddigon looked around for her a bit before shrugging, completely oblivious to the fact that she shot a Shadow Ball behind his back. He was knocked out for real this time.

Drifblim turned visible and shook her head condescendingly at his fainted body.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Drifblim:** "Child's play manipulating that dragon."

 **Druddigon:** "Damn it! I'm so close to being the last surviving intern. Now, who will it be? I don't count Alakazam."

* * *

After making a full recovery both on the body and mind, Farfetch'd rushed toward the baseball stadium. He wanted to either find the final Guest Gate or Drilbur for their decisive showdown.

He slowed down inside the player tunnel, overwhelmed by indescribable nostalgia. Looking around at the walls appreciatively, he was no longer blinded by the desire-inducing light at the end of the tunnel like he used to be.

Always thinking only about Mr. Stalk and neglecting everything else…

"Father…" Farfetch'd shed a tear, gazing at Mr. Stalk. "In a few moments, I'll enter the field and I'll make you proud. I'll follow your footsteps. Please keep your eyes on me." He then turned to Ms. Stick.

"Keep your eyes on me too, aunt. I'll show you how great of a father your brother is." Farfetch'd said promisingly.

"Mother, you watch too…" Farfetch'd said inaudibly, looking down for a moment. He thought about everyone else like Swanna and Bisharp before marching toward the light bravely.

Farfetch'd stepped out of the darkness and emerged out of the light into the stadium for real.

As a grand entrance, two swords plunged down into the second base. Drilbur then jumped down from the stadium roof and landed on top of the hilts stunningly. Icy flames burst out intimidatingly but Farfetch'd didn't flinch even a little. He only tightened his grips on his family.

Drilbur hopped down and pulled both swords out. Spreading his legs vertically, the mole pointed both swords rebelliously at the war minister.

"I've waited so long to battle you again without any interruption. Finally, the moment has arrived. Prepare to- Ahak." Drilbur coughed, covering his mouth without losing his grip. The powerful auras were like double-edge swords. Came with great power but at a great cost.

"You overdosed those pills, didn't you? Where's the honor in winning without using your own strength?!" Farfetch'd questioned critically. "We would rather lose than winning emptily like that."

"What the hell do you know about me? My strength or not, I'll take you down. Enough talking, let's fight!" Drilbur ran speedily like the wind toward Farfetch'd. The war minister pitched Air Slash toward the mole before running at him.

Drilbur terminated the range attack effortlessly and the two soon clashed in an epic duel of swords.

Drilbur swung crazily at an insane speed. Horizontal slash, vertical slash, diagonal slash, thrust, upward slash, downward slash, spin attack, jumping slash, he did them all. Each hit sent ember and ice shards scattering.

Farfetch'd mastered both Slash and Night Slash, stopping each and every one of Drilbur's offenses. Light and darkness dispersed.

Drilbur dug underground since the fight wouldn't progress. They were so evenly matched.

Farfetch'd enchanced his sense of hearing, trying to predict where Drilbur would spring out. Swiftly turning around, Farfetch'd sliced horizontally with Mr. Stalk's Slash.

Unexpectedly, only the flame sword erupted out of the ground. Drilbur tricked Farfetch'd before popping out and struck him mightily with the ice sword. Farfetch'd gritted through the pain as his body slid across the ground. Bits of ice grazed his left wing a little. Farfetch'd brushed them off and prepared a defensive stance.

Drilbur bombarded Farfetch'd with his water projectiles after retrieving the flame sword. Farfetch'd sliced through a few, blocked some and avoided the rest. He zigzagged to Drilbur before swerving all of a sudden, throwing Mr. Stalk out like a boomerang and hurling Ms. Stick straightforwardly.

Drilbur was pressured from both sides. However, he only grinned confidently and dived underground. Farfetch'd hastily collected his guardians as they collided with each other.

"Mr. Stalk, Ms. Stick, let's whack the mole out of the ground!" Farfetch'd charged dual Revenge and slammed the ground, quaking the mole out near the foul line. Drilbur looked frustrated as Farfetch'd successful countered his Dig.

The war minister rushed toward the dual damage dealer Drilbur invigoratingly. The mole raised his guard, ready to parry off Farfetch'd's moves from all directions.

However, Farfetch'd did the unprecedented. He veered to the wall, running up and on it. The crazy freak slashed Drilbur from a weird angle, taking him by surprise.

Drilbur groaned before following the wallrunner, attempting to strike him down to no avail. Since simple strikes all missed, he transformed into a drill and chased Farfetch'd on the wall.

Farfetch'd jumped off the wall and ran on solid ground, adrenaline pumping through his veins as the mole pursued him intensely. The field heated up coolly.

Farfetch'd imagined his friends, family and loved one cheering for them from the spectator area as he ran away from Drilbur, glancing around swiftly. Farfetch'd closed his eyes, smiling with sheer determination. The memories of his father's baseball games flashed through his mind. Farfetch'd might never get to see him face to face but that wouldn't take away any admiration and love he had for his role model.

Opening his eyes passionately, Farfetch'd jumped and propelled himself higher by sending Air Slash downward. Drilbur leaped to the sky, Drill Run's still in effect.

Farfetch'd dropped Mr. Stalk down and used him as a skateboard, spinning out of Drilbur's attack range.

Landing safely, Farfetch'd watched as the mole dropped down with fatigue. Drill Run was no longer in effect. Farfetch'd would use this chance to finish Drilbur in one barrage of moves.

"Ms. Stick, you can be like your brother. I believe in you!" Farfetch'd threw Ms. Stick out as a boomerang this time, pulling Drilbur closer to him with gale force.

Farfetch'd got into his baseball stance. "Mr. Stalk, let's make it a homerun!" He batted Drilbur with all his might.

The mole yelled out in pain as he collided against the scoreboard, falling down roughly. Farfetch'd retrieved Ms. Stick and hurried hastily to him. Charging Mr. Stalk with Night Slash and Ms. Stick with Slash, the war minister performed a slash in an X motion. Drilbur took the finishing blow and fainted.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" Farfetch'd cried out in pure bliss. He didn't just beat Drilbur, no. He also made his father proud.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "They say I can't win alone and… They're right. I finally understand it now. My strength comes from Mr. Stalk, Swanna, Bisharp, Ms. Stick and everything else that cares about me. Just because I don't want to make alliances doesn't mean I can't make friends and just because Mr. Stalk is the dearest thing in the world to me doesn't mean I've the right to neglect everyone else."

* * *

Intern's Intimidation was no longer in play. The final showdown between Farfetch'd and Drifblim would begin soon.

Drifblim entered the indoor sports facility, as known as the final Guest Gate.

Treadmills were annoyed. Dumbbells were insulted. Table Tennis tables were tormented. If Grumpig was brawny and Braviary was smart. This brat would be beautiful. Actually, Pancham looked really good and smart. What a well-dressed kid.

By good, it meant Pancham was wearing a white T-shirt with Grovyle's face in the middle with the words 'Good Guy Grovyle' in Mistral font circling around it.

By smart, it meant Pancham was wearing a Skrelp hat.

Behind Pancham was a large ball pool with hundreds of ex-contestant plushes. To each of his side was a very long table.

Pancham frowned, unhappy with the finalists.

"It's a big disappointment that Skrelp and Grovyle didn't make it to the finale. I thought for sure one of them would win. How could they lose?" Pancham wondered. Drifblim rolled her eyes.

"Kid, watch the show at home and you'll see their flaws. Can you please tell me the challenge quickly?" Drifblim hastened.

"Understandable. You're probably very crippled in a lot of areas, requiring others to carry your weight. Your impatience shows insecurity and weakness." Pancham insulted. Drifblim tried to control her temper.

"To put it simply, create an elimination list with the plushes. I expect thirty of them if you can't count." Pancham patronized. "Violence also isn't allowed here if you can't remember."

"Haha, very funny. I suppose this place is the pre-kindergarten." Drifblim joked.

"Absolutely wrong. You're unbelievably stupid." Pancham degraded. His style of speaking was very mechanical and cold, similar to an infamous seahorse.

Drifblim took deep breaths. Where did he fricking learn to talk like this?

Drifblim put Pancham out of her mind and focused on the challenge. With her four arms, it wasn't hard to carry multiple plushes at once over to the table. She placed them down in a disorganized manner and headed back to the ball pool.

Thinking about the challenge, Drifblim realized that Farfetch'd could copy her. However, she doubted that it will make a huge difference in time.

Drifblim kept expanding her lead, throwing duplicate plushes away and bringing new ones to the table. Soon enough, she got thirty of them.

Farfetch'd rushed inside and Pancham gave the same explanation, annoying the finalist.

Driflim hurried through the sorting process after Farfetch'd arrived. She got the pre-merge eliminations done already.

"We shall catch up, Drifblim. Plushes love us, evident from our claw machine expertise. Just you watch!" Farfetch'd asserted, batting the plushes to the table accurately like a true expert. He didn't even need to leave the ball pool.

Drifblim refrained from panicking. She was still in the lead. Due to great concentration, Drifblim finished the challenge first.

"Finish! Check it!" Drifblim shouted, raising her arms up excitedly.

Pancham came to inspect the table, stopping momentarily between Grovyle and Skrelp.

"You could have placed the Grovyle and Skrelp plushes more gently. This shows that you're very jealous of their success. Most likely, you rigged the votes to get rid of them." Pancham analyzed with premature assumptions. Drifblim constantly reminded herself that he was just a kid. A very bratty kid.

"Otherwise, you're correct. I'm astounded that you can count." Pancham spoke lowly and condescendingly of her, handing a pink key over half-willingly.

"Wow, counting is rocket science." Drifblim mimicked Oddish's voice before snatching the key, leaving quickly. Seemingly, she had an idea of where to use it.

Pancham laughed after she was gone, finding the joke funny. However, he quickly stopped and returned to his cold demeanor once Farfetch'd gave him looks.

"We finished as well!" Farfetch'd called Pancham over. The bratty kid didn't say much this time, throwing the key to Farfetch'd after he finished checking.

Farfetch'd quickly left the sports facility. Immediately after he exited the Guest Gate, Drifblim used Fly against him. She knocked his key away and rushed to grab it.

"I see you, thief. I give you, grief!" Farfetch'd recovered, dashing to the key before Drifblim could get her hands on it.

"What the-" Drifblim was shocked by how fast he was. Farfetch'd punished her in the name of justice, striking her down with dual Night Slash. Drifblim would have another 'fun' session with the masseur.

* * *

 **Confessional**

 **Farfetch'd:** "Unlike Drifblim, we want a clean victory. That's why we didn't steal her key."

 **Drifblim:** "Damn it! I *beep* messed up. I need to bounce back immediately!"

* * *

Farfetch'd inserted the key and turned on the Crawdaunt truck, shifting gears. Putting on the seatbelt and revving up the engine, he began his final journey. Using Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick to turn the wheels, he experienced some difficulty driving. Moreover, he seemed a bit lost.

"Mr. Stalk, any ideas?" Farfetch'd decided to ask his trusty guardian. "Use the GPS? Aha, I see."

Farfetch'd turned on the GPS and set it to find Skarmory but it found no matching results. Insurance, Brawk Hawk, Churro and Churro Ring didn't work either.

However, Psycho Churro Ring did work.

Listening to the route instructions, Farfetch'd nodded. First, he needed to travel back to the snowy mountain and took a sharp turn to the left. After traveling for a few kilometres, he would see a road that would lead him to Skarmory.

With a decent lead, Farfetch'd seemed relaxed until…

"Oops." Farfetch'd bumped the truck against a tree. Despite being a multi-talented professional, Farfetch'd was only an amateur driver. Maybe, if he held the wheel the conventional way, things could have been much easier.

Things were uneventful until Farfetch'd reached the road. Snow faded from the geography. Maple leaves fluttered whimsically. Lush green hills pointed toward the beach on the other side of Skarmory Island.

Farfetch'd could only absorb in the beautiful scenery briefly as the green truck appeared in the wing mirror. Drifblim drove her vehicle like a speed demon. With four arms, she controlled her truck miles better than Farfetch'd.

Drifblim opened her mirror and blasted Shadow Ball at Farfetch'd's back wheel. The truck spun out of control and Farfetch'd kicked the door opened furiously.

"You'll face our retaliation for hurting Mr. Crazy Crawdaunt Truck!" Farfetch'd released his wrath in the form of Air Slash. Drifblim blasted Shadow Ball to cancel it out. She soon speeded past Farfetch'd.

"See you in the finish line!" Drifblim waved as she maneuvered past the Crawdaunt truck successfully.

"Mr. Speed Limit Sign is going to get you, just you wait!" Farfetch'd yelled loudly, running after Drifblim.

Drifblim closed the mirror and fixed her eyes on the road, smiling. She soon reached a bumpy part where the road either sloped up or sloped down. Looking at the wing mirror, she widened her eyes.

Farfetch'd rode Mr. Stalk like a skateboard, performing several tricks and flips mid-air. He was catching up fast.

"Screw Farfetch'd and his zany ideas." Drifblim muttered, accelerating faster.

Farfetch'd hurled many Air Slashes at the Flygon truck, forcing Drifblim to keep making sharp turns. She nearly crashed into a tree once.

Passing a 64 mph speed limit sign safely, Drifblim felt light relief inside her body. Farfetch'd started smiling mischievously.

The professional skateboard player used Ms. Stick's Slash to chop the speed limit sign off and threw it toward Drifblim's truck.

The education minister wasn't taught to follow the law. Instead of obeying the speed limit, Drifblim made another sharp turn to avoid it. She sighed in relief once it flew past her.

Surprise, surprise, it returned like a boomerang and pierced through the Flygon front tire.

"Goddamnit!" Drifblim's truck came to a halt just before the final stretch. Drifblim stormed out and tore four sturdy maple tree branches to use as weapons. She blocked Farfetch'd's path to victory.

Farfetch'd stopped skateboarding and confronted her with his duel weapons.

"I guess this is where it all ends. The final showdown between us. Will the villain or the hero wins? I'm so excited!" Drifblim looked exhilarated, cleansing her fears away.

"We both wield light and darkness, Drifblim. May the stronger one prevails!" Farfetch'd prepared an offensive stance.

"Oh, I already know that. However, the viewers think differently. Not everyone sees all the good and bad in others. The only thing definite in this case is strength. The strength that I'll use to fulfill my life-long dream!" Drifblim voiced with passion.

Farfetch'd sprinted and performed dual diagonal slashes. Drifblim blocked both with two branches and used the other two to stab Farfetch'd. However, he jumped and grabbed them with his feet, pulling Drifblim closer for Mr. Stalk's Night Slash.

"Ah!" Drifblim pulled back after sustaining some damage. The ghost girl minimized herself this time and charged at Farfetch'd with Fly. The war minister found it very difficult to hit her.

Drifblim returned to her original size in close range and jabbed Farfetch'd repeatedly with the four branches before knocking him away with one last quadruple horizontal blow. Seeing a huge opportunity, she headed to the finish line. The education minister acknowledged that she couldn't beat someone with war experience realistically.

Farfetch'd quickly recovered and skateboarded, traveling at a faster speed than Drifblim.

The ghost girl knew she would lose at this rate. She only got one chance.

Drifblim remembered the first time she competed in dart throw and won. It was liberating. It showed her that she had what it takes to rise above and beyond everyone. It formed a foundation for her confidence.

Strategizing was like playing dart throw to her sometimes. Each dart was like a method or plan. Some might be pointier, smaller or heavier than others. Choosing the right one was essential. Next, she would observe her target, getting a rough estimate of the area and distance. The point distribution, risk and reward, etc.

The most exciting part was the fact that not everything could be controlled. No matter how much she planned meticulously, the wind could suddenly ruin her shot. The unpredicatability factor was one of the main reasons why she loved gameshows. Now, she was a part of it…

"Farfetch'd, the Branch Brothers are going to take you down!" Drifblim sounded determined.

"Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick are going to give them grief!" Farfetch'd shouted confidently.

Drifblim threw her first branch…

…

Farfetch'd smacked the youngest branch brother away with Ms. Stick.

…

Skarmory saw the finalists, engrossed with beak wide-opened.

…

Drifblim hurled her second branch with more vigor.

…

Farfetch'd blasted it the unlucky branch brother into pieces with Air Slash.

…

Drifblim faked throwing the third branch to disconcert Farfetch'd before doing it for real.

…

Farfetch'd performed a jump, flipping a full rotation. The middle branch brother missed.

…

Drifblim swung the fourth branch at Farfetch'd since he got dangerously close to overtaking her.

…

…

Farfetch'd got hit to the face, wobbling a bit.

…

…

Drifblim charged Fly and boosted ahead with the last of her strength.

…

…

Farfetch'd regained his balance and blazed ahead with all he got.

…

…

They were neck and neck.

…

…

…

Skarmory couldn't contain his excitement. They were only inches away from the garden bridge.

…

…

…

…

Farfetch'd made a jumping dive to the finish line before Drifblim.

Drifblim sank down in depression, crying endlessly.

"It's *beep* over! I barely *beep* lost. How can I live my life now?!" Drifblim pounded the ground in penitence.

Instead of celebrating right away, Farfetch'd crouched down to console Drifblim.

"Drifblim, you should be proud of yourself to make it this far. Unlike other villains, you have the most heart. We respect you. You wouldn't accept an easy victory, albeit you would accept a dirty one. The destination isn't what matters the most. It's the journey. You should cherish the memories you have made here." Farfetch'd caressed her with Mr. Stalk.

Drifblim suddenly laughed hysterically, slowly wiping her tears away. Had she really lost it? Gradually, a knowing grin grew on her face.

"Drifblim wins the finale of Total Skarmory Island!" Skarmory announced officially and Farfetch'd was stumped.

* * *

The camera transitioned to a flashback, showing mostly images with voices during certain parts. There were texts added for clarification occasionally.

Drifblim lighted up Braviary's clue with the lighter inside the storage. Shiinotic looked very impressed to see her figuring things out this fast.

The invisible ink revealed the following:

"Alakazam told me that whenever he felt sad, his wife would buy a bottle of champagne for him. I already brought him one but I think he wants to accept it from his saviors." Signed by Skarmory.

Drifblim turned to Shiinotic, who kept her face natural. She had her suspicions confirmed now. This challenge had more than meets the eye.

Give, Guest Gates

Interns, Intern's Intimidation, Insurance

An, A = Alakazam

Break, Break Bypass, Brawk Hawk

Give Intern Alakazam a Break

Psycho Churro Ring, Psycho = Psychic

Other than this, it also hinted that the interns would give out clues regarding the true objective of the finale challenge.

Drilbur: "Fire and paper…"

Ursaring: "One letter makes a lot of difference…"

Palossand: "A big, big hug!"

There were more hints but the viewers were encouraged to watch the finale again to find out for themselves.

Back to the question, how did Drifblim win?

Drifblim attacked Farfetch'd after he exited the final Guest Gate with the intention of wanting to be teleported to Cherry Blossom Sushi. Drifblim feared that Farfetch'd would follow her or find it suspicious that she didn't head to the parking lot.

After she survived through the masseur's torture, she took a bottle of champagne from the restaurant and used the pink key to open the control room.

Giving the bottle of champagne to Alakazam, the psychic returned her a favor by teleporting her to the finish line.

However, Drifblim wanted to create a twist for the viewers. Therefore, she asked to be teleported back even though she already won.

Next question, who drugged most of the interns to sleep? Snorlax?

No, it was Alakazam as well. With his teleportation and psychic abilities, he left no evidence. Snorlax just wanted to take the credit to promote his classes.

Why did Alakazam had such a huge role in this challenge? You see…

The camera reversed back to yesterday's night. Alakazam was in the control room, watching the footage where the other interns were fighting Raticate and Chef Drapion for him. Those that weren't drugged to sleep were those fighting bravely in the front lines. Alakazam's motive was to help those interns earn extra money and make the challenge easier for the finalists that saved him.

Wimpod was a special case. While he didn't fight for Alakazam, he quickly alerted everyone and coordinated their efforts against those two traitors.

The camera went back further, showing a touching, unreleased scene from the previous episode.

Alakazam walked slowly to his three saviors. Grounding his feet on land, he felt humbled. He would never expect to appreciate the dirt on his feet or the soft wind brushing against his shoulders. To be able to breath the air freely after being stuffed into the trash bag was such a… luxury.

The psychic held precious photos of his family in his right hand.

A young Abra boy wore a blue cap backward alongside a blue and yellow stripes shirt. He played with a yo-yo in his hand. Unlike the rest of his species, he looked really carefree, easy-going and athletic.

A female Alakazam stood next to the boy, placing her hand over his shoulders. Even without accessories or clothes, she could express herself through her sharp but considerate eyes, her tidy mustache and well-placed feet.

A newborn Abra girl was inside a baby wrap carrier, held by her mother. She was still young, pure and innocent. A child in her earliest stages. With closed eyes and a pacifier, she was immune to the dark influences of the world.

Lastly, Alakazam levitated behind but, above them. It represented his occupational style fittingly. A behind-the-scenes professional with a lot of influence but little to no public exposure.

The professional inside Alakazam wondered if it was really appropriate for him to thank the contestants this upfront. Perhaps, he should just send a gift card to each of them as a thank you gift without showing his face. The psychic felt a bit uncomfortable in this social situation. Regardless, he no longer got a choice. The three noticed him.

Drifblim pulled back from the group hug, looking relieved.

"Thank god, Alakazam. You and your face survive!" Aromatisse was delighted.

"Alakazam, Ms. Stick is wondering why you're standing like a statue. Need to go to the infirmary?" Farfetch'd asked with concern.

Alakazam dragged his feet unsophisticatedly over to them, eyes watering. Reaching them, he collapsed on their arms gracelessly, formality and dignation thrown away. He arranged his words and practiced speaking for so long. However, he could only say insufficient primitive words in application. Basic but meaningful.

"Thank you, thank you…" Alakazam repeated, sobbing.

"Alakazam, this is embarrassing. What will the viewers think of you?" Drifblim seemed flustered.

"You three saved me. On behalf of my family… Thank you." Alakazam expressed his eternal gratitude, showing them the photos.

"Alakazam, what a beautiful family you have. I might be scared at first but if I get the option, I will risk my life to save you again." Aromatisse teared up as well.

"Your Abra daughter is so young. I would do anything to make sure she sees her father again." Farfetch'd cried empathetically, reminded of his own plight.

"At first, I thought of you as only a cold, distant psychic but now… I see you as a loving father. Forgive me for seeing you in the wrong light, Alakazam." Drifblim wept freely.

The four felt the bliss of living. Surviving a near death experience, they would all live their lives to the fullest from now on.

* * *

The camera returned to the present. Upon getting tricked, Farfetch'd became menacingly silent. He glared at both Skarmory and Drifblim but said nothing, lowering his head to Mr. Stalk and Ms. Stick.

"Farfetch'd, I know I don't have any right or place to say this but you should be proud of yourself too. Despite having a mediocre social game, you made it this far. You 've proven yourself to be able to win the game. You just got unlucky." Drifblim consoled.

Farfetch'd returned silence, refusing eye contact. Drifblim frowned guiltily, viewing the scenery to ease up the awkwardness.

It was a traditional garden with wooden bridges connecting several areas together. Ponds were fresh with lily pads. Fern bushes populated in abundance. Rare silver thorn trees stood out among the maple and palm trees. A small garden pagoda with a long bench and pillows could be seen in an area surrounded by a large pond.

"Skarmory, I like the setting and all but it looks rather empty. Like is it just the three of us in this oversized garden?" Drifblim didn't seem to be in the mood to celebrate. Skarmory smirked.

"Why don't you close your eyes? I will lead you to a special place." Skarmory instructed.

"Alright. Don't push me down the pond to drown just because you don't want to pay the million." Drifblim said sarcastically, closing her eyes. Skarmory chuckled. Farfetch'd looked slightly tempted by the idea.

Skarmory pushed her across the bridge, then the next, then another one. Drifblim started to feel impatient, eyes shaking until she clenched them shut. Eventually, Skarmory transferred her to someone, leaving with Farfetch'd.

"Don't open your eyes yet. Turn around." Shiinotic ordered.

Drifblim obeyed and Shiinotic fit her through some sort of fabric. She could feel her skin touching against rich layers of silk. Afterwards, a veil was placed over her head for some reason.

The anticipation was killing her. Drifblim wondered if this was some sort of punishment or humiliation she would need to endure as the winner. There were gameshows that ended like that. However, this was Total Skarmory Island after all. Maybe, she should expect something unique.

"Open your eyes." Skarmory instructed and Drifblim opened them slowly…

White chairs were placed to the sides…

Pots of purple orchids lined up the wedding aisle…

A white wedding aisle runner with green mole footprints led to the silver wedding arch with bronze stripes…

Through the wedding arch, a crystal-clear pond shone elegantly.

Drifblim gasped as she realized she was wearing a silver wedding dress. The wedding ceremony was crowded by all contestants (excluding Rhydon and Lucario) and several interns. Ariados stood with Alakazam near the wedding arch. The groom wore a black and red suit. He waved to his bride in joy with his front left leg, an amethyst ring attached to it.

The contestants and interns alike clapped, congratulated and cheered for her.

"Congrats, Drifblim. I can't wait to see the wedding ceremony. Let's get started!" Houndour shouted eagerly.

"Yeah, let's get this party rockin'!" Heracross agreed, clapping loudly. "Free food and drinks!"

"Girl, I'm proud of you. You look very fabulous today." Aromatisse commented.

"With your perspicacious understanding of the game and outstanding strategies, you deserve to win the most, Drifblim. Your game is completely on a different level than us." Bisharp admitted.

"I totally agree. Without you, our alliance got no redeemable qualities." Archeops nodded. Skrelp looked annoyed but said nothing. She focused her eyes on the book, ignoring the ceremony.

"You got so many cool techniques." Machoke gave a thumb up. "Teach me some."

"Add me in your friendlist!" Jumpluff requested.

"The odds are in your favor. I'm glad that you win." Duosion smiled.

"Yippee. Woo." Shedinja showed some emotion.

"You're such a badass, girl!" Cryogonal complimented.

"You're very brave to face karma and Farfetch'd head on. Nearly everyone respects you." Nosepass told.

"I hope you two are happy forever." Ledyba wished.

"Be happy together. I hope you won't meet me at my office." Meowth alluded to his divorce lawyer status.

Drifblim kept being showered by compliments and positive words from most. A certain few didn't say anything, looking bitter. The superfan could never imagine to live through this marital felicity moment in a million years, especially in her favorite gameshow.

"You must be kidding. What the hell is going on here, Skarmory?! What kind of Total Drama ends like this? And why am I being praised and looked up to after antagonizing so many of you?" Drifblim asked in disbelief.

"Your marriage, silly." Furret replied for the first part, smiling with nostalgia.

"What's stopping me from ending it like this? Money is something temporary. You use it and it's gone. Aren't you tired of the same prizes being offered again and again? This will stay with you forever as a priceless memory. It's permanent." Skarmory explained.

Farfetch'd spoke for the last part. Drifblim turned to him, shocked.

"Like we said Drifblim, everyone has light and darkness. What dictates whether you are a good Pokemon or not depends on which outweighs the other. We really hate that you toyed with me, Drifblim, both with Mr. Stalk and the final result. However, you also opened my eyes and saved Alakazam. You only antagonized others because of your passion for this game. In addition, you did so with no ill-will. Things got out of your control a few times but that's all in the past. I think it's safe to say your light outweighs your darkness. We forgive you." Farfetch'd forsook any grudges he held against Drifblim and smiled freely, knowing his girlfriend and everyone else would be proud of him.

Bisharp smiled before beckoning Farfetch'd to sit next to him. Farfetch'd returned a friendly face, occupying three seats to Bisharp's right.

It was decided that Aromatisse would be Drifblim's bridesmaid. The fairy type inserted an amethyst ring through one of her arms and gave her a bouquet of purple orchids. With an encouraging push, Aromatisse sent her friend off.

Drifblim floated to Ariados with an overjoyed expression, her cheeks glistened with tears. She couldn't believe this, even in her wildest dreams. Reality settled in and she couldn't be happier. Ariados shared a similar reaction.

"Do you like the wedding? I design it myself. If you are curious about what happens in case you lose, the ceremony will look very gloomy and depressing." Ariados informed.

"Definitely! You know me better than everyone else." Drifblim looked at him apologetically after a sudden thought entered her mind.

"I'm sorry for lying about our relationship. You know that I'm insecure about my normal self. I always need to put on a mask in these types of things." Drifblim averted her eyes.

"It's okay. I understand you. It won't make me love you any less." Ariados caressed her face, wiping her tears away. "Shall we begin?"

Drifblim nodded. "I'm relieved that a professional is taking care of this event." She addressed Alakazam. The psychic chuckled.

"My apologies. I'm only the groomsman." Alakazam bowed his head and left. Drifblim widened his eyes as Skarmory replaced him on the stage, holding a cup of coffee with his talon.

"Great, our lovely unprofessional host." Drifblim mumbled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this special event where we witness love being brewed like a cup of coffee." Skarmory took a sip before continuing. "I'm MC Skarmory, the master of ceremonies for today's event."

The audience chuckled, amused by his atypical hosting skills. Furret's cheeks turned pink a little but she had a wide grin on her face.

"I hope that our couple here…" Skarmory turned to them and sipped his coffee again. "…can burn through the snowy area with their flames of love. Can reconcile with each other when the desert area heats arguments between them. Can face their biggest fears in the haunted area side by side. Whenever you fall, I hope one helps the other by finding the silver Skarmory statue that whips up the second wind."

Drifblim rolled her eyes. Deep inside, she actually preferred Skarmory over Alakazam as the MC.

"Let's get to the point. Ariados, will you accept Drifblim as your forever legally wedded wife until the finale of the finale dawns upon both of you?" Skarmory asked.

"Of course, I do. We will reign as the power couple forever." Ariados answered, gazing into Drifblim's euphoric eyes.

"Drifblim, will you accept Ariados as your forever legally wedded husband until the world collapses alongside the gameshow industry?" Skarmory asked abnormally.

"I do. I'll take care of him forever." Drifblim vowed, closing her eyes and pushing her face forward. The two embraced in the climactic kiss of Total Skarmory Island and Drifblim threw the bouquet up into the air.

Some girls squealed as they rushed to catch it first. Aromatisse jumped up and seized it before Jumpluff.

"Aw, we won't get married next." Jumpluff frowned.

"It's superstitious. Don't pay too much attention to it." Bisharp spent some time consoling her. Out of all the couples, they got the most uphill battle.

"Now, we proceed to the reward ceremony." Skarmory signaled to Alakazam. The psychic snapped his fingers and the 1,000,000 P check got teleported to Drifblim. Lurantis snapped a few pictures before Drifblim gained everyone's attention.

"I want to thank everyone for being so kind, forgiving and benevolent today. It means a lot to me. As you know, I really love this show. However, I really do regret causing a few incidents indirectly. They have caused me a lot of remorse and I prefer to not go into detail as to provoke any bad memories. Therefore, I think I will retire from competing in gamshows for good and only analyze them from now on." Drifblim publicized. Ariados widened his eyes but soon nodded in solemn understanding.

"Well, you can be an intern instead." Skarmory said out of the blue.

"What?!" Drifblim looked shocked.

"Come on, too scared to compete among our ranks? Just accept it right away." Ursaring encouraged.

"I'm very curious to see what else you can bring to the show. Join, Drifblim." Shiinotic peer pressured.

"Miss, no pressure." Abomasnow toned down the peer pressuring. The two gave him looks.

Drifblim discussed about it with Ariados before reaching a conclusion. Skarmory waited patiently and Drifblim soon turned to him.

"After everything you have done, I can't reject the offer. I will gladly join be an intern to step up the quality of your show." Drifblim accepted with pleasure.

"Perfect." Skarmory moved his eyes to the other finalist. "Farfetch'd, as the runner up, I will offer two prizes for you to choose. One, take a scholarship of 100,000 P or two, work as the chef for me and get paid the same amount."

Farfetch'd consulted with his guardians before answering. "Since we can't trust common chefs to cook food in gameshows nowadays, we decide to accept the second offer so that the contestants next season will be well-fed."

Magikarp, Feebas, Machoke, Grovyle, Archeops and Meowstic were all ecstatic to hear this.

Aromatisse sighed to herself as the finalists got their prizes. She didn't want to be greedy and ask for one since she already got the bouquet but it still sucked to be third place.

Skarmory saw Aromatisse's envious look and smirked.

"Alakazam, give the final prize to Aromatisse." Skarmory ordered and Aromatisse felt excitement crawling on her skin. Please, god, please…

"Milady, I have heard tales of your bravery and would like to fly an arrow straight through your heart." Decidueye was the final prize. Aromatisse squealed and hugged him. Shiinotic shrugged to the camera, shaking her head.

"Before the wedding feast starts, can everyone please take a final picture together on the stage?" Skarmory requested, beckoning all of them.

Larvitar got dragged up and forced to behave by Helioptile.

Machoke prepared his pose, spreading his arms widely like a wall.

Darmanitan lifted cardboard Lucario up with Smeargle. Both frowned slightly.

Nosepass lifted cardboard Rhydon up all by himself. Wimpod watched and felt ashamed of himself. He basically gave up on the finale challenge unlike other interns. Only if he could do something else other than creating the credits… Perhaps, if he could only create the credits, he should try to make the best one ever so far.

Couples stood near each other, holding each other's limb or hugging.

Skrelp distanced herself from everyone.

Oddish drooled and the contestants gave her dirty looks.

Grovyle and Dedenne felt awkward standing close to each other.

Snorunt shifted away from the corner with some confidence after receiving encouragement from Helioptile.

Tyrunt whined about feeling hungry and Electabuzz scolded him.

Heracross linked arms with Miltank.

Meowth made himself look presentable, putting on a suit.

Meowstic glared at Scolipede.

Archeops congratulated Drifblim, standing next to her.

Farfetch'd prepared his defensive stance, putting his guardians close to him.

Snorlax dabbed. Abomasnow held a cup of coffee and put on a soft smile. Shiinotic held her ace between her fingers, placing it close to her cheek for a pose. Lurantis lifted her hands up, worshipping the sun. Druddigon put his fist forward. Ursaring held his chin. Drilbur struggled to breath as Palossand squeezed him tightly. Dusclops smiled bittersweetly at the married couple. Haunter and Gengar put on their shades and glasses. Alakazam relaxed, not worrying too much about his image.

Furret wrapped herself around Skarmory. The host performed an X shape with his wings.

"Everyone, say after me. Total Skarmory Island. Be as loud as possible. Show tremendous amount of energy and love to the viewers. Let's do this!" Skarmory prompted.

"Total Skarmory Island!" Everyone shouted in unison deafeningly and the camera took a picture of them. An everlasting piece of memory.

* * *

The credits rolled, revealing the real names and labels.

The camera zoomed to Wimpod's tiny desk in the office. He was editing the finale credits.

VJ the Credit Creator

The camera dived inside Wimpod's computer. Bisharp was seen reeling up a huge Gyarados on the dock. Magikarp and Feebas watched from the beach with awe.

Silena the Ugly Fish

Nokki the Wise Weakling

Baron the Burdened Strategist

Jumpluff congratulated him, taking a picture of his accomplishment.

Jupy the Social-Addicted Ditz

Grovyle photobombed the picture, blowing kisses to the camera. Bisharp and Jumpluff looked annoyed, leaving.

'Good Guy' Gevui

Grovyle spread his imaginary wings and flew to the firmament, dropping angelic feathers. One fell on top of Houndour's head, who was having a date with Duosion under the giant tree. The psychic commented about the rare probability of that happening.

Orthros the Daybreak Angel

Duolect the Statistical Historian

Somewhere in the forest area… A different feather fell on Ledyba's Pokepuff and Scolipede took it away immediately, verbalizing about how dangerous it would be to eat it. Ledyba sighed.

Ledybante the Optimist

Scalopid the Skeptic

Meowth collected the feathers and sold them at ridiculously high prices in Toucannon Island.

Monigan the Businessman

Dedenne came to Meowth's store and ranted about his unfair practices. Meowth held his head, having a headache.

Rafi the Faire Square

In Loser Island, Oddish was watching Meowstic's magic show, drooling. The magician chanted random spells and a feather fell inside Oddish's mouth. Meowstic widened her eyes in surprise, celebrating as Oddish coughed it out.

Oddiette the Odd Idiot

Marieke the Filthy Fraud

Larvitar pushed Snorunt down in the camp area, laughing. Heliotile chased him with a feather, threatening to tickle him. After Larvitar ran away like a coward, Helioptile lifted Snorunt up and the ice type gave her thanks.

Lex the Wimpy Bully

Zipzolon the Supportive Friend

Nina the Shy Detective

Lurantis started doing her sun choreography, dancing and slashing the feathers beautifully scorching.

Solsume the Sunchild

Smeargle gave a thumb down to this crappy movie about feathers. She left the cinema without taking the bag of popcorn with her. Snorlax came and looked left and right before taking the bag, snacking happily.

Sanook the Film Enthusiast

Soy the Hungry Tutor

Skrelp tutored Pancham about a wide variety of subjects in the dormitory. The kid listened attentively.

Silla the Cold-Hearted Counselor

Darmanitan sang karaoke with Greninja and Infernape. The screen froze because of the extreme chilliness.

Darmani the Chill Fanboy

The ice shattered and Drilbur was seen fighting Farfetch'd with his dual swords in the snowy area. The two traded blows relentlessly.

Daraka the Dual Damage Dealer

Frim the Anti-Social Freak

Another swordfight occurred high in the sky. Shedinja struck Trumbeak off the airship, overthrowing the captain successfully. To celebrate, he pulled cardboard Cryogonal in for a kiss. This made the real Cryogonal jealous, ripping the cardboard into pieces before smacking Shedinja with her snow chain. The ghost bug laughed it off before the screen burst into flames.

Trevor the Pirate

Shinji the Apathetic and Abandoned

Cris the Fiery Orphan

Aromatisse sweated as she found Decidueye to be very hot. Shiinotic watched, shaking her head in disapproval.

Aurelia the Fabulous Beauty

Shion the Picky Gambler

Ursaring magically popped out of Shiinotic's ace of spades. In front of him were big bold white letters. He smashed the 'F' with Hammer Arm and stretched the 'a'.

Ace of Interns Ulysses

Miltank and Heracross was having a great time pummeling casino machines into disposable garbage.

Milkaela the Farm Brute

Heracules the Street Punk

Tyrunt ran away from Palossand in Loser Island's beach. He was about to get squeezed until Archeops swooped down to save him. Before Tyrunt could thank her, Electabuzz took him away. Archeops scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

Tyrone the Spoiled Gamer

Archangle the Defeatist Leader

Elevin the Extrovert-Introvert Inventor

Pugs the Hugger

Machoke picked up the Pyukumuku and used his Super Secret Lucky Throw Technique. Every single shot landed inside the basket. Machoke celebrated obliviously, thinking he accomplished everything by himself. In reality, Alakazam helped him from a distance.

Machique the Oblivious Technician

Achariya the Genius

Dusclops was just sweeping the haunted mansion nonchalantly until Gengar approached him at high speed, escaping from Nosepass in his Nosepassario costume. Haunter was recording everything behind the ghostbuster. The janitor blasted Shadow Ball at Gengar, blasting him inside Nosepass' vacuum cleaner.

Gerry the Janitor

Gary the Prankster

Harry the Passive Onlooker

Paolo the Timid Coward

Abomasnow refilled Skarmory's cup of coffee and the MC continued to host the wedding between Ariados and Drifblim. Furret seemed very proud of him. The rest of the wedding would be shown in the bonus episode.

Ahoobeens the Coffee Prince

Driflys the Gameshow Fanatic

Byungak the Host

Esque the Pokemon Resources Manager, Executive Editor, Challenge Tester and Emotional Support

As a visitor, Druddigon laughed mockingly at Raticate and Chef Drapion. The chef smacked Raticate on the head for getting them charged with attempt murder.

Druddio the Vengeful Brute

Rumgum the Sewer Rat

Drakjae the Poisonous Pilferer

Rhydon opened the door to Lucario's gigantic hospital room gently. The professional athlete regenerated quickly, sleeping peacefully on his bed. Rhydon placed a present box next to the hundreds of gifts his fans, fellow contestants and sponsors brought to him. After staring at Lucario guiltily, the rock type quietly left and Lucario woke up not long after.

Mariano the Enigmatic Observer

Lukas the Hero of Darkness, the Aura Beast, the Professional Athlete and Beloved Leader

Turning his head to the table close to him, he found a picture Skarmory left. Taking a look, it was the picture of the wedding taken during the finale.

Lucario shed a tear of joy down the picture.

* * *

Well, it's finally over! I'm no longer a new writer. I'm now an intermediate one. I recommend you to read through this chapter again. I have hidden a lot of secret messages. For example, the free-for-all took place in the football field because of the idiom moving the goalposts.

I name some of my characters with a reason. For example, Rafi is pretty much Fair just letters being switched around. The Faire Square label means to make/to do square. Faire is a french word.

About Season 2, Drifblim will cast the contestants personally herself so don't worry about them. With what I have planned so far, Season 2 will destroy Season 1.

I try to reflect myself into my writing so you can pretty much tell my personality through reading my stories. I certainly hope all of you review this time. Since I won't be writing for a long while, I will read more stories. If I know you, it is more likely for me to read your stories first. I have worked so hard on this story so I will really appreciate it if the review is long. Tell me your favorite characters, favorite challenge, most hated contestants, setting, plot, overall thoughts and etc.

See you again in 2018 for the bonus episode. Skarmory will go through the entire process of creating the finale challenge, reveal a few audition tapes and replay some footage. You will get to see more interaction between contestants as well as the reveal of two newcomers and two returners. Bye!


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